We'll have to agree to disagree. I am a gear head. I like lots & lots of cars & have owned lots of different cars. All cars have flaws. I may love the F-Type after driving and I may say it's not for me right now. Either way, that's not because I am not solely wanting a "Jaguar". I could care less what badge is on a car if I enjoy driving it. I drive a Miata (My 3rd one actually) so I clearly don't care about image LOL

 

It seems like most of the comments against F-type so far are related to reliability. I don't know what to make of that having just come out of two Lexus cars into my F-type... I cross shopped all kinds of different cars, and checked out the message boards for some of the more serious contenders. I found that as problems go, the F-type forums are pretty quiet overall, with the only persistent problems that I remember being the clutch issue on MT cars, a lousy sounding stereo and some very rare issues related to the gluing and riveting of the body. Most of the other issues seem to have a TSB, known fix, fixed in production, etc. The AJ133 V8 is almost a 10-year old design, the automatic transmission is the ZF 8-speed that everyone uses.

Comparing to Lexus... I've only owned the car for two months, a lightly used '16 R. I'd say that the build quality of my Lexus IS cars were better (at less than half the MSRP) - things like the neatness, routing and assembly of wiring, quality of weatherstrip (mine is peeling away from the hatch opening, common problem), and some components are pretty flimsy like the housing for the cabin air filter and other possibly inconsequential bits. I was ready for this as all low-production cars tend to have their quirks - my friend's Ferrari included. They don't seem to benefit from the massive production experience of Toyota/Lexus.

I think there is a statistic like, the least reliable manufacturer today has fewer problems per hundred than the most reliable make had 10 years ago. What's going to make or break it for you is the quality of your dealership service, and whether problems or problem parts are being addressed by the manufacturer. If you're worried about the reliability, buy the newest model year you can afford CPO. The last thing you should be worried about in an F-type is driving enjoyment!

 

Why is the stereo bad? I need to be able to enjoy my tunes.

 

 

My 2 cents coming from somebody who sold a classic musclecar to get the F type (1970 440-6 Superbee that I restored myself) and I also cross shopped some of the cars you mention;

- regarding reliability, etc. the vast majority of the "issues" raised on this site are extremely minor IMO; minor things like panel fitment, interior trim, etc......Nothing that is worse than any other premium brand and the build quality and fit and fitment is what you'd expect and better than the "big three". I'm not trying to make light of problems that people have had but compared to other forums I participate on, they are typically minor. There are some common issues; electrical, battery/battery charging, complaints about the stereo, failure of the AC centre vent, a couple TSB's for a creaking shock, window felts holding dirt, etc. I've had my V8S for 2 years now and have zero issues. there have been a handful of castrophic engine failures; almost always due to an unproven 3rd party tune, reports of oil starvation, etc. Not statistically significant but enough (IMO) to caution about being the one on the "leading edge" of unproven upgrades/mods.

- there is not the aftermarket support you have with a 'vette or any other of the cars you mention; simply not the production to support it and the mindset of MOST Jaguar owners isn't that of a hot rodder (yes, with notable exceptions). If you want to modify the heck out of the car, you'll probably be happier with a 'vette.

- The V8S is a beast; much stronger and faster than the 495hp rating would have you believe. As Unhinged said, Velocity AP has a proven software upgrade to take you all the way to 600+ hp with zero hardware changes. All engine internals on all F type V8's are identical from the 495 V8S to the 575hp SVR and P7. The exhaust note is unique and almost unbelieveable.

- I wanted a reliable and powerful 2 seat roadster that I could use for weekend trips and cruising around in the summer; the V8S fit the bill perfectly. Unlike my other fast cars, this one can go from beast to pussycat by hitting a couple buttons making it far more versatile....my wife can easily drive it in the "granny mode" unlike my 440-6 car which she refused to even enter.

anyhow,
2 cents. Dave

 

Thanks a lot for the insight. This time around, I want something already modded (Go fast wise) or something fast from the factory I don't have to do anything, or very little, to make faster. The F-Type seems to fit the bill. I'd tune it & find some appearance mods to do & call it a day. I'd rather be driving than wrenching at this point.

I noticed some option packages in your sig. Is yours fully loaded? Trying to find out what options were available on the 2014-2015 cars so I can figure out exactly what I want.

 

I know exactly how you feel; I do enjoy wrenching but after spending 2000 hours on my last resto, I'm just done with that much work.....and I still have two motocycles to putter on.

AFAIK, my V8S has every available option with the exception of the lighted sill plates and heated windshield. .....I could add the sill plates fairly easily and the heated windhshield is worthless to me as I only drive the car for 6 months of the year.

Dave

 

How is someone who's never owned a Jaguar supposed to know whether or not they "want a Jaguar" if they've never experienced one? I'm in the same boat as the OP: a life-long gear head looking for his/her next ride. We've yet to drink the Jaguar coolaid. So what? Should we not consider the car because we've never owned one? If that was a qualifier, Jaguar would sell very few cars...

Personally, I was drawn to the looks of the car (who wouldn't be?) in spite of Jaguar's reliability reputation here in the U.S. I know people who've owned Jaguars (though admittedly, not recent models), and some of them aren't all that flattering of the brand, so the OP's concerns on that front, whether valid or not, are understandable.

I didn't begin seriously considering an F-Type until they released the manual model. Then, before the clutch issue even surfaced, I found out they used one of those weird rubber couplings on the driveshaft in lieu of a proper u-joint...and I was pretty much done looking. The final "nail" occurred for me at the Chicago Auto Show when I finally got to sit in an R coupe. I'm only 6'2", but surprisingly, I don't even fit in the car. I'm aware that everyone's MMV, so I wish everyone else much happiness with their F-Types. Possibly, the OP would be thrilled with one. It's just not going to work out for me.

 

 

Epic Post....

 

It's very possible that there's nothing wrong with that rubber coupling. They may be all "scienced out" by now, and that's fine. I don't understand the necessity for them, though. Absorbing driveline shock has traditionally be the job of the hub springs in the clutch friction disk. I haven't seen the friction disk used in Jaguar's troublesome clutch, but if they've eliminated the hub springs (why mess with something that works so well?), then I understand why they would have to provide for the shock absorbing function somewhere else downstream in the driveline. A close friend had a car back in the '70s that actually had both clutch hub springs and a rubber coupling on the drive shaft, and it was absolutely bizarre to drive...it felt as though the engine was connected to the rear tires with a rubber band, and that was with a fresh coupling installed. The rubber in the coupling will (and did) degrade over time, making things just untenable. A greasable (and greased!) u-joint will typically last the life of the car, with no slop allowed in the driveline. Perhaps my past experience has no relation to the current state of affairs, but the sight of that coupling brought back less-than-fond memories for me and raised doubt about Jaguar's current familiarity with manual transmission engineering...after all, how many manuals have they done recently? I've been wrong before and no doubt will be again, but the fact that the car is too cramped for me kind of makes the whole subject moot in my case, anyway.

 

All manufacturer's are on a quest to reduce NVH (noise, vibration and harshness)....to the vehicles' detriment IMO; more complicated and more things to fail. I have a fleet of diesel trucks, everything was fine with the clutches until they decided to add a dual mass flywheel to reduce NVH.....yep, they come apart eventually so I replace them with a good, old fashioned solid flywheel which costs money I'd rather not spend on work trucks....sigh. ....newer is not always better.

anyhow, carry on.

:-)

Dave

 

C'mon folks you're almost sounding apologetic about our cars. OP asks should I choose F type? Heck Ya! Drop dead looks, awesome sound, great performance, and now that they have been out a bit, a pretty impressive reliability record. Used R models are $60 K now, add a ,$1K tune and you have more performance than most will need or be able to use.

Drawbacks, sure a few, its heavy, has a tall cowl, just average stereo/infotainment. But at that price point, I'd take it over any of his other considerations.

 

As someone who just moved from a Porsche to the Jag, here is the story and my insights so far.
Loved the Porsche, thought I would never leave the brand. Went in to order a new one and was told delivery would be 4 months. So, stopped by the Jag dealer to look at a F-Type the next day for ***** and giggles. I had seen a few but never really gotten close to one. The VERY next day, I was about 100k poorer and owned a new F-Type. If you don't want to spend the money DO NOT GO FOR A TEST DRIVE.

I had my Porsche 5 years, very reliable with a just a few small common things going wrong that I repaired myself (hood elastics, window regulator, headlight, stereo, interior trim pieces peeling) but in the back of my mind the IMS and the Bore scoring were always there and those are catastrophic. Great car and great community.
Google Porsche issues and there are horror stories, Google Jaguar F-Type issues and people complain about speaker rattles, two very different types of concerns.

Yes the Jag is heavier, has less storage, doesn't drive as well and you feel less connected to it when driving then the Porsche did.

BUT, the Jag feels more special, has a way cooler interior and when you put your foot into it (and I only have the V6S) you absolutely forget all the negatives. It feels faster, it sounds faster, its more RAW and a little less balanced then a Porsche, almost feels like driving an older muscle car, and frankly I think I missed that feeling. Plus everyone that see's it LOVES the car, my "kids" are 22 and 26 and they think the Jag is 1000 times cooler than the Porsche, my daughter says she feels like a celebrity when she drives it. I have owned ALOT of cars from old Chargers and Mustangs to a Porsche, the F-Type makes me feel how I felt 35 years ago when I got behind the wheel of the old Charger, not many of todays cars can do that.

In the end I will drive this and enjoy the crap out of it and likely in the very near future add a used Boxster GTS into the spare garage bay, that way all my bases are covered. Good luck with your search.

 

You should've kept reading until you got to "manual transmission clutch issues"...

Your Porsche "horror stories" were in reference to flat six engine troubles, pre-2009. From '09 on, those Porsches have been very good.

 

Yep I had a 3.4 litre, problem was the Scored Bore issue took about 4 years to rear its ugly head, and typically Porsche has had a major issue with its engines ever since they went water cooled (and even some before) so I am not confident that the 991/997's won't have an similar issue come to light. Remember the early 2009's went though fuel pumps like oil filters. Also not to sound flippant (I am sure I would be pissed if my new car was spitting our clutches) but a clutch is a whole lot different than a 20k motor replacement.
Porsche builds a fantastic drivers/track car, but not the best for daily use. Speak to any specialty shop and you'll get the, don't take it for a short drive, don't let it lug, make sure the oil is to temp before pushing it, always drive it above 3000 RPM and on and on. I feel that with the F-Type I can head out for an all day tour or run to the store without the fear of destroying my 20K engine. Saying that I will likely have a Porsche again, because as a drivers car, nothing is better, BUT as a car to have a fun go in on a normal road the F-Type is hard to beat.

 

You do not choose the F-Type, the F-Type chooses you.

 

My personal experiences that when F-type is pushed into track duty it starts falling apart. It is a fast car for driving slowly.

If your use case doesn't involve motorsports, then F-type is rather reliable and comfortable machine. Superb SC engine, gorgeous sound, firm but not punishing ride, and drop-dead gorgeous looks.

If you hate the idea of "being seen" while driving it, avoid getting the F-type. It attracts the most attention (almost all positive) of any car I own/owned.

 

This is the best post in this thread.

I dunno... I feel great driving my V8 fast. And I've owned much more capable cars.

 

I don't (or haven't yet) tracked my F type, though I certainly drive it in a "spirited manner". Care to share what "fell apart" on yours - might help the rest of us keep an eye on things.

Cheers,
Dave