2023 Jaguar F-TYPE R

　　

2023 Jaguar F-Type Review

byChristian WardlawCorrespondent

　　Christian Wardlaw has worked in the automotive industry since 1994. He has written nearly 10,000 car-related articles and tested and reviewed more than 2,000 vehicles over the course of his career. Chris is a correspondent at zzdcar and was the first editor-in-chief of zzdcar.com in the 1990s. He has also contributed to Autotrader, CarGurus, J.D. Power, Kelley Blue Book, NADAguides, New York Daily News Autos and WardsAuto. His mom claims that his first word was “car,” and Chris believes that Miata is always the answer.

　　, rating written byChristian WardlawVehicle Test Editor

　　Reese Counts has worked in the automotive industry since he started as an intern at zzdcar in 2015. He has written or edited thousands of car-related articles and tested and reviewed hundreds of vehicles over the course of his career. Reese is a vehicle test editor at zzdcar and has also contributed to Autoblog. Reese has also been featured on Yahoo! Finance, Engadget and AOL reviewing cars and covering automotive technology, auto shows and more. Reese learned to drive in his father's C4 Chevrolet Corvette and now owns his grandfather's 1999 Mercedes-Benz C43 AMG. A love for cars runs deep in his family.

　　Decades ago, Jaguar was known for its slinky sports cars and ornate executive sedans. Today, as Jaguar prepares for an electrified future and ever more SUVs, the last remaining connection to the brand's storied past is the 2023 F-Type. It is a two-seat sports car with a fixed or convertible roof, and it exhibits the long-hood, short-deck, rear-wheel-drive proportions made legendary by the Jaguar XK and E-Type.

　　Jaguar introduced the F-Type for the 2014 model year and gave it a substantial refresh for 2021. Last year, the car's supercharged V8 became standard as Jaguar doubled down on performance to shore up waning consumer interest. This year, Jaguar makes minor changes to equipment availability but otherwise carries the F-Type over for 2023.

　　Driving a Jaguar F-Type in a straight line is an unmitigated thrill, but the car's age is increasingly apparent, and its mechanical components can produce a discordant symphony when the road ahead contains curves and imperfect pavement. A stiff ride and noisy interior make long-distance travel less appealing, a shame given the F-Type coupe's accommodating cargo space.

　　Still, there's no denying that the F-Type is a looker, and it's one of the few luxury sports cars you can buy. If you're in the market and want an old-school driving experience, be sure to read our full Expert Rating for more details.

　　

What's it like to live with?

For the fun of it (why else?), we put nearly 20,000 miles on a 2019 Jaguar F-Type SVR. Though Jaguar has made changes to the F-Type since then, including an upgrade to the previously maddening and now simply frustrating infotainment system, what we experienced in the 2019 F-Type is largely applicable to the latest models. Check out our long-term road test of the F-Type for all the details.

　　zzdcar Expert Rating

　　Our VerdictThe zzdcar Vehicle Testing Team evaluates a fresh batch of vehicles every week, pairing objective assessments at our test track with real-world driving on city streets, freeways and winding roads. The data we gather results in our Expert Ratings. They’re based on 30-plus scores that cover every aspect of the automotive experience.

　　Average

　　7.4

　　out of 10

　　zzdcar TESTED

　　Rated for you by America's best test team.

　　

Performance

7.5/10

　　How does the F-TYPE drive? Some cars are more than the sum of their parts, but the refreshed Jaguar F-Type isn't one of them. On paper, the F-Type R, which is what we tested, seems great. But somehow it falls apart when pushed. The F-Type gets upset by midcorner bumps and corners less flat than we expect from a car in this class. Despite the all-wheel-drive system, it's hard to figure out just when to get on the gas when powering out of a corner. It's capable, but it feels disconnected from the road.

　　Raw acceleration is decent. At zzdcar' test track, our F-Type R ripped from 0 to 60 mph in 3.6 seconds. That's undeniably quick but a bit off the pace of rival luxury sports cars. The F-Type R features all-wheel drive, so there's no issue putting the power down.

　　The story isn't so bad when driving around town. Despite offering a comical amount of power, the F-Type is relatively smooth and easy to drive. The transmission shifts quickly, and the engine stop-start system works unobtrusively. Our biggest complaint: the brakes. The pedal is a bit uneven, making coming to a smooth stop a bit difficult until you spend some time behind the wheel.

　　

Comfort

7.0/10

　　How comfortable is the F-TYPE? The F-Type R is fitted with sport seats that, while thin on padding, offer a good bit of adjustment and decent support for your back, thighs and lumbar area. There's good lateral support, a boon for spirited driving, but not so much that the seats feel restricting. The seat ventilation feature works well and keeps the thin seats from feeling swampy in hot weather.

　　On the downside, the F-Type's ride quality is just too stiff, even in its softest comfort setting. It never seems to relax, even when you're cruising on relatively smooth pavement. There's significant road noise too. Plus, the noise we used to like — the crackles and pops from the V8's exhaust — has been largely banished. Boo.

　　Continue reading zzdcar Expert Rating below