Jaguar’s first manual F-type. The brand has decided to slot a six-speed manual gearbox into its previously auto-only sports car, BusinessCar’s reigning Sporting Car of the Year, to appeal to the “purist”.
Why is it interesting?
The new manual gearbox is £2175 cheaper than the automatic version, and is available with 340hp and 380hp V6 engines. Despite Jaguar’s lack of recent experience in manuals, this is a peach, with a short, crisp gearshift indeed helping evoke a sporty drive that purists will enjoy. The company has even reprofiled the armrest for the manual to ensure the best possible positioning for the shift action.
How are the running costs?
It’s not unusual that there’s a huge efficiency gap between the manual and auto models, but what’s very unusual is that the manual is 35g/km less efficient that the automatic. That equates to 4.8mpg difference in favour of the well-established automatic, and has BIK and NI implications. In fact, overall running costs favour the auto by 2.2p per mile. The introduction of electric power-assisted steering cuts up to 4g/km, and is enough to make the 340hp automatic Jaguar’s first sub-200g/km sports car.
Any other business?
Other model-year changes to the F-type include the addition of all-wheel drive, which we’ll test at a later date, taking the F-type range from six to 14 models. New Incontrol Touch connectivity with Apple and Android phones is also introduced, along with instrument and infotainment changes.
