Caught in the classifieds: 2016 Jaguar F Type V6
In this week’s “Caught in the classifieds”, I'm highlighting something a little bit more expensive than usual, but for a good reason. A second-hand Jaguar F-Type is not only one of the most desirable sports cars on the market, but it’s also one of the most affordable ways of getting into exotic car ownership.
Making its debut in 2013, the Jaguar F-Type was the company's spiritual successor to the legendary E-Type. Designed and built as a 2-door, two-seater Grand Tourer, the F-Type uses JLR’s D6A platform, that’s actually based on a shortened version of the XK's platform.
The F-Type is an excellent mix between an outright sports car and a comfortable Grand Tourer. Depending on trim level and the variant, you can specify an F-Type to be an extremely aggressive weekend or track car, or a cushy GT cruiser.
This particular example I'm highlighting today is a base model V6 F-Type that was built in 2016, and it currently has just 58,000 miles on the clock. Obviously, you can get the F-Type with an automatic, but since I prefer to focus on driving involvement and have a sneaky suspicion that manual cars will hold their value better, I've chosen a manual for this showcase.
Exterior
The Jaguar F-type is one of the most gorgeous cars on sale today. Masterminded by legendary car designer Ian Callum, the F-Type takes all of the elements which made the E-Type so great and further improves upon them, modernizing the design for the 21st century. This car looks stunning in photos, but it looks even more absurdly gorgeous in the flesh.
The F-Type’s front end is an excellent blend between aggression and elegance. It's got the long, sweeping bonnet, which makes it look longer than it actually is. The bumper has two air dams on either side, and a massive central opening to feed air to that V6 hiding in the engine bay. The vertical headlights look amazing too, rounding off the stunning looking front end.
If you look at it head on from the front, it genuinely looks like a pouncing big cat. Where the F-Type's design really excels at is at the back though. The F-Type has to be one of the most amazing looking cars from the rear three-quarter perspective. From the way the entire roof slopes back to the end of the car, the way the horizontal taillights neatly integrate into the rear quarter panels, to the way the central duel exhaust is mounted, it all just works.
From a design perspective alone, the F-Type is one of the most gorgeous cars ever made, even if price isn’t a factor. I should warn you though, that this is a car that attracts a lot of attention. If you want something understated which is able to fly under the radar, an F-Type is perhaps the wrong choice.
Interior
Inside, the F-Type is largely similar to the Jaguar XE and the Jaguar XF. That's not to say that it's bad, but it isn't particularly special or exciting, especially when compared to its incredible exterior.
That being said, the fit and finish inside the cabin is, for the most part, extremely good. Most of the materials feel premium and they're soft to the touch, and nothing squeaks or rattles, as you'd expect in a large GT car.
The rather bland looking dashboard is offset by the F-Type’s amazing driving position. You sit nice and low in the car so you feel connected to the chassis and the car’s every little movement going on beneath you. The three spoke steering wheel is exactly the right shape and size, and I'm a massive fan of the gear knob as well.
The pedals are perfectly spaced out for heel-and-toe in this manual equipped car, but the automatic version feels just as ergonomic and comfortable. The F-Type is obviously a two-seater so you don't get any rear seats, but the boot space is easily big enough for a weekend getaway for two people.
Engine and Performance
As I said before, this is a base F-Type V6, which means that it gets a 3.0-litre supercharged V6 producing 340 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque. It can hit 60 miles per hour in a shade over 5 seconds, and flat out you’ll be travelling at 161 mph. Although it doesn't sound too impressive on paper, I can assure you that even the base V6 F-Type feels astonishingly quick out in the real world.
In-gear acceleration is mega thanks to that supercharger providing instantaneous torque with no lag. The manual gearbox is a joy to use as well. The shifts themselves feel slick and the gears seem to pop in place easily. The brakes are strong too, but they're obviously not cut out for track work.
The F-Type has an amazing chassis. Most of the time it feels neutral and balanced, but you can obviously get the tail to step out if you're being extremely exuberant with your control inputs. The F-Type is a heavy car, weighing in at 1.6 tonnes, but even so it still feels quite agile. This isn't a car that masks its weight but rather one that works in conjunction with it.
It is, at the end of the day, more of a GT car than it is a lightweight sports car, but you can still have a lot of fun in the bends or on the occasional track day event.
Why buy one
If you're looking for a sports car/GT car that has an amazing exhaust note and it looks better than pretty much anything else on the road, just check out the used Jaguar F-Type cars for sale on DesperateSeller.co.uk. If you’re thinking of covering plenty of miles quite frequently, go for an automatic gearbox as it'll be more relaxing. Otherwise, for the money, there's nothing else that comes even close to the F-Type.
