"carwitter" (carwitter)
06/22/2014 at 13:00 • Filed to: Jaguar, F-Type, S Coupe, V6, V6S, Ftype
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"carwitter" (carwitter)
06/22/2014 at 13:00 • Filed to: Jaguar, F-Type, S Coupe, V6, V6S, Ftype | 0
| 0 |
Having previously driven the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , we had to find out if the middling V6S setup was still the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! in the range.
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Our test car came in at £73,395 after having £13k of extras thrown at it. Most notable were the 20” Tornado alloys - £1,250, 770w Meridian Stereo - £1,700, Visibility Pack - £1,350, Extended Leather - £1,850 and the Panoramic roof at £1,250.
In S guise this F-Type puts out 374 BHP and 460 Nm of torque from its 3.0 litre V6 supercharged engine. 0-60 is dealt with in 4.8 seconds and it will go on to a top speed of 171 MPH.
As soon as you fire up that V6 you are welcomed by the smile inducing cacophony that only an F-Type can produce. It growls and crackles wonderfully, there is truly no other model of car on the market today that sounds as good as the F-Type!
In terms of the R coupe it is more subtle and less aggressive in its nature, but the soundtrack is still awesome. If you want to hush this big cat you can turn off the active exhaust, this closes a valve in the system which strangles the higher notes…we left it set to ON the whole time.
Putting your foot fully down provides ample acceleration, this thing really does fly. It also feels much sharper up front, taking it through winding country roads you can place it with more accuracy and get the power down slightly earlier than in the R coupe. No doubt this is due to the lighter engine up front, the S weighs only 56 KG less overall but it just feels more nimble through the corners.
Rattling through the gears is delightful thanks to the unflappable 8 speed ZF gearbox. For the majority of the time we left it in manual, keeping 1 gear below where we should be just to hear that group B style exhaust.
You still get the adaptive suspension which firms the ride up nicely and gives it a real sporting feel. When left in normal mode comfort levels are increased and the F-Type becomes more of a GT cruiser; don’t get me wrong it’s still firm but the damping becomes ever so slightly softer.
When pushing through corners the mechanical rear diff definitely helps, but did we notice a difference between this and the R’s fancy torque vectoring ‘electronic’ diff…not really!
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So, is the S still the sweet spot in the range?
It’s a lot trickier this time around…
You see the upped power of the R over the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , along with the revised suspension setup and technological wizardry means that the R is more powerful and more driveable than the V8S ever was. The power difference from the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! to the S is very noticeable, but then you look at the price…it’s not 25 grand’s worth of noticeable.
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The S packs enough punch with its 4.8 second 0-60, the R knocks off .8 of a second whilst adding 220 Nm of torque and an extra 168 BHP. But for me it simply isn’t worth that extra dough.
Plus, the V6 will save you some miles per gallon in the long term!
Carwitter Summary:
Jaguar F-Type S Coupe – Still THE one to buy in the range
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