I am thinking about upgrading my 2015 XK convertible to an F-type. XK now has about 70,000 miles and is getting expensive to maintain. I tested the P380 and loved its performance and finely tuned singing voice. P380 was much faster than my 5.0 V8 in the XK. I imagine the P340 would be as well. Something just doesn't seem right about a Jag in a 4 cylinder. What is your experience with the performance?

 

Really depends on what you expect and what you compare to. My experience is that it's pretty fast for public road driving but coming from the XK and P380 you'll be disappointed, above all by the lack of character and sound compared to the V8 and supercharged engines. Especially since you seem to appreciate the fabulous voice of the V6 which to some is the best sounding version of the F-Type. There's plenty of youtube videos out there about the P300 and test drive one if you can.

It's still a nice car but with all due respect to the P300 I have to agree that something isn't right about it being fitted in the F-Type. To me the F-Type is all about character and power, which the 2 liter turbo doesn't really have so it doesn't quite match the rest of the car... such a ubiquitous engine type just doesn't match such a special type of car. It's a decent engine alright but to me a 2 litre turbo 4 cylinder with around 300 horses is an engine type that belongs in other classes of cars - cheaper simpler Japanese sports cars like the Miata or sporty versions of hot hatches like the VW Golf, BMW 1 series, MB A class and the likes. The V8 and V6 engines with their character and power fit the F-Type so much better, even if you don't care about outright speed. Having said that, there are parts of the world where the P300 makes much more financial sense mainly for tax reasons and if I lived in such a place I probably wouldn't mind having a P300.

 

Thanks for the reply. I'm not really a speed demon I mostly just love Jaguar for its head turning looks. P300 certainly has that. I am buying used so I am somewhat at the mercy of what the market has to offer. There are not a lot to chose from. In the end it will be somewhat of an algorithm of year, color, milage, engine size and price.

 

I had one for 3.5 yrs as a daily and it was fast enough and a ton of fun on curvy roads. I traded it in for a 2023 v8 because I got a lot for it as a trade in and the offer was too good, otherwise I was totally fine with the P300. I wasn't a fan of how it sounded though so I did put a Ragazzon exhaust on it, which made it a lot better, other than that it was perfectly fine.

 

Asking if a P300 is fast enough would be like asking if your girlfriend is hot enough.

I believe most people here would never have considered a 4 cyl in this car [although it obviously works for some]. With the market the way it is now, you can obtain a really nice base 6 cyl for not so much money and easily upgrade it with a tune [as many of us have done]. Then you end up with the best of all worlds [unless you want to go all in with the v8].

 

The V6 is the best sounding of them if you like F1 screaming engines. If you like Detroit muscle, the V8 is the best sounding.

I lean F1. Neither is cross plane crankshaft good...but to me the V6 is more unique. They actually did an amazing job with both but had to do more engineering I suspect on the V6 to get it so good.

Two years before I bought my car I remember clearly seeing and hearing a dual midline exhausted F-type drive by and down a shopping zone where I was walking. It was amazing. Just amazing. YouTube videos don't do it justice and many have a hard time imagining a "lowly" v6 sounds better than a V8....I just have Mustangs, Camaros and normal Corvettes all over so to me the V8 is seen and heard that x 100. The V6 is just unique in only good ways. VAP makes the V6 go up to 550hp....with a matched TCU zf8hp70 tune you are going at crazy speeds fast in a lighter and shorter geared car (the V6 and 4 have shorter gears than the V8's...something to note....).

Did a drive last week and pulled into a Shell at the end of the drive to refuel - it is a well priced location locally. A GT4 that had been behind me pulled in....woman got out and stated that my F type was the best sounding car she had ever heard. Told her it was stock. Not sure if she believed me...it is pre-particle filter..

In contrast, the turbo acts like a muffler.


And there you have it.

 

Buy 340 at least for the sound and feel.

 

This! Couldn't agree more about the sound. It's just insane what the Jaguar engineers achieved with the sound of the AJ126 and stock exhaust. And I should add that I absolutely love Detroit muscle and the sound of a proper V8 like the AJ133 but prefer if it comes from something lardier like the XK, XF or XJ rather than an F-Type. Kind of like as if Anastacia sounded like Barry White... awesome voice but maybe not from that body.

Also reminds me of one difference between the US and Europe - in the US wherever you go you're basking in nice V8 rumble whereas over here it's pretty unusual.

Anyways if you don't care about the sound and prioritise the looks the P300 might be fine. Many of the P300s I've seen have tended to be a bit poverty specced so you might have to at least upgrade to better looking wheels. The best example I've seen is a member in Ireland if I recall correctly who did an amazing job on the exterior of his red P300.

 

Does the P300 have lower maintenance costs? I've found that while current Jag models are pretty reliable, the performance parts are very expensive. Could I assume with the lower performance spces, the the p300 might be cheaper upkeep?

 

Unless you're very unlucky, you won't need much in the way of parts replacement. My main expenses have been fuel and tyres, obviously the P300 will be easier on fuel.

 

I was mainly after the style and appointment of the car. I test drove the p300 and it was more than fine for road driving, I loved that I could spec it just as I wanted regardless of the engine. Unfortunately for me they stopped bringing it to Aust before I could buy one so I ended up with a used v6. I’m not upset at all but I think my spec looked better and my wallet would be happier with the 4. The cops are richer because I got the v6….

 

"Beautiful" comes at a price in this world, be it people, homes, cars, whatever...

You need to sit down and factor in the best, average, and worst case scenarios [from regular yearly maintenance to a blown engine] and what that would mean for you financially, i.e., are you willing to [can you afford to] take the risk? If you don't have the resources to deal with a blown engine, you probably shouldn't be considering a car like this [unless you hedge with a robust extended warranty plan].

Same goes with all the other beautiful examples...for example, a beautiful woman will cost you thousands without doing anything at all!

 

What's with this scaremongering about blown engines? Or is this general advice for anyone buying any car? Jaguar engines are no more prone to "blowing up" than other makers. The F-Type is my fourth Jag - the first one (XK8) had 60,000 miles, the second 92004 XKR) 90,000 miles and neither showed any signs of blowing.up. I don't expect my F-Type to blow its engine, either.

 

I am not scarmongering. Let's say he goes ahead and buys an F-type and through no fault of his own [or if it was], the engine blows. It happens. I am just saying that anybody who buys a car like this needs to factor in a worst case scenario. What would he do?

It's not like we are governments and can just go down in our basements and print 20 grand. People need to be responsible and plan for all reasonable scenarios. Better that then be looking at a major repair bill with a buck and half in your savings account.

 

I have no ownership experience of the P300 but I'd say most likely. Fuel costs won't be much different. Maybe it's because they're pretty rare and haven't been around as long as the bigger engines but I can't remember seeing any cases of P300s having the common expensive coolant system issues or injector issues that the others may have. I'd also guess that the P300 is less prone to frying the O2 sensors and cats over time - the price we pay for those crackles and pops.

 

No bore scoring issues with these cars.

No bmw "bearing" issues.

They do have plastic coolant tubes that need replacing for about 800 dollars.

Etc. All cars, even Toyota and Honda cars, have issues and cost money to run. Our "indestructible" Honda CRV had a heater core clogging up issue that was not fun to deal with....dealers have a bunch of these sorts of small but mighty issues for all cars ever made afaik.

In my case, I swapped all the tubes to metal in the coolant system. Voila, no worries at all. 800 dollars. Bombproof. I change my own oil every 3-4k miles. Factory spec oil -

The car has been super reliable. Cars cost money to run. A 100k when new car often costs more than a 20k when new car...supply and demand. In the end, I use the same oil, the filer on the Jaguar is cheaper than the VW and about the same as the Honda filter. The V6 if driven for hypermiles gets abotu 33mpg going 70 in my case on a flat road...

It has even been pretty gentle on the tires.

 

I'd say that if gas mileage is part of your decision process, you can't afford the car. Not that it's bad - I just got 30+ mpg on my Thanksgiving trip, but I had to go out and check to know the answer. It's just that it's nickel and dime stuff in the overall cost equation of owning a premium car. And, it's not likely you're going to driving it 50k miles/year. Meanwhile, I'd agree that catastrophic failures are rare - but if it would take your lunch money to deal with one, I'd suggest going back to talking about gas mileage and buy a Toyota.

 

Nothing is fast enough.

 

So we should all drive nothing?

 

I disagree on two counts...

1. If you drive some of the muscle cars of the late 60's very early 70's, those cars were "too fast." Go straight, you're ok, try to corner at speed and you're going to get quite intimate with the guardrail.

2. It's all about balance. How many double A rechargeable batteries can you pack into a car? So you can make it go 0-60 in .1 sec? A great car is great because the power and handling capabilities are in sync. This is why GT3RS's and GT2RS's are what they are.

Our F-types are almost a perfect blend of style, power, and agility.