Jaguar F-type coupe review, test drive

The coupé is arguably the better looking version of Jag's two-seat sportscar. We've come to Spain to see if it drives as well as it looks.

Published on Apr 27, 2014 03:30:00 PM

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Jaguar F-Type Coupe.

Snaking into the hills, it’s time to select the most aggressive Dynamic mode and press the Active Exhaust button. Under full throttle, the throaty rasp is loud and fierce, but lifting off is equally dramatic, with a delightful symphony of crackles, pops and burbles playing out on the overrun. Immense grip from the front tyres and a quick steering make it quite a ‘pointy’ car, yet the overall balance is quite neutral.

After a long morning’s drive in the mountains, we arrive at Motorland Aragon circuit, which with its variety of corners, is possibly the best track I’ve driven on after the Nürburgring. A quick guided tour of the circuit with a pro instructor later, it’s my turn to have a go – and since we're on a track, I've shifted from the V6 S to the range-topping 543bhp supercharged V8 R. These few hot laps are on-the-limit stuff for mere mortals like me, even in Dynamic mode with traction control on. The front-end grip is superb, but the rear fidgets about every time I mash the throttle. The brakes are absolutely brilliant with eye-popping stopping power, and with each passing lap, the instructor coaxes me to brake later and later. The Motorland circuit just highlighted how utterly involving and engaging a driving experience the F-type Coupé can deliver.

For the final phase of the drive, it's time to hit the rain-soaked roads once again, but this time in the F-type V8 R Coupé. The less-than-perfect conditions only highlighted how involving the coupé is to drive, although out here, I'm still working myself up to the added performance of the V8 R over the V6 S. It's not the power, or the 298kph top speed, or the 4.2sec claimed 0-100kph time – they're all pretty much par for the course these days – it's the way the performance is administered. Responses to every tiny input are so immediate and accurate, they make you feel wired directly to the car, and if you want to really push it, you'd better be concentrating.