Isn't that the opposite? In my experience summer tires perform best in the dry, but do well in the rain. Winter tires perform poorly in the rain, but do better in the mud and snow. Here in SF I run summer tires year around since I generally don't have to worry about snow or mud.

Between AWD and the rain/snow mode I don't expect to have any issues with El Nino.

 

I should have been clearer. I don't mean east coast winters, I just mean non max performance tires that gives up speed rating, etc. for better wet traction. I'm sure there are better wet traction tires than the P-Zeros, but they won't probably be speed rated, etc. I have no idea what driving real winter tires does, having been fortunate to never experience a real winter

 

It's not just dry and wet that affect traction, but also temperatures. Summer tires works usually well in the wet (better than winter tires in the wet), but only if the temperature is above aprox. + 7 celsius.

When colder, good winter tires might work better also when wet.

Temperatures has a lot to say regarding traction and what works best when - not only dry, wet, snow, ice etc.

 

I test drove an R, as well as the V6. I was always going to order the latter, but decided to make the most of the experience. It's acceleration is the closest thing I've found in any car to my motorcycle. Fun, but not sensible.

What performance features were you interested in?

 

This is exactly the agony I have been going through over the past month!!! This is an excellent set of perspectives, which is why this forum is "not an option" but rather a must with each and every Jaguar purchase. Informative and educational.

 

It's a good "agony" / "problem" to have
Honestly, I think it boils down to your personality. Some people are happy/content. Others always want more, more, more. I wish I was the former, but I'm more the later. For those more, more, more people, it's tough because you have the V8 option sitting right there teasing you. And once the SVR comes out, depending on pricing etc., there might be some R owners asking if they should upgrade to the SVR....more, more, more.

 

I have the V8S. It is a beast, but the weight and gearing tames it. It is only truly frightening in second gear, when ripping up from 20 mph to 75 in the blink of an eye. Be careful if that move involves crossing a centerline to pass. The car will go sideways crossing the paint stripe and you will be smoking tires as you drift on by. I usually get all the way across the stripe first, then floor it. Other than that it's a pussycat. The effortless power is well worth the extra money.

 

If you're happy with the AT and the extra $40k is chump change to you, the decision is pretty much a no-brainer. For me, the decision was between a 2015 RWD AT R and a 2016 MT S (for me, also a no brainer)

 

I drove a RWD BMW E92 M3 for 3 winters here in Ontario, Canada. We get PLENTY of snow. With Nokian Hakka Winter Tires I had no problem unless the snow started getting to around 15-20cm. After 20cm it would be iffy.

In 3 years of winter there were 2 days I could not get out of my subdivision.

 

I have to agree with this... Thank you all. You have been very helpful.

From a price perspective, I understand I am taking a loss to spend more, but the gap will only widen as time goes on which is why I feel if I want to make the upgrade, now would be the time to do it. I also don't foresee too many drastic changes coming to car that would cause regret should I decide to upgrade.

 

I was out for a drive today to pick up a friend who is looking for a new car to replace his Ferrari 360 Modena, and he is considering an F-type.

He was very impressed with the power of the R and how it is delivered. He was equally impressed with the comfort, and he loved the sound it makes - way better and less tiering than the sound his 360 with race exaust makes.

The thing is, I probabely used the power that the V8 has over the V6 just a handfull (or dobbel handfull...) of times during the 1.5 hour trip - so is it worth it?

On the other hand, those handfull of times (specially in the first three gears when it strugle with traction), was also clearly the highlights of the trip

So it all depends on what rocks your boat. For me (coming from sportsbikes) the R is a clear choice, but I am sure the V6 will be the right choice for others.

Test drive both of them, and rhen follow your heart (if your wallet agrees ).

 

Same with my old E93. And will be the same with this car. Just starting to hunt for winter snows.

 

I had those tires on my Touareg and LOVED them. Had studs in them for the first winter then de-studded them and left them I for another couple of years. With studs the car was unstoppable in any conditions.

 

I had the same on my Touareg (but the studless version), and they worked great in real winter conditions.

 

I loved the Nokian Hakka's so much that I have them on my Range Rover too. Drove through 150 cm of snow one day! That's how lake snow can be. I had no problem and the tires are not studded - studded tires are illegal in Ontario.

Anyhow - back on topic. The F-Type will be fine in winter until you hit 15cm or more of snow.

 

I never test drove the F-type when I bought it. Didn't need to, already convinced I wanted it. Went in looking to get a base V6 and ended getting the V6S. Now I wish I got the R instead lol. At least I leased it, so I can fix this mistake in 3 years. The V6S doesn't have the grunt/roar from 0-20 mph.

 

I didn't test drive mine either. I just bought the most loaded black v8s with tan seats that I could find. Then I hit a deer, totalled it and found another one to replace it with the two options the first one was missing (heated windscreen and camel colored carpets). Now I have the most loaded black V8S with tan seats that anyone could find. Have not regretted it for a single moment. The car is stunning.

 

I just did this exact swap. Went from a 15 v6S to a 16 R. I had come from an M5 and I did miss the speed for the few times I wanted to have fun.

 

funny enough, I was in my 911 on I-5 (major Interstate freeway that connects SoCal and NorCal) trying to pass one of those left lane hoggers...the M5 behind me also did the same thing. The M5 was right on my *** and kept pulling while my 911 was flattening out. I was really pissed and told myself my next car would be faster than an M5

 

When it comes to the base (V6) vs. R, there are likely lots of things that will tell you whether or not it makes sense to upgrade. If you can afford it, and having ludicrous acceleration is what you're seeking, the R makes great sense. You can see that on paper.

The V6 has 340hp/330ft-lbs, and runs 0-60 in a bit under 5 seconds, with a quarter mile time in about 13 seconds, making it pretty beastly by itself.

The R has 550hp and a bit over 500 ft-lbs if I recall. It runs 0-60 in just over 3 seconds and does a quarter in under 12 seconds. It's not a beast, it's a monster. This nearly competes with my 1352CC Kawasaki Concours-14 - a sport touring bike with a pretty absurd motor.

Both vehicles put their torque on pretty early, with the majority of it available starting at fairly low RPM and keeping on until nearly red-line. AWD will change the handling characteristics pretty significantly, but what I was reading about the R's AWD sounded good - that it only engages the front wheels if it needs them. Moving away from an open diff and to the dynamic suspension sounds like a great set of upgrades though (I honestly wish I'd gotten an S for those alone, but I'm happy with my base model in oh so many ways)

Someone mentioned earlier that if you're always looking for more, the R makes sense. I'm a bit weird about that - I always want more with what I have rather than necessarily wanting the best - when I had my Pontiac, I upgraded the suspension, the brakes, went as far as I could with the naturally aspirated motor, made sure that I had the best sway bars, firm motor mounts, transmission upgrades, etc...

The R is a killer car, and there's lots of headroom for modification. It's been noted that hp/CI on the V8 isn't currently as high as for the V6, which means there's lots of room to grow before you cap out that engine's capabilities. The V6 on the other hand is about peaked as is, so your upgrade options are slimmer - this will keep me from burning far too much money on an already expensive car. This is a good thing in my case. Though, really, the V6S would have kept me away from ECU upgrades.