Jaguar F-Type R - long-term review

I wouldn’t say that I’m generally a believer in the supernatural, but I am now absolutely convinced that I’m being haunted by better specced Jaguar F-Types.

Quick caveat. I know that I am extremely lucky to be running a new V8-engined coupe as a daily driver in 2024. They are a rare breed. And yet the one thing that has been bugging me is the finish of this particular F-Type.

I touched on this in the very first report, but it’s my opinion that a sports car should be painted in a bright colour combo with silver wheels. Heck, you bought the thing to have fun, right? The combination of Carpathian Grey paint and gloss black wheels could work if you were trying to design a discreet Range Rover (where this exact shade of grey is an £865 option even on Autobiography trim), but the F-Type deserves a shouty look.

Interestingly though, if my recent ghostly sightings are representative of all F-Types, then it would seem that throughout most of its time on this earth buyers have been brave with their colour choices. In a matter of weeks, I was passed in traffic by a first-gen F-Type R in that wonderful Firesand Orange finish, then spotted an Ultra Blue convertible parked around the corner from a holiday cottage, and finally bumped into a chap selling Armani jackets out of the boot of his V6-engined Italian Racing Red coupe at a London market. I applaud his entrepreneurial spirit and his taste in British sports cars. It is often the case that once you start thinking about a particular car you start to see them everywhere, but I’m starting to think that this is more than a coincidence.

To see if it’d make much difference, I had ‘our’ F-Type cleaned and detailed this month, and I have to admit that the wheels are greatly improved with a little bit of shine on them. Unfortunately - and barring the last week of blazing sunshine - we seem to be having the wettest summer since records began, so it’s not all that easy to keep the grime away. Plus, I’m still not sold on the design of these 10-spoke 20-inchers – they remind me too much of an old Tesla Model S wheel.

Unfortunately, since TG took delivery of its long-term test car, Jaguar has removed the option to spec up your own new F-Type on its UK website as it prepares to kill off its two-seat sports car. Although it’s worth noting that at the time of writing there’s a single, four-pot Caldera Red convertible and one V8 Bluefire Blue coupe up for sale as brand-new stock. Act fast, folks.

Anyway, that’s my vain rant over, and hopefully now that I’ve treated the Jag to a little bit of polish the paranormal events will pass to someone who specced a black on black Aston Martin Vantage. Back to enjoying that V8…

So, good points discovered of late? Well, said V8 seems to have settled in nicely, and since ticking over 2,000 miles I’ve seen the miles per gallon steadily climb. On a longer motorway run outside of London it’ll easily do above 25mpg. Not bad for 5.0-litres and a supercharger. Oh, and it turns out that the ride quality isn’t just impressing me from the driver’s seat. When photographer Jonny Fleetwood took these wonderful shots he was delighted with how it flowed down a road. It’s much easier to get a sharp shot of a settled car. The new BMW 520i that we were taking pictures of on the same day was all over the place. Admittedly the 5 Series was in M Sport spec, but it’s still a big, German luxo-barge so I’d say that’s a pretty big compliment for the Jag.