Jaguar F-Type Coupé: “It’s good to be…..superb”.

J. Lo apparently insured hers and Destiny’s Child even sung about theirs, but if ever there was a competition for ‘Rear of the Year’, Jaguar’s new F-Type Coupé is surely the most bootylicious of them all. Could this be the F-Type model to buy?

Jaguar new F-Type Coupé joins alongside last year’s Convertible model and is promised to be their most dynamic model yet. This makes choosing between them a daunting prospect. In favour of the Coupé is the £7,000 reduction in price when compared to the Convertible on a model for model basis and the added practicality that comes with offering a much bigger boot, meaning that unlike the Convertible, you won’t need to resort to vacuum-packing your luggage in order to go away for the weekend. The Convertible will undoubtedly blow away the cobwebs from behind your ears, but the Coupé with that perfectly proportioned posterior will make grown men weep every time they clap eyes on it.

The range starts with the £51,250 F-Type Coupé which uses a 3.0-litre V6 Supercharged engine (340 PS) which is connected to an excellent ZF 8-speed automatic gearbox (complete with steering wheel paddles) offering effortless performance. The 0-60 mph sprint is taken care of in a swift 5.1 seconds and there’s nothing entry-level about an electronically top speed limited to a 161 mph.

The car pictured here is the F-Type S Coupé, which starts from £60,250. In return for the £9,000 increase over the entry-level model, Jaguar undertake some electronic wizardry to the same engine to up its power to 380 PS which reduces the 0-60 mph time to 4.8 seconds and increases the top speed to 171 mph. The ‘S’ also offers more powerful brakes, sports suspension, a louder exhaust and a limited slip differential for those of us who like to wag our tails when driving. The flagship R Coupé offers a 5.0-litre V8 Supercharged engine (550 PS) which could corrupt even the most saintly of individuals such is its power to lure you over to the dark side. Hang on tight and the 0-60 mph dash is dispensed in a Jaguar’s whisker under 4.0 seconds whilst the top speed is raised to a prison-sentence-in-waiting 186 mph.

Our test car came festooned with over £13,000 worth of extras, giving rise to the suspicion that Jaguar has just completed a stint at the Porsche finishing school of expensive options. Options of note were the Performance Seats (£1,450), the Panoramic Roof (£1,250) and the 12 speaker, 770 watt Meridian Surround System (£1,700). Consider yourself suitably warned about treading lightly down the spec sheet when putting together your perfect F-Type.

The options on our F-Type were undoubtedly expensive but they were a textbook example in good taste and sophistication. The metallic paint (Dark Sapphire £700) and upgraded 20 inch wheels (Tornado Silver £1,250) emphasised those fine lines and the public verdict was unanimous wherever we went. We were let out of junctions, given the thumbs up multiple times and had people begging us for the keys. Try driving another £75,000 sports car, from I don’t know, Stuttgart perhaps and see if you are afforded the same courtesy.

The Coupé also benefits from the same designer touches as its Convertible cousin, including the recessed door handles that pop out to greet you when the car is unlocked, the Jaguar script a-la-E-Type which sits atop the retractable rear spoiler and the chromed Jaguar side vents.

On the note of that spoiler, it rises at speeds of over 70 mph and stays extended until you dip back below 40 mph and is a necessary evil to maintain high-speed stability. But please, never park your F-Type Coupé and manually extend it, otherwise I will personally have you tried for crimes against humanity in destroying that pristine teardrop shape.

Climb on board and again those £13,000 worth of options feel well spent with an airy cockpit thanks to the light Mineral leather and optional glass panoramic roof (£1,250) which bathes the interior in light. Fit and finish is top notch with perfect panel fit and arrow straight contrasting stitching. Gold accents to the starter button and steering wheel paddles, along with the tactile rotary heating and ventilation dials finish the job in making the interior feel suitably special.

The sports car setting is emphasised by the interior design which favours the driver and helpfully provides the passenger with a grab handle to hold on tight. The Performance Seats also completes the scene, adjusting in all manner of ways whilst providing optimum support no matter how hard you drive.

One of the advantage of the F-Type’s supercar like dimensions is that it allows plenty of space between driver and passenger, providing that perfect balance between cosy and intimate. It is not all perfect though, with some material choices feeling decidedly low-rent, the flimsy cup-holder storage tray for example would feel out of place in a Ford Focus, let alone a £75,000 Jaguar. The steering wheel paddles should also be solid metal as opposed to the rubberised plastic you get in here. Details like this Porsche will always get spot-on and Jaguar do need to raise their interior consistency to match those ruthlessly efficient Germans.

The centre touchscreen is used for all of your information and entertainment purposes and many complain that it is slow to operate, but I personally found that it worked well, connecting my phone with ease and allowing me to play DJ to my hearts content. The graphics do need to be upgraded though, but I hear that a new system will be offered shortly.

If you have read the reviews on the F-Type Convertible you will know that it is a proper sports car, so the promise of the Coupé being a notch above thanks to its stiffer construction is an enticing proposition. In truth you would be hard pressed to tell the difference though in day to day driving. There is a subtle difference with the Coupé seemingly offering a better connection with the road which gives you the confidence to push it that little bit harder. Turn-in to corners seems more planted when compared to the Roadster too. But the overwhelming character of F-Type is the engine. This particular iteration of the Supercharged V6 is a masterpiece, offering a creamy power delivery with a noise that like a fine wine assaults the senses, with undertones of classic E-Type straight six, a hint of muffled supercharger whine, finished off with a delightful 21-gun salute from the canon sized exhausts at the rear. As theatre goes it could put on its own show in the West End!

The steering is quick and responsive and thanks to the relatively light aluminium construction, blesses it with a nose that is always eager to attack the next bend. Never mind Strictly, this is your perfect dance partner and the interaction between steering and throttle means you quickly fall into a nice flow as you glide from bend to bend. Jaguar offer three driving modes to suit your mood: Normal, Dynamic and Winter. Normal is the F-Type’s default setting, switching to Dynamic mode turns the dashboard dials the same colour as the devil sitting on your shoulder, stiffens the suspension, turns the exhaust note up to 11 and quickens the throttle response. Winter mode is for difficult driving conditions and restricts the F-Type’s power delivery to improve traction.

The Coupé is not all show and go though, as when it comes to slow, the brakes are superb in feel and particularly resistant to fade too allowing you to use their full brute force time and time again. The 8-speed automatic gearbox is f-for-fabulous and even for me, who prefers his sports cars of the manual variety, it was hard to not be persuaded by its swift execution. Gear changes are lightening fast and in keeping with the theatre, the throttle is blipped every time you down-shift resulting in more artillery fire from the exhaust. It can function as a manual too holding on to the gear for as long as you dare in Sport Dynamic mode, even bouncing off the rev limiter if you want to play real hooligan.

Do not think of the F-Type Coupé as simply a modern version of the XK model, this is a proper sports car and the ride is firmer than you first may imagine. For some traditional Jaguar customers it may be too much, but many will find it an acceptable trade off in return for the exemplary body control and superb handling.

Unless you really want to feel the wind in your hair, this is the F-type to buy. It is cheaper than the Convertible, offers more luggage space and looks even better. It is not cheap, but looks good value when measured against an Aston Martin Vantage which is more expensive and an older car. When measured against a Porsche Cayman, on first sight it may seem expensive, but the F-Type remember offers the comparative performance of the 911 not the Cayman.

The V6 S model tested here is undoubtedly the sweet spot of the range and the model we recommend. As the current marketing slogan says “It’s good to be bad” and the F-Type certainly corrupts with its combination of addictive power and laugh out loud noise. It has a character to make every journey an event and offers all of this in a body that oozes desirability. It is not only the best driver’s car that Jaguar currently makes, it is one of the best driver’s car currently on sale today. Never mind bad, it is superb.

© Nick Johnson Motoring Writer, Road Test Reviewer & Car Consultant.