Jaguar F-Type S: a beauty queen everyone loves

OVERALL, the Jaguary F-Type S is sexy, enchanting and flirtatious. The front, however, is all aggressive.

OUR PREFERENCES are often shaped by our exposure and environment. As many keen observers might have noticed, I’m very much a disciple of Zuffenhausen, loving all things boxer rear-engined, RWD or AWD. I seriously think Porsche 911s are the greatest thing since sliced-bread or Japanese rice.

Recently, I was lent the keys to Jaguar’s F-Type S. It’s a very sensual, very feminine looking car that’s shaped somewhat like a cigar boat: sleek, svelte, but with lots of mild curves, swage lines and subtle scallops.

The rear’s slit taillights look like a peek at a sultry siren’s underpants. Yes, I know I need to go out more. Overall, the F-Type’s profile is sexy, enchanting and flirtatious.

The front of the Jag however, is all aggressive: The gaping radiator grill chills the mighty supercharged V6 engine, mounted front midship for better weight balance (the engine is mounted behind the steering gear like BMW’s, which improves the overall handling, braking, traction and steering dynamics), which in this case, delivers a massive 380 horsepower and 460 Newton-meters of torque to the rear wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission.

While 380 HP might not seem much in a world where 700 HP is becoming somewhat common, the F-Type’s hyperactive automatic, coupled with the all-aluminum chassis, helps propel it to 100 kilometers per hour from rest in 4.8 seconds, and crucially makes it feel like it has over a hundred “horses” more, hidden somewhere in its classy chassis.

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves here.

Bi-xenon headlamps illuminate the road at night, with LED daytime running lights help improve visibility when the sun is really up and about.

The suspension is a double-wishbone front and multilink rear utilizing all-aluminum components as well. Aluminum suspension bits help reduce unsprung weight (that is, the weight of the car unsupported by the suspension system).

Lowering unsprung weight vastly improves ride comfort, which, especially in a Jaguar, is very important, as the Jag is meant to be an all-around sport GT, not just a cruiser or a track addict. In the ideal scenario, the F-Type should be able to do quite a bit of both.

Adjustable rear dampers allow the driver to fine-tune the ride comfort or adjust it for a stiffer ride on the track. In total there are 25 different modes of adjustment for the suspension, engine, transmission and steering to suit most moods and most drivers.

INSIDE, it’s definitely on the intimate side: rich leather seats with a faint smell which borders on S&M.

Thinsulate specialized insulation gives impressive NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) isolation, allowing just the right sort of sexy sounds when you press the sports exhaust button to permeate into the cabin, which is somewhat amplified by the hatchback rear.

Inside, it’s definitely on the intimate side: rich leather covers the seats, door sidings and dashboard, and with it, a faint smell which borders on S&M.

You don’t realize it yet, but the F-Type has a wild side waiting to be unleashed.

A three-spoke steering wheel with a flat bottom greets you. Adjust it for reach and rake, and fiddle with the paddles behind it to actuate the eight-speeder manually.

On the steering wheel itself, the spokes house buttons for the multimedia system. The standard audio system has a 330-watt system across seven speakers, while the optional Meridien sound system delivers an even more ear-shattering 780 watts through 12 speakers.

In a bid to move forward, Jaguar has modernized the interior. First to go was the infamous J-Gate, which really looked like a relic from the past.

In its place is a conventional gear shift lever; slot it into the left and you have a sequential lever to select gears if the flappy paddles aren’t your thing. An engine start/stop button in bronze-maroon is beside it as well as an electronic switch for the parking brake, drive mode selector, the rear spoiler which pops up automatically at speed (or by the press of a button pops out anyway), a sports exhaust button (which adds some sexy growling noises to the experience), and the on/off switch and volume control for the multimedia system. All these buttons are framed in faux carbon fiber.

Interestingly, a grand handle for the passenger is included, perhaps when the excitement gets a little out of hand and your passengers need to brace themselves for the pleasure that the F-Type provides.

Get in, adjust the wing-backed sport seats nice and low, set the steering wheel level to your arms and shoulders, press the starter button and prod the throttle. A faint growl emits from the exhaust tips.

Press the sports exhaust button and the growl gets louder, raspier, wilder and more aggressive, like an angry cat in heat. This is gonna be exciting!

As I ease myself out in traffic, the rarity of the Jaguar, versus the usual Porsche 911/Ferrari/Lamborghini means it turns heads like no other car on the road.

The F-Type might be much cheaper, simpler and have a lower overall performance potential, but in terms of sexiness, it’s right up there.

The F-Type is also hyperactive: The throttle is twitchy almost to a fault, the brakes slightly overassisted and the steering is light. No doubt, Jaguar wants its F-Type to be comfortable enough and easy to use on a daily basis, and—as I would discover later on—it did get the formula spot-on.

Waze has helped revolutionize motoring, allowing me to cut through time and space effortlessly, so to speak. I love it, and I firmly believe that Waze has really helped people save time. Unfortunately, Waze can’t account for narrow roads passing through some seedy areas. So on a very traffic Saturday afternoon, I brought the F-Type to Banawe for my usual car and binge-eating day with good friends. If you think Banawe is just all about cars, you’re dead wrong! It’s a gastronomic adventure out there.

But back to Waze, it made me pass through some of the narrowest streets from San Juan to Quezon City then Manila, and then back to Quezon City just to avoid traffic. Sounds like a recipe for disaster in a multimillion sports car right? Wrong. What happened next was a miracle.

As I was navigating my way, I found myself in a tiny street with a makeshift basketball court. The players stopped, admired my car and signaled me to pass through.

Next was another narrow street with cars parked on both sides. A jeepney went face to face with my Jag. Expecting to back up, I was surprised that the jeepney decided to back up, and as I passed him, he gave me a thumbs up with a big smile. Next was an intersection filled with tricycles, and a tricycle driver got off his bike, directed traffic, and signaled me to pass while again giving me a thumbs up with a big smile on his face. As I was passing by, I waved and thanked him. And he shouted, “Boss, panalo Jaguar mo!” How the tricycle driver knew it was a Jaguar escaped me, but I felt like a hero passing through.

The F-Type doesn’t look snobbish, arrogant or haughty, unlike some other precious metals. It’s like a beauty queen everyone, regardless of background, loves.

It was a surreal experience, and it was perhaps the only car I’ve driven through a downtrodden area where everyone universally admired and saluted it like a nice sexy cat.

But crucially, how is it to drive? In a word: glorious!

The Jag has the right amount of grunt to make it exciting on the open road. It’s fast, responsive and connects well with the driver. It’s a bit handy, as the massive 19-inch wheels and tires can get skittish when cold, and it is of course a proper RWD beast so you have to be judicious applying the throttle lest you swap ends and meet incoming traffic head-on.

But it feels easy to recover even with the electronic aids off. I say feels like it is easy to recover because I never actually tried anything stupid on the road, but the F-Type really goads you into trying new things, adventurous things, exciting things.

The steering weighs up at speed, and feels accurate and responsive and cat-quick to change directions. The slightly overassisted brakes bedded in well after a few days of use, and were decently progressive and very powerful.

Despite weighing 1,640 kilograms, it feels very much eager to switch directions, blessed with the agility of a cat.

The F-Type truly captures the romance of British motoring. The styling is unique, the overall aural experience is sensational, and it’s surprisingly easy to live with in traffic.

Shame the boot is on the tiny side, as fitting golf bags would be difficult, if not impossible.

The F-Type best represents the new face of Jaguar: fast, fun, exciting, unique, and finally, truly reliable, thanks to massive improvement in build quality.

Don’t think of it as a Jaguar from a decade earlier. The new Jags, like the F-Type, has what it takes to take the fight right up to the snobbish Germans.

The F-Type is 2015’s best and biggest motoring surprise for me. Now I’m excited to try the V8 variants with 550 HP.