2017 Jaguar F-Type Ingenium Review
Car Tested: Jaguar F-Type Ingenium; Road Test No. 854; Test Location: Norway
Price OTR Mumbai: Rs. 1.25 crores (est.)
Jaguar is offering a small engine on the F-Type. But does it still have the go?
The sports car segment which has seen a lot of action in the past now braces for its future in a new direction mostly dictated by considerations from the market, lawmakers and manufacturing practices. Call it an emerging trend or savvy marketing, a lot of the new breed of sports cars are being sold now come with downsized powertrain set-ups but also with the promise of scintillating performance, unmatched economy and most of all affordability for new consumers. While purists may not be the most impressed lot when it comes to buying these packages, but manufacturers are nevertheless confident about its prospects. British luxury and sports car maker Jaguar introduces a smaller powertrain variant in the F-Type. Can it pose a serious threat to the likes of say downsized Porsche’s 718 series of cars? We travel to stunningly beautiful Norway to find out and return more than impressed
Motor Quest: Downsizing isn’t a new concept. A lot of manufacturers have been employing this since some time and this has been happening right from mid-range executive segments to performance cars. It is being done in the interest of emissions and efficiency.
The F-Type Ingenium gets some minor tweaks to the styling
Exteriors – While the profile and stance of the F-Type is low slung, it’s the detailing that gives the standalone stance and character with the new engine set-up. To begin with, the headlamps are newly designed and is an all-LED set-up with signature DRLS. The lower valance design is slightly altered to optimise aerodynamics necessitated by the 52 kgs weight reduction up front due to the lighter all-aluminium Ingenium engine. Meanwhile, the rear profile remains mostly unchanged with the exception of the tail lamp which has a new design and signature illumination. The external giveaway that it’s a four pot is the single exhaust tip and bespoke 18-inch alloys.
The F-Type has a very compact cabin which feels snug
Interiors – Inside the cabin which was considered a bit cramped by taller drivers, a bit more space has been created by redesigning the sports seats. The contoured seat back is thinner and uses a lighter moly casting. The body hugging seat does free some more space for the benefit of the taller occupants in particular. Other feature upgrades include the introduction of the company’s new TouchPro Duo multimedia entertainment and communications system.
The newly-designed seats have freed up some space in the cabin
The interiors of the F-Type have got a couple of new features on offer
Apart from the blissful driving experience, we also check out the customisable home screen and 4G LTE data connectivity. The map includes pinch-and-pan zooming functionality which makes life a bit easier. Heads-Up Display would have been a nicer option as one has to look away to get the information on screen. The only niggle we could feel was the old fashioned and slow display and some of the not-so-logically placed functions.
The Jaguar F-Type has a very tail-happy nature
Driving Experience – Any sports car enthusiast will tell you his or her favourite bit in this type of car. First would be acceleration, handling and with top up or down [depending on roadster or hard top coupe configuration] followed by exhaust notes and accompanying blips during gear changes. At the Norway event, we got the perfect opportunity to experience all of the above which are evaluative parameters. The winding and twisty mountain roads and flats, the extra long tunnels, the ferry ride and most of all perfect weather – all contributing to a delightful and sonorous experience with this car.
The F-Type now gets a 2.0-litre Ingenium petrol engine
Despite the downsized engine, the Jaguar F-Type still packs in a lot of punch
Before we took off, we just made a mental calculation of a couple of things. So how does one get extra performance in a sports car? Well, there are typical arguments. Take as much of mass out by stripping non-essentials, ensure a good chassis with state-of-the-art management, perfect 50:50 axle weight ratio and driver friendly features like low profile wide aspect sports tyres, ventilated performance disc brakes et al. Well, this scenario in the F-Type is replicated to some extent, but the good part is that it hasn’t been stripped of essential features.
The F-Type has very engaging driving characteristics
The drive was arranged in the mountain/Fjord region of Molde in Norway. The drive route seemed to be tailored specifically for this car and included the usual array of fast and slow corners, straight stretches, country roads and B-roads and some highway patches and not to forget the extra long tunnels. The half day long stint was good enough to give us a proper feel of both the coupe and convertible in its natural environment.
The sports car feels very agile as well as planted
Considering the fact that the F-Type chassis can withstand the rigours of a 5.0-litre Supercharged V8 and 3.0-litre V6 or more in the say SVR variants, the 2.0-litre, turbocharged, 4-cylinder variant is clearly aimed to please and we think even the die-hard will appreciate its reasonably quick responses to the tap of the accelerator pedal, the lightening fast gear shifting, the planted feel, perfect weight of the electric steering and its point and shoot character of this 1525 kgs car.
With the smaller engine, 0-100 km/hr comes in at 5.7 seconds
The engine mapping ensures that there’s ample power at low revs and most drivers will appreciate that power availability comes with virtually no turbo lag. The engine can be pushed and one should appreciate what’s on offer rather than comparing with its high-performance and bigger engine siblings. Excellent torque delivery means that the grunt of a sports car is there and is the part which delights most besides the opening of the exhaust baffles at higher revs. The car also appears agile, partly due to its softer suspension settings and lighter overall weight. At times it even felt faster than its official 0-100 km/hr sprint time of 5.7 seconds. As expected, braking power is pretty impressive and distances short.
The smaller engine makes sense if you care about the environment
Verdict – An entry level F-Type with decent performance to match makes good business sense for buyers looking at the brand. Jaguar has succeeded in engineering the repackaging of the approximately five-year old model and there’s no reason not to shy away. It has got its heritage intact, timeless design and appears distinguished enough. But the real job will be with the marketing pundits as the segment gets crowded with a variety of offerings which offer various configurations and price points. How these ingredients are presented and bought will ultimately determine the fate of this variant. We are confident that this will be quite possible to achieve despite the difficulties in the current economic scenario worldwide.
Will you buy the Ingenium variant over the bigger-engined variants?
What’s Cool
* Still looks beautiful despite being not-so-new
* Extremely involving to drive on all types of roads
* Smaller engine means a more affordable price tag
What’s Not So Cool
* Feels a bit old now
* Won’t be as affordable in India as it should be
Alternatives: Porsche 718 Boxster, Porsche Cayman
Further Reading –
A Day With A Supercar In India – Jaguar F-Type Convertible
Jaguar F-Type Coupe R Review
Jaguar F-Type Review