New Jaguar F-Type - clever car which can be a bargain

A motor industry minnow in a German sea of circling sharks, it builds so comparatively few cars each year it ought not to be mentioned in the same breath as the likes of BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Or, especially, Porsche.

The fact that it is so often spoken about as a rival for those fearsome competitors is a measure of how right Jaguar has got things over the years. More or less; there have been some downright clunkers alongside the high points of the range.

And now Jaguar is getting serious about giving the big boys something to worry about. This time next year you'll be able to buy a new XE, the medium-sized saloon that might be so important it has the company's future riding on its back.

First signs are encouraging, with lots of high tech aluminium in its body and a set of industry leading engines built in Wolverhampton at nearly two a minute when production ramps up later this year. It's going to appeal to a set of younger buyers who might otherwise happily slip behind the wheel of, say, a BMW 320d.

The sort of buyer who, a few years down the line and with the family growing up nicely might lust after the newest Jag on the block, in the sexy, svelte shape of the F-Type Coupe.

Spiritual successor to the legendary E-Type of the 1960s, it's never going to sell in shedloads, but every time one passes you (and it will, it will), you'll look at its shapely rear and wish you were at the wheel.

Jaguar gave us first glimpse of the F-Type last year as a gorgeous convertible. Great to drive and be driven in, it is however this fixed roof coupe that presents the most Jaguar-ness of all.

The new, much stiffer body lets the car adopt firmer springs for even more convincing ability on the road and will happily accept a monstrously powerful V8 engine that might overwhelm the softer convertible.

On a more practical level, the tiny boot of the soft top is replaced by a space that would make some small family hatches blush.

It will, says Jaguar, easily take two sets of golf clubs. And an optional powered tailgate will make loading them a bit of an event.

Oh, and ditching the expensive folding roof means the F-Type Coupe costs less than the convertible, starting at £51,235, a saving of £7,285 over the equivalent Convertible.

Topping the range is the F-Type Coupe R, with 550 horses from its 5.0 litre V8 engine, enough for the sizzle to 60mph in four seconds and on to a top speed, electronically limited, of 186mph. This version costs £85,000; more than the fastest convertible but it comes with more power too.

A smaller 3.0 litre V6 engine powers the other two versions of the car, with either 340 or 380 horsepower and top speeds of 161 and 171mph respectively, which ought to be enough for most people.

It was certainly enough when Jaguar launched the car to the world's press in northern Spain this week, with the F-Type S proving an able and engaging drive on some deliciously deserted roads. It makes the same moderately anti-social (but fun) noise from its tailpipes as the roadster and there's the same button, at extra cost, to make the noise fruitier still.

Above all, every mile in the car feels an event. This is one car that is always going to demand your full attention, either to admire the way it looks, inside and out, or to make sure you are driving within the bounds of reason.

On a Spanish race track in the full house F-Type R Coupe with an optional set of race performance brakes and wheels (an immodest £8,000 extra) you could take liberties with the car that almost defied the laws of physics.

Clever technology even helps keep things in line if you treat a wet corner with too much enthusiasm.

So it's a clever car as well as one that you'd be perfectly entitled to buy on looks alone. Why, at the less expensive end of the range, it also looks a bit of a bargain.

By Ian Donaldson