Having arrived locally in 2013, the Jaguar F-Type has established itself as one of the best looking and indeed, one of the most aurally pleasing sports cars on sale. Towards the end of 2019 Jaguar revealed an updated F-Type which features a controversial front-end design.
Recently, I was invited by Jaguar South Africa to the Jaguar Land Rover Experience Centre in Johannesburg to take part in a series of challenges in the new F-Type. The event was co-hosted by Hot Wheels who also had a variety of challenges for the journalists. I paired-up with Sunday Times motoring scribe Thomas Falkiner in an attempt to win the grand prize, an entry into the Defender Challenge.
Our enviable day started with the usual driver briefing, with the instructors asking us to please not park one of their shinny F-Types into a barrier while attempting to win. We would have 4 challenges ranging from a fuel economy run to drifting, while at each challenge station we'd have to summon our inner 8-year-old and compete in a variety of Hot Wheels challenges that proved tougher than we had ever imagined, never underestimate your children, folks.
Challenge 1: Fuel economy
I for one, don’t think of fuel consumption when it comes to the F-Type, especially the model used for the economy challenge, a 425 kW and 700 Nm supercharged 5.0-litre V8 now badged P575, replacing the outgoing SVR model. The task was simple, plot the shortest route while passing three pre-determined shopping malls. The team with the shortest route and best fuel economy would be awarded the most points. With Thomas behind the wheel, I witnessed a seasoned racing driver conserving fuel for the first time since I met him back in 2012. His light-footed approach netted us a figure of 11.5L/100km while my command of the Android Auto and Google Maps ensured that we had the shortest route.
Related: The ferocious 2020 Jaguar F-TYPE is here to tempt you with its charms!
Challenge 2: Drifting!
I was surprised that the team allowed us to take on a drifting challenge, however, I wasn’t going to say anything that might ruin my chances of sliding a V6 F-Type around. The challenge consisted of two parts, firstly a memory test, where we were presented with four gates made up of four different colour cones. The instructor would show us which colour gates to drive through in a specific sequence and we would have to remember as we proceeded. I cannot even remember what I ate for breakfast most of the time, so the most I could store in my brain was six colour sequences before I got it wrong. Both Thomas and I weren’t very good at this test.
We would have a chance to redeem ourselves though in the second part of the challenge, where we were tasked with drifting through 4 gates with the emphasis on having the car sideways at the moment we cross through each gate. With one practise run and two point-scoring rounds each, we managed to secure 27 out of a possible 30 points, only nicking one cone. The F-Type used for this challenge was my personal favourite, the supercharged V6, which seems to strike the best balance within the line-up, sending 280 kW and 460 Nm of torque to the rear wheels and making a truly fantastic sound while doing it.
Challenge 3: Slalom with a difference
After a Hot Wheels drag race where I realised that I may have a mildly unhealthy competitive streak, we were briefed on our next challenge, a slalom, but with a twist. We were handed the keys to another P575 F-Type and told that we'd be taking on a slalom, which sounded like fun until we were told that after doing it going forward, we'd have to reverse back through and park in the narrow section of cones where we'd started. If we wanted the maximum 50 points, we’d have to complete this challenged in under 32 seconds.
After an incredibly slow practice run by both of us, I decided to go all-out for my first timed run. I finished agonisingly close, at 32.14 seconds, securing 40 points for the team, but I knew that we could secure the full 50. My second run was timed at 28 seconds, but I stopped too far into the gate, disqualifying my final run. After the adrenaline had subsided, I had a chance to think about the agility of the F-Type. The all-wheel drive system, lack of any discernible body roll and potent V8 made the P575 an absolute weapon to take on the slalom with.
Challenge 4: Last of the late brakers
The final challenge of the day was a brake test where we’d have to accelerate hard and stop the car within a section of cones that were approximately 10 centimetres longer than the car itself, requiring perfect timing. This challenge had to be completed in less than 8.0 seconds. We used the same P575 F-Type for this challenge which showed us just how well it gets off the line despite not having a Launch Control system. Luckily, my teammate stopped with absolute precision, in 7.9 seconds, securing us the 50 points, concluding our activities for the day and leaving us anxious to get to prize giving.
Related: New vs used Jaguar F-Type: What are the top 4 differences?
Prize giving and model range introduction
We’d certainly earned our lunch at this point, but attended the prize-giving before we could gorge on the free food. Happily, Thomas and I managed to win the event, scoring 414 points to the team in second's 400. After a Bluetooth high-five, we gathered more information about the F-Type range. There are three engine options, both rear and all-wheel drive as well as the option of having a coupe or convertible, meaning that there are no less than 10 F-type variants to choose from.
Pricing
The entry-level P300 convertible is the most affordable within the range, coming in at R1 299 984* while the coupe comes in at just over R2 000 more. The flagship within the range is the P575 AWD which retails for R2 541 812* in convertible guise and R 2 543 612* in coupe guise. All models come with a 5-year/100 000 maintenance plan as standard.
* All prices were accurate at the time of writing and are subject to change without prior notice.
Related: Which Jaguar F-Type engine is better: 4-cylinder, V6 or V8?
Verdict
The competitive nature of the day meant that I split my attention between winning and getting a sense of what the new F-type is all about. I was happy to clinch the victory along with my teammate and look forward to competing in the subsequent Defender challenge that we have qualified for. That being said, I also look forward to spending a bit more time in the F-Type to get a more rounded view of what the updates have done for this Porsche 911 rival.
My brief stint in a few derivatives did allow me to ascertain that Jaguar has improved the product from a dynamic perspective and the interior has been brought back up to date. The styling of the F-Type continues to be a controversial topic and is likely to continue splitting opinions.
Recommended Next:
