Jaguar F-Type review

So the F-Type is wide, but it’s not especially cavernous inside to compensate. It never has been. And in truth, the tweaks feel lighter in here than on the outside.

Which we mostly rather like. We wouldn’t have bet a single pound on the interior ageing one iota as well as it has done, such were the flourishes applied to it when new. And yet it’s not dated at all in here, the joystick controller and toggle switches still fun to use and those ongoing model year changes meaning the media system is as modern as can be. And crucially, it speaks easily to all mainstream smartphones via Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity. Result.

Jaguar even went to the trouble of adding new digital instruments with numerous levels of customisation. But as ever with these things, if you like to drive briskly then a traditional pair of circular dials – one for revs, one for speed – is still best, making the whole effort seem a little in vain.

Upgrading from analogue makes switching between mph and kph simpler, though, so you can see why it probably helps cut costs when you’re trying to sustain sports cars in a tumultuous market. A movement we can all get behind.

Any elephants in the room? Perhaps just a baby one: we’re not convinced that JLR has nailed the F-Type from a build quality perspective. Even in 2023, a test car with only a few hundred miles on the clock developed an annoying rattle somewhere around the centre console. Meanwhile the glove box release button sounds cheap clunky; a panel above between the seats came away without much encouragement. Not a dealbreaker, but also not what you want to see on a car flirting with - or in some cases surpassing - a six-figure price tag. Some bigger storage cubbies wouldn’t go amiss either.

Oh, and the F-Type has always had infamously bad boot space – in convertible trim, chiefly – and a new set of lights, wheels and grilles can’t change that. So poke around one properly before buying, because it won’t swallow bags and cases with quite the aplomb of an equivalent Porsche. You’re looking at 132 litres in the drop-top, or a more respectable 336 in the coupe. Barely weekend away territory though, is it?