With me, getting older and looking forward to the future of being a husband and a father, you get why certain cars are designed or made. When you are younger you want a sports car because it’s a status symbol, but now I have a different perspective of certain things compared to when I was younger. I didn’t like fast cars for the longest time and I realized it’s because I wasn’t exposed to fast cars until the Mini Cooper John Cooper Works. My concept of the coupes and fast cars completely changed.
The people of Jaguar dropped off the convertible F-Type at the office one early Monday morning and you could immediately feel the mood change. I believe that convertibles are a happy pill, I didn’t understand this before because I’m not really a fan of convertibles, but like everything else one needs to experience what you don’t know to find out if you really actually don’t like it. I imagine this is the same with people who say that they would never spend millions on a car such as a Ferrari and Lamborghini – until they experience those cars, they don’t really know what they are refusing. They are saying no to an idea they don’t know what it feels like – which is understandable.
The one thing about running Marvin is that it exposes me to new ideas, new ideas of people and conversations. Also it gives access to a world that I would not ordinarily have access to and the F-Type is no different. The new F-Type is not for everyone, not everyone will get it and understand what it stands for and that’s exactly what makes it special. The car has class and it’s not seen a lot on the roads as well – I get their target market. The new design is definitely slicker than its predecessor the XK series.
I definitely love the back lights and lines they used within the design, the care is much more contemporary and less boring compared to their old school designs that they used to have. The front grill is much sportier without losing the Jaguar heritage look, the door handles pop up when unlocking the car, or you can press the button and it will pop up, this gives it a very slick and clean appearance when locked. The interior has everything that’s needed and the design is true Jaguar style – I think they should have something completely different for this particular model in the future because it’s a special car.
Since this one is a convertible I was amazed by how quickly it took to get the roof opened and closed. Whomever came up with the ‘Type’ series of naming their cars is smart because it’s hard to remember the XJF and XK because no one really knows what they stand for. It’s easier for me reconcile with an F-Type or F-Pace, the naming sounds modern and progressive.
I was really surprised that the Jaguar F-Type was actually fast, I didn’t expect a Jaguar to be that fast and I love the noise that it makes when you accelerate. It’s a very light car with a V8 engine that weighs around 1700kgs with 364kW that are available at 6500rpm. The sports car has a perfect 50/50 weight distribution and also remember that it is the lowest, widest and shortest Jaguar to be released in the market. When you drop the top, the centre air vents open up and become visible. I have always thought people were crazy to drop the top when it’s cold but I finally understood that it’s a different world when you are inside a convertible – you struggle differently when you are in a Jaguar. I always give Jaguar credit for turning the brand around so that it’s relevant even though they are slacking with technology. The F-Type has a touch screen which is great, but that system needs an update. Another cool thing about the F-Type is that when approaching a speeding camera it alerts you so that you can slow down. You can get the coupe from R1,054,200 and the convertible starts at R1,100,700
This car is the kind that you have when you have other cars, not as the only car because the boot space is non-existent, like you can put your laptop and lunch and that’s about it. Interestingly enough it’s not bad on fuel consumption, about 70 litres which is not bad. This is the perfect car to have to make an impression to get that new client or get that new deal, you definitely get people’s attention. If you can afford it, get it.