2020 Jaguar F-type R review: Age and experience

When some cars reach their mid-life facelift they can still feel so fresh you find yourself wondering if it’s even needed. The Jaguar F-type is not one. The good news is that this update is timely and effective.

I’ll leave judgement of its appearance to you (I really like it) but inside, the highlight is a modern infotainment system arrived not one moment too soon, and what feels like a little more space. The range has also been radically revised. All V6-powered cars have been dropped, replaced by a detuned 444bhp V8 with either rear- or four-wheel drive, while the four-cylinder model remains as an entry point, leaving this 567bhp all-wheel-drive F-type R at the top of the tree.

The manual gearbox is no more too, not that I’ll miss it.

The R is, of course, monstrously fast and comes with a brawny soundtrack. But the comprehensive suspension overhaul has introduced more of a GT feel to the car than that of the out-and-out sports car it was meant to be. In this regard, its progression is following the E-type half a century ago.

It’s also plenty of money. Truth is that before these revisions, the lighter more- affordable four-cylinder F-type was the best car in the range, and at a little more than £50k rather than a little less than £100k (not to mention 223kg lighter), I’d be amazed were that not equally true today.

Jaguar F-type R P575 statistics

• Price £97,315
• Engine 5-litre, 8 cylinders, supercharged
• Power 567bhp at 5000rpm
• Weight 1743kg
• Power to weight 325bhp per tonne
• Transmission eight-speed auto, four-wheel drive
• 0-60mph 3.7sec
• Top speed 186mph
• Economy 26.4mpg
• CO2 243g/km
• Verdict Facelift was needed. It’s pricey but the exhaust rumble is wonderful