Jaguar F-Type: the E-Type lives on

(Image credit: Copyright David Shepherdshep@Davidshepherdphotographer.com)

published 28 February 2020

The hype surrounding the Jaguar F-Type when it was launched in 2013 was “palpable”, says Simon Davis in AutoCar. Here was one of Britain’s most revered sports-car marques launching its “first bona fide two-seat sports car in what felt like forever”. Its name explicitly marked it out as a “spiritual successor” to the legendary E-Type, and it took the fight to the likes of Porsche and its “formidable” 911. This new version doesn’t let us down either. It boasts “explosive straight-line performance and sports-car-like handling and stability” and, although it may not be as “technically capable” as some of its Porsche rivals, its “thuggish but charming sense of V8 character” makes it “the car I’d have”.

Jaguar has breathed new life into this heavily revamped model, says Steve Sutcliffe in Auto Express, and not only does it “look sharper, but it drives much better… with sweeter steering, a crisper chassis and… thundering performance to match”. The styling has been sharpened all round, with a “more aggressive but prettier overall look than before” and the car looks “wider and meaner”, with new 20-inch wheels that fill the arches “to perfection”. The car’s tech has also “been much improved”, offering both Apple and Android connectivity and a new ten-inch central touch screen. But “arguably, it’s the bits you can’t see that Jaguar has improved the most”.

Indeed, the F-Type’s V6 option has been “binned” and replaced with the 5.0-litre, supercharged V8 in the top-of-the-range model. That change has worked, says Matt Robinson on carthrottle.com. Power is kept to sensible-ish levels, meaning you can keep your foot down for longer before having to back off, and grip and traction levels are high, so the car “isn’t ever a handful to drive”. Compared with its competitors, the 2013 F-Type was begin to feel dated. The fact that you can compare the 2020 version “with a straight face” to the “current sports-car king”, the Porsche 911, shows how much better the latest F-Type has become, says Sutcliffe. “For personality, drama and sheer want-factor,” says Robinson, “you can’t help but be drawn to the F-Type.”