The soft-top roof is designed to keep
unwanted noise at bay and considering its massive footprint an average in-cabin
dB reading of 77.9dB is pretty remarkable. Certainly it's tolerable, and
there's always the cackle of the engine on the overrun to listen out for. Not
all noise is nasty.
In
keeping with the F-Type’s hat-tip to the past, some climate functions are tied
to toggle switches beneath the vent controls
In terms of set-up for speed, there's not a
lot to do. Select active exhaust in town; you want it to sound as special as it
looks. Attacking a hill, go for Dynamic mode where everything's primed for
action. Touch the ESP button for the half-off setting if you dare. Once you're
set, you merely need to steer and switch between brake and gas pedals because
the eight-speed auto is genius, slurring gears so perfectly, there's no point
"quick shifting" with paddles.
Can this thing rock? For sure! Think the
front end grip of a 911 but with a wayward tail you never get, except by
accident. There's so much torque at middling revs the rear can literally be
wagged at your beck and call, and it's all so predictable. Not that rear grip
is lacking; it's just modifiable. This is low, wide and rubbered to the hilt.
It's rigid to boot and all, with no shaking or shimmying up front. And the
active damping ensures an even ride. It's firm for sure - dammit, it's a
sportscar Jim- but progress is agreeably civilised, even at town speeds. And
body lean is negligible, especially on the dynamic setting.
The
engine note cycles through a rumble, roar and scream as the speed rises
Steering, praise the lord, is hydraulic,
and tasty, though not quite as transparent as some of Jaguar's previous
offerings. Quick but, and utterly vice-free. Jaguar makes concessions to
frugality by fitting idle-stop. It rates the V8 S at 11.1L/100km overall.
Driven with any intent, and you're looking at 15 point something which seems
acceptable, given this crosses country in the way that onlyV12s seem capable of
doing, taking in vast tracts of land at speed with the engine barely ticking
over. The tank empties at a fair rate but then the car is generally travelling
at a fair old rate too.
Luggage space is limited. There's just l96L
available in the shallow boot, enough for a couple of soft bags (forget the
golf clubs chum), and few spots are left for oddments after you've filled up
the drinks and door map holders, and tiny centre bin. There's a bit of room for
skinny bags to get lost behind either seat. Never mind because once you've got
the roof down- it takes literally l2sec and can be done on the move up to
50km/h - you'll quickly forget about such issues and will be reveling in the
sonic murmurings from behind. It's a rousing serenade. In a tunnel, mesmerising.
Rear
spoiler deploys at high speeds to generate up to 120 kg of down force to help
the Jag stay grounded. It can also be deployed manually and has two settings
for the driver to choose from
It has been quite a year for convertibles,
with the new Boxster and now the new F-Type, both brilliant in their own
rights. One is lightweight, clinical, dashing, the other more engaging
emotionally, and fearsomely quick.
We rate the new Jaguar F for Fabulous, and
it's arguably the company's best car yet. Not only is this one of the world's
best sounding production cars but it's also amongst the quickest, despite being
a touch heavier than ideal. They say the other S model is worth a test drive
too, its 50kg lighter V6 engine adding a touch of extra turn agility. Bet it
don't sound as good though.
