Jaguar Club SG

By Andre Lam | The Straits Times | Tuesday, May 14, 2013

http://ride.asiaone.com/features/car-reviews/story/review-jaguar-f-type

It has been a while since Jaguar has had a proper sports car. The last project, in the early 1990s, was the XJ220 supercar.

And you should discount the XK-series, as those models are really more GT cars.

But with new owner Tata onboard, Jaguar seems to have rediscovered its mojo, and is now presenting to the world its testosterone-infused F-Type.

This new two-seater roadster will be pitted against open-top versions of the Porsche 911, Audi R8, Aston Martin V8 and Mercedes SL. Perhaps even the Ferrari California.

The F-Type has eschewed the gentle, curvaceous panels of the Jaguar E-Type. Instead, it has more aggressive, rakish lines, which would also lend themselves well to a possible coupe variant down the road.

The car is stunning. And it has the firepower to match its looks. Three engines are available initially: 340bhp V6, 380bhp V6S and 495bhp V8S.

All supercharged, they are front- mounted onto an aluminium chassis, driving the rear wheels.

It is slightly disappointing that the cars, despite being all aluminium, still weigh between 1,597kg and 1,665kg. But never once during the two-day test-drive does the weight affect dynamics adversely.

Our adventure starts with the 340bhp V6, which comes with a fixed-rate suspension and standard exhaust system.

The engine provides enough urge to entertain a new quick-acting, eight-speed ZF automatic. But the exhaust note is mild.

The steering is a variable-ratio type, with hydraulic instead of electric assistance as the engineers felt this was best for steering feel. In Dynamic mode, the steering feels a bit artificial but in Normal mode, the base F-Type feels fine.

The engine offers a hint of naughtiness near the redline. It gets to 100kmh in 5.3 seconds and has a governed top speed of 260kmh. The car is fun but not great.

Up next is the 380bhp, driven on the new Navara circuit. The car has an active sports exhaust (a must-have) and active damping, two things that completely transform the F-Type.

The exhaust rumbles and barks, just like you would expect of a proper sports car. And the active damping controls suspension and body movements to perfectly match steering inputs.

With an extra 50bhp, the car sprints to 100kmh in just 4.9 seconds.

It charges into corners with what sounds like machine-gun fire, revealing very little understeer. With a mechanical differential, powering out of corners is more controlled and less abrupt.

On the open road, the car is well balanced, with excellent power delivery.

The next car is something else. On paper, the 495bhp 5.0 V8 powers to 100kmh in 4.3 seconds, qualifying it as a true bruiser of a car.

The prospect of piloting this monster with a hefty front-mounted V8 on the mountain roads near here is daunting. But as it turns out, the car is actually very well sorted. Its steering is heavenly and its chassis responsive, and the car, on the whole, is very well planted.

This mighty supercharged V8 crackles and roars like no other street-legal Jaguar in history. It might even surpass Aston Martin for aural entertainment.

And despite its towering prowess, it is easy to drive sedately. But with just a few remaining hours with the V8 during the test-drive, no one will squander it on a slow drive.

It has so much power that without the car's electronic nanny, it would be just too dangerous to go feral on public roads. With an electronically controlled differential in place of the V6's mechanical differential, it is possible to send all the power to the outside wheel in a corner if necessary.

There is torque vectoring in all three variants, but the e-Diff makes for a most composed drive.

In the end, it is a toss-up between the V6S and the V8S, both delivering electrifying and ear-popping performance like no other Jag in recent history. In fact, the V8 would pass muster as an Aston Martin.

Look out for them when they arrive in Singapore next month.

stlife@sph.com.sg