1970 Jaguar E-type on 2040-cars

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2014 Jaguar F-Type

Stepping Into The Lion's Den With A Big-Hearted Cat
If you're like me - and our demographics suggests you are - you've probably never seen a new Jaguar sportscar at your local showroom. I'm 36, and it hasn't happened in my lifetime... and not by a little bit. Oh, there have been a string of XK coupes and convertibles, and as of late, there have even been some genuine high-performance specials - namely the R, R-S and R-S GT models - but their basis has always been the 2+2 grand tourer shell, not a lighter and smaller footprint with more intrinsic sporting intent. The truth is that it's been a half-century since Jaguar introduced a proper new sportscar. Today, most people know the brand strictly as a purveyor of wood- and hide-lined luxury sedans.
In fact, if you're not an enthusiast with some appreciation for the marque's history, it's a bit odd to hear Jaguar executives proclaim that they are a sportscar company and always have been. By their reckoning, the 2014 F-Type seen here is in fact a return to form, a Rip Van Winkled brand pillar reanimated and reimagined to take center stage. It's a sentiment that must be particularly odd for car shoppers in developing markets like China, where Jaguar hasn't even been selling cars for very long. Yet because the original 1961 E-Type is perhaps the most gorgeous car ever to lay ply on the world's roads, we're prepared to cut them some slack.

2020 Jaguar F-Type loses manual option, costs more money

When Jaguar showed off its 2020 F-Type Checkered Flag Edition in October 2018, we wrote, "Somewhat surprisingly, the Checkered Flag upgrades will only be applied to four- and six-cylinder models paired with the eight-speed automatic." At the time, we didn't understand why buyers weren't offered the manual transmission. Now we know: Along with applying slight price bumps to the F-Type for the 2020 model year, Jaguar has eliminated the manual gearbox. The F-Type is only available with an eight-speed auto now, and our list of cars with manual options has shortened again. That blow exposes the recurring flaw with every "Save the Manuals!" campaign; row-your-owners can't buy enough manual-equipped cars to repay the favor. Car and Driver said that since the F-Type's introduction for the 2013 model year, four percent of buyers have chosen the stick. On a sports car. There's a good chance that a greater number of people have bought unicorn hunting licenses from Lake Superior State University. In kinder news, the Front Parking Aid and Smartphone Pack, which enables Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, come standard, and Eiger Gray and Portofino Blue join the paint palette. Starting from the bottom, the base, rear-wheel-drive F-Type coupe with the 296-horsepower, 2.0-liter four-cylinder costs $62,625 after the $1,025 for destination fee. The convertible costs $65,725 after destination. Both prices represent an $850 increase over 2019. A RWD coupe with the 340-hp, 3.0-liter supercharged V6 costs $72,225, a $1,050 increase, the roadster asking $75,225, a $925 bump. The F-Type Checkered Flag Edition, based on the F-Type R-Dynamic trim, runs $72,925 for the coupe, $75,325 for the convertible in 300-hp, four-cylinder, RWD guise. Move to the 380-hp, supercharged six-cylinder, AWD model, and that'll be $95,525 for the coupe, $97,925 for the convertible. In between them, the regular F-Type R-Dynamic runs a price range from $85,325 as a RWD coupe to $91,425 as an AWD convertible, all prices rising by $950. From there on up it's all AWD and high horsepower. The F-Type R with the 5.0-liter supercharged V8 in 550-hp trim runs $102,825 as a hardtop, $105,925 as a droptop, a $1,050 premium over 2019. Ring the bell with that V8 in 575-hp SVR fettle, and pay $124,625 as a coupe, $127,725 as a convertible, reflecting an $850 increase. The 2020 F-Type is at dealers now.

This or That: Mercedes S-Class 350SD vs. 2003 Jaguar XJR [w/poll]

Budget. It's a wretched word, whether you're going out to eat, shipping for a new outfit or, more relevant to today's discussion, buying a car. Massive marketing machines have convinced us, as a population, to buy the best you can afford, repercussions be damned – If you've saved up some money, spend it! All of it, on whatever it is that currently sits atop your personal Amazon wishlist, be it a Timex that takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin', a $17,000 Gold Apple Watch or a $60,000 Rolex Cosmograph Daytona. But what if the best you can afford is... say, $12,815? For that price, you can buy a brand-new 2015 Nissan Versa (including destination), assuming you're happy with zero options and a manual transmission. For that price, you'll get standard air conditioning, a CD player and... well, a warranty. Pretty sensible choice, Captain Frugal. But also ridiculously uninspired. And so that brings us to today's edition of This or That, in which two Autoblog editors pick differing sides of an argument and duke it out to see which one of us can convince you, dear reader, is better. Or at least less wrong. You be the judge. As a refresher, I'm two-and-two on these challenges, having lost the first and second editions before storming back in rounds three and four. Today, as alluded to above, we decided to throw our collective brainpower (oh lord, what have we done?) at what may be the single most difficult question currently confounding the best minds our planet has to offer: What is the best used used luxury car you can buy for the price of a 2015 Nissan Versa? Shall we meet our contenders? Allow me to introduce you to the most perfect luxury car money can buy (assuming the amount of money you're holding is equal to the amount of the cheapest new car currently sold in America, the Nissan Versa). My pick is the 1991 Mercedes-Benz S-Class. Not just any S-Class, but the legendary W126, which was produced between 1979 and 1992. And not just any W126, either, but one powered by a 3.5-liter turbodiesel engine. And with that, I send the argument to my esteemed colleague, Associate Editor Chris Bruce. Bruce: Jeremy, we had over $12,000 to budget for this challenge, and the best you can manage is a 24-year-old diesel Mercedes? I love oil-burners as much as any other auto writer with their mountains of torque and huge cruising range, but you're making this too easy on me. Also, you're really choosing a brown, diesel, German luxury sedan?