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2014 Jaguar F-Type: Smartly-Integrated Tech And Almost 500 Hp
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1. Jaguar's 2014 F-Type: Now With Geek Cred

You can’t really call yourself a geek if you're not a fan of Star Wars, right? Surely you remember the Galactic Empire's TIE fighter. This iconic starfighter was terrifying for its agility. And what does that have to do with the sport car's headlight you see pictured?

During the development of Jaguar's 2014 F-Type, company employees put up a poster of the TIE fighter for inspiration, culminating in this car's headlamp. If you look closely, you can see the HID projector as the fighter's body, while chrome wings come out to complete the TIE fighter look (perhaps more accurately, Vader's TIE Advanced x1). It's a subtle nod to Star Wars, giving this gorgeous ride a little bit of superficial geek cred. Jaguar finishes the headlamp with a strip of LED running lights that form the letter J, too.

2. One Sexy Cat

Roughly 40 years have passed since Jaguar's last sports car. So, the company knew it had a tough battle ahead in Audi's R8, Porsche's 911 Carrera, and Aston Martin's V8 Vantage. While those are great cars, Jaguar is aiming lower at the uncontested space between roadsters like Mercedes-Benz's SLK, BMW's Z4, Porsche's Boxster and the market favorites mentioned above.

Designed by Ian Callum, design director at Jaguar, the new F-Type is simply stunning. A car should look fast, even when it's standing still, according to Mr. Callum’s philosophy. Needless to say, this car's body is clearly built for speed. Clean, smooth lines channel predatory felines of years past.

3. Jaguar's F-Type Media Event

To launch its brand new F-Type, Jaguar flew automotive press to the beautiful Pacific Northwest for a fun-filled day of driving. Fortunately for us, we were already in the area. A one-hour drive got us to the hotel in Seattle where the festivities began.

Why bother with Washington to introduce a topless car when it's raining most of the year? Contrary to popular belief, summers here are gorgeous. I don't even remember the last time it rained. That weather, coupled with amazing new mountain roads leading up to Mt. Rainier and The Ridge Motorsports Park, made this the perfect destination. During our time with the F-Type, we only saw the slightest little drizzle. That wasn't enough for us to put the top up, though...

4. The Infotainment System

The F-Type's driver-focused interior sports the company’s standard eight-inch touchscreen infotainment system. It's a pretty simple system that does the job we expect it to. There's nothing explicitly wrong with touchscreen infotainment systems per se, but we prefer more physical control. To Jaguar's credit, there are a couple of buttons for direct access to functions like navigation, music, and phone control. There’s even a volume knob next to the shifter.

This is going to sound funny, but the climate control knobs are the coolest part of the center stack. Jaguar employs rotary knobs with a rubber coating that feels really well-built. However, each knob also has its own OLED display that shows the automatic climate control temperature, seat heater setting, and fan adjustments. The feature is subtle, but reminds me of the Optimus Maximus OLED keyboard and its individual display keys.

Below the control knobs are toggle switches for other HVAC features. Jaguar claims that inspiration for the toggle switches comes from military jets, though we'd still prefer to think we're in the cockpit of that TIE fighter.

5. Old-School Gauges And An LCD

Jaguar employs standard analog gauges for its main speedometer and tachometer, as proper sports cars should. Between the instruments is a five-inch LCD that shows coolant temperature, fuel level, a digital speedometer, vehicle warnings, and fuel economy information. The sandwiched display is useful because it ties in with the navigation system and conveys upcoming directions. Kudos to Jaguar for unifying both information centers, which some companies still don't do.

6. Hidden Air Vents

The F-Type is a driver’s car, which is why Jaguar designed the interior for maximum visibility. High-mounted vents are typically an eyesore in cars with low dashboards, particularly when the LCD is kept at head level for quick, safe glances. This conundrum is addressed by Jaguar with active center air vents. They hide stealthily when the car or its climate control system are off. When the air conditioning or heater get turned on, they pop up automatically. As far as novelty goes, this rivals the rising shift knob in Jaguar's sedans.

7. Adaptive Dynamics System

Adaptive suspension systems are great for making dynamic adjustments on the fly as road conditions change. Jaguar's high-end S models get its Adaptive Dynamics technology, which monitors the suspension 100 times every second, while polling the steering input 500 times a second. The result is a vehicle that tracks beautifully in a straight line and turns into curves confidently, as I discovered in the V8S model around The Ridge Motorsports Park.

You're also able to manually adjust other aspects of the car through its infotainment system, including the transmission, engine, steering, and suspension. Track-focused drivers even have access to an integrated stop watch and G-meter.

8. Back-Up Camera

Back-up cameras are pretty standard nowadays. The F-Type doesn’t really need one, especially with its top down, but Jaguar integrates on anyways. It's stealthily installed in the sheet metal below the license plate. Mounted flush, this is at least one of the cleanest back-up camera installations we've come across.

9. Blind Spot Monitor

Jaguar arms the F-Type with a blind spot monitoring system too, which simply flashes an icon in the side mirrors if a vehicle is in your blind spot. Although we appreciate this functionality in larger, unwieldy vehicles, it's more of a checklist option in the F-Type. Blind spots aren't really a problem in a car you're going to be driving with its top down.

10. Ambient Lighting

Increasingly, control over ambient lighting is popular in new cars. Jaguar embraces this as an option, offering five different colors: phosphor blue, pale blue, white, coral, and red. Ambient lighting is adjustable through the infotainment system. We weren't driving the F-Type at night though, so we missed out on the impact of this feature.

11. Three Motors To Choose From

The F-Type is available with three different motor options, two V6s and a V8. All three have superchargers strapped onto them. Naturally, they make different levels of power. The 3.0 L V6 puts out 340 hp, which propels the car from zero to 60 in 5.1 seconds. Stepping up to the F-Type S bumps power up another 40 hp and cuts the 0-60 MPH sprint to 4.8 seconds. The F-Type V8 S is the flagship, and it comes armed with a 5.0 L V8 that gets to 60 MPH in 4.2 seconds, backed by 495 hp.

All three motors include start/stop technology that shuts the engine off at idle. Frankly, this "feature" is obnoxious. It was very noticeable when the motor started or turned off. This might be something you want on a sub-compact or SUV, but it lacks refinement on a luxury sports car. Fortunately, you can disable the capability altogether by toggling the Eco button, though annoyingly, it re-enables every time the car starts.

12. Hear That Loud Exhaust?

F-Type S and V8 S models come standard with an active sport exhaust system that alters the noise characteristics of the exhaust with the press of a button. The active sport exhaust controls bypass valves to restrict or open up the exhaust. By default the active sport exhaust system functions more like a silencer and tones down the exhaust note to not draw attention. But pressing the active sport exhaust button opens it up and livens up the sound. It’s like a musical eargasm every time you floor it and especially so with the V8 S. We drove the F-Type S and V8 S with and without the active sport exhaust enabled and found the restricted exhaust to be too quiet while it sounds glorious when opened up. The V8 S creates such a harmonious sound, which we enjoyed thoroughly when driving through a couple tunnels with our foot on the gas pedal.

If you can't figure out whether the F-Type you're looking at has a V8 or V6 engine, just start at its sexy backside. The V8 S sports four exhaust pipes, while the V6 models have two center-mounted pipes. Although the V8 S is more acoustically pleasing, the V6 still sounds fantastic.

13. An Eight-Speed Automatic

An eight-speed ZF automatic transmission sends power to the rear wheels. Yes, that's right. The first sports car from Jaguar in nearly 40 years is only available with an automatic. At first, we bemoaned the decision. But Jaguar's engineers showed us that the eight-speed is very capable. Its shifts are fast, and it'll even hold a gear for the right acceleration out of corners. The driving dynamics are so fantastic that we almost forgot we were driving an auto. Jag claims its secret is locking up the torque converter at speeds above 5 MPH, and the eighth gear is only used as an overdrive for fuel economy.

As a mental check, I asked my driving instructor at The Ridge Motorsports Park for his opinion on the transmission, since he had already spent a few days with the F-Type. He similarly didn't mind that car was an automatic with paddle shifters.

14. Automatic Door Handles? Um, Yes Please!

Aerodynamics were a big focus for Jaguar's engineers as they designed the F-Type. As with Nissan's GT-R, which we reviewed in 2013 Nissan GT-R Black Edition: The Gran Turismo Car, the F-Type features door handles that sit flush with the doors.

Nissan's handles deploy manually when you push on them. Jaguar takes a more luxurious approach. The door handles automatically pop out when you approach the car, providing you purchase the push-button start option. It's another cool novelty that reminds friends, family, and potential dates that this is a sports car, no corners were cut, and you're as alpha (or as superficial) as they come.

15. Deploying Spoiler

The F-Type comes with an active rear spoiler that deploys automatically above 60 MPH or manually at the press of a button. Jaguar claims the spoiler reduces lift by 260 pounds and improves stability at high speeds. We probably shouldn't say how fast we drove through the roads around Mt. Rainier, but we certainly didn't not have stability issues at those "high speeds."

16. A Fast Convertible Top

Jaguar engineered its powered convertible top to fold very quickly. It only takes 12 seconds to open or close, and you can operate it at speeds of up to 30 MPH. That means you don't need to pull over; there's enough time between green lights to let the top drop on the drop-top.

17. 2014 F-Type: Beautiful, Fun, And Fast

In both V6 and V8 trim, the 2014 F-Type is a brilliant car. It's equally fun to cruise in and drive aggressively. Despite a curb weight of roughly 3500 pounds, the F-Type still feels nimble. We were naturally drawn to the V8 S trim for its brutal horsepower, but ended up enjoying the V6 more around the autocross course for its predictably under heavy load. The V8 S just gets a little squirrely when you're leaning into it around corners.

The F-Type's driver's seat is both comfortable and supportive, while the cockpit puts all of the important controls within a quick glance and reach. Jaguar's data infotainment system does come up a little short in terms of aesthetics. Moreover, features controlled by touch are more difficult to access, since the recessed display obscures the lower part of the screen somewhat. Fortunately, the most common functions have physical buttons that correspond to them.

Jaguar's active center vents are a slick novelty, as are the rear spoiler and door handles, all of which deploy automatically when they're needed. As far as looks go, the F-Type is a head-turner for sure (and for anyone who isn't looking, that exhaust should grab their attention). Personally, I'm a fan of that backside, with its E-Type tail light styling cues and flared fenders.

If you’re looking for a beautiful roadster to drive aggressively, but want something with more panache than a Porsche Boxster, Mercedes-Benz SLK, or BMW Z4, all the while staying under $100,000, Jaguar's F-Type is a marvelous choice. We couldn't imagine leaving the garage in this thing with anything other than a smile on our faces.