HI, so i'm looking to buy my first car in 2-3 month got a few question about f type, as i said its gonna be my first car and i'm gonna drive it alot, i live in canada (Toronto), i'm looking to get the r coupe
1- how does it perform in winter
2- what the ground clearance ?
3-how comfortable are the seat i'm 6'2

 

F-type R is a hugely powerful car for someone's first car! Hope you're a reasonably experienced driver.


My F-type S convertible has about 5" of clearance, I assume the R coupe is similar. Try searching the forum for 'ground clearance', it's been discussed before.


Those of use with the sport seats find them very comfortable. Most, but not all, like the performance seats too.

 

i got about 1.5 years of experience not that much and the r only come with the sport seat so not that many option there, do you use it in winter ?

 

The R only comes with the performance seats (as standard - they are options on the V6). Regarding your hight and how you will fit in the F-type, the only way to find out is to sit in one. Two people with the same hight can still be very different regarding lenght of torsoe and legs.

If you are going to use it as an everyday car in the winter, I would strongly recommend the awd.

 

are you using it in winter and snow that's one of my biggest question about it

 

I don't, but that is because I have a second car as our everyday car and I don't want my F-type to be exposed to all the salty dirt we have on our roads in the winter.

If I had planned to use the F-type in the winter, I would have considered an awd R for the increased traction.

However what I have read from others that has used the rwd R in winter conditions, it performes surprizingly well - one reason being the e-diff. So as long as the snow is not too high and you use good winter tires, it should perform as good (or better because of the e-diff) as most two wheel drive cars.

I used to drive an awd Audi TTS in the winters in Norway, with aprox the same ground clearance as the F-type, and that caused no problems in 99% of the winter.

 

You have 1.5 years of experience in what types of vehicles?

As Arne said, "sport seat" is the std seat in the base V6. "Performance seat" is an extra-cost option in V6s, but std. in the R. In terms of comfort, I think the performance seat is a downgrade, but it does look more "upscale."

 

You can have a look at how the Audi TTS performed with winter tires in the snow here:

http://youtu.be/Qu4PHzL0ayc//

There is no reason the awd R should performe less than this - with proper winter tires.

 

I don't think frozen precipitation is the real issue here. It's about an inexperienced driver in a 550HP car, even if it is AWD on hot pavement in July. It might be different if the driver in question grew up on a race track with enthusiast parents. We were all young and inexperienced once, and when I was that age, the temptation to test that power without the appropriate experience would have been impossible to resist.

I sent my daughter to a high-performance driving school, which she loved, and she feels that it's helped her avoid numerous accidents. Ironically, she purchased a Prius as a young adult.

 

SUV mostly,

 

I do agree with you here, but there is no age or experience restriction for the R (but maybe it should have been....). However some good and friendly advices are absolutely in order here. It is VERY easy to make an error with the R (specially the rwd version), and for an inexperienced driver that could easilly be fatale.

 

i'm getting the awd, but like what kind of error ?

 

Like losing control and wrapping yourself around a tree. You can also easily lose control in any car over 300HP, but it happens much faster with nearly double the power.

If you're set on the F-Type, do yourself a favor, look at the V6S AWD and save yourself a considerable sum while you're gaining experience. If you're not careful, you can still wrap yourself around a tree in that car as well.

 

You can very easilly loose rear wheel grip if you are a bit too heavy footed with the throttle exiting corners. If you also turn off esc (and that can be tempting after a while), the amount of power and torque, and the way it is delivered (with no lag), makes this kind of error very easy to do.

And it is very difficult for an inexperienced driver to rectify such an error without ending up outside the road or in front of oncoming trafic. It can be difficult enough for an experienced driver.

Richard Hammond (in Top Gear) is a good example. He tested the rwd R at the track. Lost the rear end and ended up in the wall outside the track. Not something you see often in Top Gear.

But it is also an easy car to drive - when driven within sensible limits. It is however very easy to cross those limits - within fraction of a second.

That is what 550 hp and 680 Nm does if not respected.

Ps: the awd is a bit more "safe", as it is not that easy to loose the rear. It is however very easy to reach "stupid speeds" in short times, and the awd will not save you if you enter a curve going too fast.

 

to be honest with you i'm not set on anything i'm looking for a sport car till now the jaguar is the best option i found, its gonna be my car for a long time so i rather have the 550hp since i'm not gonna be able to change it anytime soon, but if you have any other suggestion for car in that price range which have a look and hp in to it, i appreciate if you name them

 

That's very cool that you can get a car like the R at your age... but do be very careful. As Foosh said, it's really easy to kill yourself in a car like that if you're not used to the power.

I now that at the age of 17, if I had had the R, I wouldn't be alive now. I drove a 110 hp Nissan Sentra in ways that were way beyond sensible... lucky I didn't have more power, to be honest.

Not trying to rain on your parade of course! Do get what you want, but please be smart and maybe take some performance driving courses if you can.

 

lol im about 20, it would be nice thou if i had a car like that when i was 17

 

I've already provided my recommendation. You're clearly very inexperienced, and will probably find 300HP to be more than you can be competent with as well.

Do yourself a real favor and spend some money on a high performance driving school before you do anything else.

 

 

I hate to pile on, but I don't recommend this car for you.
I wouldn't drive it in the snow, and I have several more years of experience than you do. Get the S AWD if you're set on the f type. You won't be able to enjoy the R anyways.
My true recommendation though, is for you to get something more manageable for a year or two. Learn how to drive a sports car, then come back for the f type. There is time in life for many things.