an interesting read, not sure I agree with all of it. Marketing, maybe. I appreciate Jaguars, but had NO idea the F even existed for several years... no advertising and of course, here in rural Wisconsin, you are not going to see them on the road. When my husband poked me about 'buying a more modern Jaguar" (more modern than my 69 E type) I scoffed as I was not interested in some paddle shift sports car wannabe. Imagine my surprise when "manual transmission Jaguar" search brought up the very F type I ended up buying. I truly hope Jaguar can find its way forward.

https://www.motor1.com/features/7354...up-underrated/

 

My wife grabbed a V6S 6-speed for similar reasons, she test drove a V8R with the ZF8 and was let down due to the lack of interaction. We live in a "rural" area, but commute into a city for work. She definitely stands out.

I just got from Wisconsin last month for Road America. Really scenic area around Siebkens.

 

I was never impressed with the interior of the XE, and if you went with a diesel or 4-pot, there wasn't much to talk about in performance, either.

It's rather ironic that the first death knell of the Jaguar ICE's was on the luxury end (which is their heritage and future focus). And, there's some irony that their future is centered on premium ELECTRIC vehicles, given the brand's historic notoriety with electronics. While I know there's no relation - just tell that to the general public.

I agree they didn't do enough to promote the F-Types early on. I believe I bought mine before I'd ever seen one in person, although I fell in love with them early from the reviews. I felt it was the first true successor to the E-Type. Jaguar had some great commercials, like the Jaguar vs MB series, but they weren't pushed. It would have been great if they'd done a similar brand/brand take with Porsche - where everyone walks past a 911 to gawk at the beauty of the F-Type. It's even true, and I've lived it.

As a side note, I've driven with a left pedal most of my years and only "regretted" it in E-Type, in DC traffic. But, the ZF transmission is pretty addictive and well-tuned for the Jag. It's amazingly quick and hard to believe it isn't double-clutch.

 

Yep, I agree with most of what you say.
I had never seen let alone driven an F-Type before I bought mine, I had owned nothing but manual trans cars from 1975 to my first Jag (XFS) in 2013 so it was my first ever slushbox car, and I am very happy with the 8 speed ZF in the F-Type.

 

Ah, the advantage of living in Jaguar's homeland! I drove 5 before I bought mine, including 3 at the Millbrook proving ground at a Jaguar "F-Type Beyonds Limits" event - 24 F-Types in 4 groups of "challenges". The Alpine circuit (where some James Bond scenes were shot), the banked circuit (only 130 mph in a convertible) and the "straight mile" where the instruction was "just floor it". An indicated !68 mph at the 3/4 mile point at which braking heavily was the order of the day - that mile ends quickly with a sharp turn at the end! Then a couple of test drives later and I found mine at the 6th.

 

Don’t agree with that all. Is it a manual? No, but I actually find the sport shift mode quite engaging with the ZF, and I’m not sure I would have gathered that in a quick test drive. It took a bit for me to get used to it and realize how involving it was.

I was initially a bit bummed that I could not get a manual in the purchase of my R. It had most everything else I was looking for over other competitor options (Porsche, Lotus has manual options etc), but the lack of manual was a bit of a sore point initially. Not anymore. This is a great gearbox in its own right, and it is quite involving (particularly in slightly aggressive driving).

All this said, I still understand the love for manuals.

 

To clarify, do you mean using the stick as a sequential shifter instead of the paddles? I like that feature.

 

That’s exactly it. That’s more natural to me. Thankfully they did it the “proper” way and made it so upshift is pull back and downshift is push forward. Some cars don’t do it like that and it drives me nuts…lol…I don’t use the paddles at all basically…

 

She disliked the automatic flappy paddles, so purchased a V6S with the ZF6 which is manual. We both have complete hatred of automatics.

 

Yeah, I can’t get on with the paddles either as I said above. I only use the sequential shift.

 

I read the article, the comments are well, interesting..

Jaguar has always been special, and with both meanings. Special as in uniquely fun, and maybe a little of that kind of special as in "special needs child".
But one thing is brutally clear, my 2017 F-Type S is a remarkably fun car. The 380HP supercharged V6 is such a weird engine, with its 2 missing pistons, and it can't match a 5.0 Mustang or Corvette in a drag race. What it can do is put a smile on my face every time I drive it because it has the correct driving feel, sound, ride, responsiveness and comfort a driving enthusiast desires. So few cars are made this way anymore. Like none. They are all numb. Drive the 'Vette to WalMart and it feels just like you are driving an Impala. And the 'Stang might as well be a Ford Fusion when driving around town, just boring and numb.

Jag had a great thing going. They blew it. BMW and Porsche each have their own strengths, for a time, Jag was a more interesting choice.

The F-Type exactly matches the song "Red Barchetta" in it's soul, even with that ZF auto! How in the world do you quantify that?