Interesting that it says "As-as no warranty". Surely in the US the Jaguar warranty will be good until 2023?

 

Thank you very much for thinking of me and posting this! I am still searching and will take a good look at this one.

 

Shoot, its not AWD, so I'll have to keep looking.
Thanks again!

 

I have had a 2018 F-type 400 Sport Converible since Nov 2017. Bought it new. LOVE IT! Can't really compare to any other Jaguar having never driven another. Had a 1969 Corvette small block. Horsepower is comparable, but handling far superior. Had several Honda S2000s. Jag does not handle quite as well (I am interested to see what happens once I put some Michelins on it), but more than twice the horsepower. Have not regeted the purchase for one second (yet). Good luck.

 

I bought my dad a 400 sport (RWD) September of last year. He was partial to f-types in silver, and I wanted to get him something a bit special within the constraint that he thought the V8 would be a bit much.
It is a very handsome car, the black pack, and dark grey wheels make a very nice combination. I also like the lower intakes on the 400 sport, sport pack, and SVR a bit more than the horizontal splits on the 2018+ R's. I also like the 2018 taillights on lighter colored cars. I can only compare it to the 2016 R that I bought myself a few weeks ago (and I haven't leaned on his car hard in the few times I've driven it).

I am not sure if its due to tires or differences in tuning, but my car has a slightly more complaint ride than his. He is on stock P zeros, I (for the moment) am on mismatched Toyos
My car rides a bit better on absolutely crap roads (of which there are plenty in New Orleans), and his car feels a bit more taunt and responsive. Overall I prefer the way his car drives, and usually leave my car in dynamic to tighten it up a bit. My car is of course faster, but the 400 is by no means slow. You actually get to use the throttle more often in that car (and get to hear its glorious voice) since you aren't as immediately doing go to jail speeds. I love the exhaust on the R, but to my ear the 400 sounds better. This is coming from someone who has owned two V8 mustangs, and was looking to get a PP2 Coyote before I was seduced into buying a jag for myself. When shopping for his car, I like how much was bundled as a part of the package. It is a bit bewildering trying to track what is standard and what is option in F-types from year to year, then twisting the dealer's arm to tell you what the car you are looking at actually has. The only option that his car had is the pano roof. (I would have liked blindspot monitoring, and wouldn't have turned down the 770 watt audio, but having the upgraded audio in my car, my dad is not missing much). The seats in both cars are equally comfortable, but I think his seats hold me in place better than the performance seats in the 2016 R (maybe I need to play with the side bolsters some more).

 

No blind spot monitoring on a 93k plus vehicle? Really? Wow that is unacceptable for a vehicle released/built in 2017 and not a base model. I imagine that means no cross traffic alert when backing up either?

 

Wouldn't that depend on what the original owner specified? I wouldn't waste my money on blind spot monitoring, regardless of how much the car costs.

 

The ~90k was the starting price for the 400 Sport model. And correct end price would depend on what the owner spec'd. What I was trying to say is that I wouldn't/shouldn't have to spent extra $ on a blind spot monitoring because at that price point those type of things should come standard, specially on a luxury brand model. The 400 sport was the top trim in the V6 range. Jaguar really looked to maximize their bottom line when they switched from offering package options to an á la carte model for options. Also I think most of the 400 Sport Models were not customer ordered, Jaguar had a set number to produce and cranked them out; from what I can tell only very few were customer ordered. Last year there were still 40+ new 400 sport models still sitting on dealer lots. Some offered at 30-40k price discounts off MSRP. Even now I believe there are still 5-10 demo models still for sale.

 

Funny story that I forgot to share. I wanted to confirm my production numbers findings on the 400 Sport last year. So I contacted JaguarUSA and Jaguar Corporate in UK. I had records of 338 for the US. Jaguar UK confirmed 338 as the number of 400 Sport Models made for the US and UK.
Jaguar USA said they would escalate and get back to me. Didn't hear back from them for months so I replied to the rep directly and they said 400 were made lolol. That was more of a Shoo fly go away answer. They actually told me not to reply back. Lol. I didn't want to waste anymore time going back and forth and point out the discrepancies or ask them why Jaguar UK gave me the correct figures; but that just shows you how the attitude of some in Jaguar USA customer service.

 

I wish I had known this when I was looking for my father's car. I paid ~30K less than the MSRP for a car with 20K miles on it.
No regrets though, he loves the car.

 

I just bought one. 4,400 miles a 2018 rwd. I freaking love it. I have no real comparison other that a test drive in a 2023 v8 r. It wasn't much faster but you did feel the push in your seat from the torque. I absolutely love my 400 sport. My issue is do I tune it with 7,500 miles currently or wait till the warranty is over. That im just uncertain on. I take a gamble with a warranty void but after some research it seems if I make a claim they need to prove the aftermarket part caused it. My main concern in keeling the warranty is electronic failure. Like buttons switches AC those items if those items weren't covered due to a warranty void from an upgraded pulley and remapping I'd be upset.. but to answer the question and driving both the v8 and actually owning the 400 sport. Id pick the 400 sport. It's much more balanced and doesn't seem to push everywhere the v8 r did. So of you can find one, buy it. I got very very very lucky in my search.

 

The R wasn't that much faster? A13.0 second quarter with a trap speed of 108 compared to an 11.6 quarter with a trap speed of 121 is a huge difference in the world of drag racing. A full second slower to 60 MPH is a lifetime when a tenth of a second can equal half a car length. The 400 Sport is a gorgeous and well appointed automobile but let's keep it's performance capabilities against a 575 HP SVR or R in the realm of reality. Congrats on your new F-Type DrDoom and I personally would keep it stock until the warranty runs out in the near future unless it's a CPO vehicle.

 

Love these f types so much. I drive mine then watch YouTube videos on them. Lol hooked.

 

I bought one earlier this year. As I’m planning on keeping it stock, I really love the overall appearance differences from other models, especially the yellow stitching.

 

it really is such an amazing car. Mine is an all silver coupe. So much fun.

 

the 400 is a daily driver for me. I'm not at the track. Objectively the v8 is faster but subjectively I disagree. And after owning one currently and driving the other I see the difference. R feels slower in the turns and pushed compared to the 400 sport. the V8 feels so heavy where the 400 sport feels light and quick. With tuning you can get the 400 sport to 500 hp. So sure, if I want to race at each red light you need the v8 but the 400 is a more balanced car.. are you really drag racing your F type around town? or just at the track? how are you using the car? and yeah after doing a lot of research I think I need to just wait till the warranty wears off or just remap because at least remapping you you must dig, its not like the pulley and air intake which screams red flags for dealerships saying its been modded

 

The v6 can has the same size engine block, the same transmission and many other components are identical. I drove the v6 and v8 back to back and did not notice any big handling difference. They are both heavy cars, If I'm honest. I did notice a huge difference coming out of the corners in favor of the v8, though.

Tuning to 500 hp is a bit ambitious and I think you're going to get into cooling issues. 450 seems to be the sweet spot.

 

I have a 2018 v6 base that just went out of warranty a few months ago but that didn't stop me from doing the VAP stage 1 tune a couple of years ago. Being that I am not a super-aggressive driver and after doing my homework and finding out the reliability of the tune, I felt comfortable going forward. I do understand your hesitancy to do it while the warranty is still in place as I went back and forth over that, as well. For me, going from 335-340 to 416hp was a no-brainer and it made the car a LOT more fun.

Another mod you might wish to consider is lowering it. The car just felt heavy and didn't like the body roll feeling I got around curves, so I lowered the car with H&R springs which lowered the center of gravity and stiffened the car and got rid of much of the roll sensation [and looks amazing too]. These two mods for me completely transformed the car for about $2500., a great deal in my mind.

Anyway, good luck with your car whichever way you go. Enjoy!!

 

have you brought in the car for warranty work with the mods? My fear is.. an AC unit goes or some kind of electrical and they void the warranty seeing the mods. A blown engine is on me. Lol

 

I only have 12K on the car and brought it in twice after the tune for covered yearly oil changes/service. The car has had no issues. I told the dealer to not update the software as this would mess up the tune. I am assuming the computer read-out would have alerted them to its presence but they never mentioned anything other than the car being in great shape. Even after I had it lowered, the service manager didn't seem concerned. He just asked me what I thought about it and admired the lowered posture. The dealer I have gone to has always been super nice.

From what I remember reading about doing a tune or other alteration, the warranty is still good for those items not affected by the mod. If you speak with Stuart@VAP, he can give a better feel of exactly how safe the tune is but I know they've done hundreds of cars without any issues. OTOH, like all things in life, there is a small risk that I was willing to take so you have to weigh that out. Had I blown the engine, it's not such a big deal for me at this stage of my life [late 60's]. If this had been one of the 911's I had in my 30's/40's, that would have been another story. I just figured why not have the car the way I want it, then be reasonable and hope for the best!