I'm soon to be in the market or an F-type coupe and am looking for suggestions on year and options.
My budget would permit a 2016 or 2017 model. What basic advantages are there for one over the other?
I was planning on a V-6 type S version.
In the V-6 is AWD important or just something I could do without?
Is there a significant change on the info screen for 2016 vs 2017?
Seats? I like the looks of the updated seats VS stock but how are they to live with daily?
Suggestions of important options would be helpful.
I was aiming at a S model with a manual trans but assume these are rarer than hens teeth.
I have a soft sport for Jaguar Racing Green but have seen very few online. Most seem to be black or white or red.

Help me pick out an options list which will give to most bang for the buck. I'm not all about fire breathing speed. Just want a good all around balanced grand tourer.

Thanks.

 

To get a racing green F-type S with MT you will likely have to murder one of the 3 existing owners.
You can't get AWD and MT, all MTs are RWD only.
S will get you mechanical LSD, active exhaust, and active (magnetic) struts.
You want blind spot monitoring feature, blind spots are extensive.
2017 (maybe 2017p2) and later infotainment systems can be updated to integrate with various apps (CarPlay), older you will have to pair audio to bluetooth.
Upgraded seats, if you are very tall, will push on your upper back. If you are 6'1 and under both are fine. Otherwise you likely want base seats with leather.
Early V8S are now deeply depreciated, they are the same car as R and can be tuned for more power with easy mods.
2017 (I think) had British edition, blue with special badging. Looks even better than BRG. There are also 400, but this is not notably different from V6S AT.

 

Adding to what SinF said, the main thing is to determine what is most important to you. Color and transmission type are going to be limiting. With that, my recommendation would be to first decide is a manual transmission is that important. If so, then you'll just have to find a color you can deal with (although the F-Type looks gorgeous in just about any color). If you don't care if it's manual or not, then you can focus on finding the exact color you want, but as mentioned, British Racing Green is going to be one of the tougher colors to find.

Come up with a prioritized list of "must haves" that work "for you". I say for you as everyone is different. For example, SinF mentions Blind Spot Monitoring. For me, that's not a huge deal and wouldn't sway a purchase for me. However, for him or for your, that could be a deal breaker. Everyone will be a little different in their preferences.

My personal opinion, focus on deciding if you must have the manual transmission or not first. That will either severely narrow down your options or open up a lot of options.

 

Some good advice above, BUT, no matter what you do it will NOT be "a good all around balanced grand tourer." That simply is not what the car is. The earlier MYs are aggressively not so. The newer ones are more civilized. But no one is going to go grand touring with that rear glove compartment.

 

Please don’t kill me!

The only thing uncivilized about this car is the driver.

 

He is after a coupe which has a lot more room in the trunk than the 'vert.
Heaps more again if you remove the space-saver spare (if it even has one to start with).
More again if you remove the privacy cover (but watch you don't load the trunk so high that you block the rear vision).
Plenty of room then in the trunk to pack enough gear for two to go grand touring
Of course there is a risk with no spare of a serious tyre blow-out, that's where AAA membership etc comes in.
I carry a "Stop 'n' Go" puncture kit, works great with the OEM 12v pump and it has saved me a couple of times, but of course it only works on simple nail/screw punctures in the tyre tread.

 

Agreed, as a GT you have to accept a bit of compromise with the F Type. The XKR is much more suited as a GT but then the transmission is primitive compared to the F Type even if you accept the auto. The auto in the F Type is excellent for a performance car. The driving experience lends itself more to a manual IMO. I've not driven the F Type manual though to see how nice the box is, so I dont know how it compares.

 

The ZF 6S-42 MT is a fabulous gearbox, but the OEM throw is too long (4” throw). Unfortunately, the aftermarket short shifter (3” throw) which several of us have installed is no longer available. I’m trying to resolve that, but not certain of success.

 

I even use the covers in my wagons. Leaving the luggage exposed is asking for trouble particularly with a car that attracts attention. A compressor and bottle of goo is about the size of a shoebox. But the F-Type is not a GT by any stretch of the imagination. From the US Website,

• Coupe trunk volume with loadspace cover (cu.ft.)10.9
• Coupe trunk volume without loadspace cover (cu.ft.)14.4
• Convertible trunk volume (cu.ft.)14.4

 

I think you may have made a boo-boo there with the 'vert trunk volume, no way is it the same as the coupe without the loadspace cover.
Or maybe the JLR US website stuffed it up!

 

I copied and pasted it from the website. No editing. What does your website say?

 

Yes, very wrong. The trunk volume of the coupe is twice that of the convertible. According to the Jaguar Canada website the convertible volume is 208 litres (yup..that's how they measure it) and the coupe trunk volume is 407 litres.
My experience with the coupe is that it has ample luggage capacity for touring, easily swallows a week's worth of groceries and wine and, in fact I have never filled it to capacity. The convertible trunk space is not quite as small as a certain English comedian/car critic named Jeremy described in his otherwise super-laudatory review of the F-Type, but it is marginal. When you take this fact and couple it with the difference in appearance, there is little wonder that the coupe has outsold the convertible by a margin of 2:1.

 

My wife and I do a lot of long range trips with the car and after almost 2 years I can say that the F-Type performs really well as a GT. Far less compromises than we anticipated.
You do have to pack carefully and choose luggage that is appropriate to the space available. Aside from that, the + far outweigh the -.

 

I've filled mine to capacity once when I bought a new computer base unit. It came in a larger than necessary box which exactly fitted in the boot/trunk with the load cover removed. That's when I discovered that the load cover will only just fit in the passenger side if you wedge it in at an awkward angle! If I'd had a bit of forethought I'd have left the load cover at home before I ventured out ....

 

Yep, I have a range of F-Type brochures - 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 - and they all say the same, 208 litres for the 'vert and 407 litres for the coupe.
Nothing on the Oz JLR website yet as they are in the process of changing over to the new 2020 model.

 

I just checked the JLR USA site and it says 14.4 cubic feet for the coupe and 7.3 cubic feet for the 'vert.
Couldn't find both specs on one page, I had to select coupe or 'vert separately.

 

I got an uncivilized 2014 V8 because its the best F-Type IMO. It weighes-in close to a current V6 and with 650 HP 620 TQ after $1000 in easy mods, the HP to weight ratio is monster. It does shred my 305 MP4S rear tires, but I'm working on that with Cup 2s coming soon. I'm going to wear this set out while its cool outside.

The sound of all F-Types is exotic like nothing else on the road, but the V8's roar and purr like a big cat which I can no longer live without.

As far as trunk space, I've had limited space cars and this convertible is not one of them. There is no change in storage top up or down, and you can fit a full large cart of groceries np. You can fit two carry-on bags, one on each side, plus a few tools like the included tire inflator and cleaning supplies in the trunk well.

The car has a reputation for being unruly but that is attributable to having way more HP than people are used to, plus the OEM's decision to equip it with all season passenger sedan tires. Any car with 300-350 HP per tire needs street slicks.

Dislikes? It could use more power.

Highly recommended and unquestionably the sportscar bargain of our time. I would look hardest at a 2015 V8 R with a CPO just to have two years of warranty left instead of one.

 

The MT was nice to have idea, but thought only a few would be ordered like that. I'm fine witht he auto. I guess I gotta get out and test drive a few. Only was in one once and that was at a dealer drive. Very short and they don't let you do anything. I'm only 5-9 so either seat might work.

 

The MT was nice to have idea, but thought only a few would be ordered like that. I'm fine witht he auto. I guess I gotta get out and test drive a few. Only was in one once and that was at a dealer drive. Very short and they don't let you do anything. I'm only 5-9 so either seat might work.

 

Surprisingly roomy when you take your time packing: