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The improved version of the F-TYPE Convertible that Jaguar introduced back in 2020 might charm you. What's it like? Well think of what an Austin Healey or a Triumph TR6 might be like re-interpreted for the modern era, a roadster designed very much for the road. A machine you can't help but want to drive - and drive hard. In this updated post-2020-era form, that was more than ever what an F-TYPE Convertible could be, thanks to widespread improvements that broadened its appeal.
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Luxury Sports Convertibles
History
By 2020, the Jaguar F-TYPE Convertible had changed quite a bit since we'd first seen it back in 2013. First with the announcement of manual transmission and AWD a year later. A frantic flagship SVR V8 derivative arrived in 2015 with supercar-style performance, just before the introduction of a minor facelift, an uprated V6 engine option and, perhaps most significantly, in mid-2017, an entry-level four cylinder variant.
Finally, at the end of 2019, there was the wider reaching facelift that created the version we're going to look at here, so sale for the 2020 model year. With this, the aging supercharged petrol V6 mid-range unit was finally pensioned off and a de-tuned version of the top supercharged V8 powerplant inserted into the range in its place. It sold until Jaguar withdrew from the market in 2024.
If you're torn between a top open-topped sportscar and a junior level convertible supercar, it could offer the perfect used sportscar package.
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What you get
This Convertible variant's hood is cloth-covered of course and from start to finish, the mechanism takes just 12 seconds to activate. It's a multi-layered fabric affair with a thick Thinsulate lining to make it waterproof. When retracted, the top doesn't need a panel or a tonneau cover to smooth it over in the stowage position. Instead, the top section of the roof itself keeps everything looking tidy.
The visual changes made to this improved model were significant, centring mostly on a front end embellished by super-slim pixel LED headlights that blend into the 'liquid metal' surfacing' of the restyled clamshell bonnet with its signature power bulge. There was also a smarter front bumper and a subtly enlarged grille that together aimed to deliver more visual impact and presence.
It's certainly very firmly driver-orientated inside, the two front occupants separated by a prominent grab handle which sweeps down from the top of the centre console and wraps around behind the joystick-shaped SportShift gear selector. The main change with this revised model lay with the replacement of conventional analogue instrument binnacle dials with a configurable, high-definition 12.3-inch 'Interactive Driver Display' screen. There are no small rear seats like you'd find in a rival Porsche 911. And the boot space is quite tight too, at 196-litres, but at least this is unaffected by the position of the roof.
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What to look for
Most F-TYPE Convertible owners in our survey seemed very satisfied, but do a thorough check of the powered hood mechanism (and maybe put it through a car wash to check for leaks). As for engineering, well we did come across a few issues. There have been reports that the rear differential can leak oil due to faulty seals. If this is repaired, make sure the coupling hasn't been over-tightened as this can ruin the diff completely, first signalled by worrying noises from the rear of the car.
Some owners have also found the valves in the active exhaust system can stick open. This can require a new back box, normally fitted under warranty. Original F-Types were susceptible to small stones getting between the window seal and the glass. Look out for stone chips on the nose. Some times, the pop-out door handles can fail to pop out. And the electrically-rising dash air vents and rear spoiler have been known to play up; check all the functionality carefully. Other issues include the fact that the fuel filler locking cap sometimes doesn't lock. Brake lights can remain lit (requiring a new brake light switch). We've also heard of flickering instrumentation, condensation in the headlamps and creaking dashboards.
Otherwise, it's just the usual things - scratched alloys etc. And obviously insist on a fully stamped-up service history.
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Replacement parts
(approx based on a 2020 Jaguar F-TYPE R Convertible) An oil filter is around £22-£25. A front brake disc is in the £144-£178 per pair. The cost for front brake pads varies quite a lot - anything from around £25 upwards - but Jaguar official pads are in the £135-£160 bracket and it's obviously more for top Brembo pads. A genuine Jaguar wiper blade is around £37. An air filter is around £16-£110. A starter motor is in the £154-£254 bracket. An LED headlight assembly is £2,100-£3,400 per side.
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On the road
Speed and drama aren't lacking here. Even the base 300hp four cylinder P300 F-TYPE variant makes 60mph in just 5.4s en route to a top speed that has to be limited to 155mph. The WLTP-rated stats suggest that this unit's reasonably economic too, managing 29.8mpg on the combined cycle and 216g/km of CO2. It even sounds great - or at least it does if you engage the standard Active Sports exhaust anyway, though some of the aural fireworks are artificially enhanced by the stereo speakers.
For some F-TYPE folk though, this car just won't feel right with a mere 2.0-litres beneath the bonnet - and we can understand that. These people may also want the option of AWD, which you can't have on the P300. AWD can be had though, with the next powerplant up in the line-up; that mid-level unit was a 3.0-litre supercharged V6 with the original F-TYPE, but as part of the 2020 update, Jaguar pensioned that aging unit off in favour of a new 450PS version of its classic supercharged V8. This fiery powerplant develops a prodigious 580Nm of torque from just 2,500rpm and makes 60mph in just 4.4s on the way to 177mph. Should that somehow be insufficient, the wild F-TYPE R variant continued at the top of the range with a 575PS version of the same V8, an AWD-only model which covers off that benchmark sprint in just 3.5s en route to 186mph. You can of course hear it all so much better if you switch from the Coupe body style to this Convertible, which can raise or lower its hood in just 12s at speeds of up to 30mph. Inevitably, if you go for the four cylinder derivative, the exhaust melody isn't quite as addictive.
But making this car fast was a very small part of making it great. After all, Jaguar's old XK sportscar was certainly quick, but only really ardent fans of the Coventry brand would ever have considered one in the same breath as, say, a Porsche 911. You might wonder whether this F-TYPE could really do better. And before driving this one, we certainly had our doubts. In some ways still do, though there's certainly lots about the dynamic repertoire of this car that we really like. Take the steering, an electrically-assisted rack that turns out to be direct and feelsome in communicating what's going on beneath you.
Equally good is the paddleshift ZF Quickshift auto gearbox, which by 2020 F-TYPE folk had to have, the original four cylinder model's optional manual 'box having by then having sadly been discontinued. This auto lacked modern twin-clutch technology, but it offered a rapid fire system with eight closely stacked sporting ratios and, for the V8s, was optimised to constantly keep the supercharged engines in the sweet spot of the power band. Activate the standard 'Dynamic' mode provided with all models and it gets even better, both steering and shifting taking on an even more aggressive demeanour; the 'Adaptive Dynamics' system allows this more focused mode to alter ride quality too - which is one of this Jaguar's greatest strengths. This damping set-up eases you over bumpy or broken surfaces, giving the car a beautiful point-to-point flow, whether in town or on the highway. So while this car still doesn't have the sheer agility of a rival Porsche, there are other reasons why you might want one: remarkably compelling ones, as it turns out.
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Overall
It was asking a lot for one model to straddle so many different sportscar segments. At one end of the range, the 2.0-litre F-TYPE Convertible could be an alternative to cars as relatively affordable as a well-specified Audi's TTS Roadster. At the other, the flagship R version has the performance to worry a McLaren Spider! While in the middle of the line-up, the potent P450 V8 variant battles Porsche's iconic 911 Cabriolet.
True, it won't match a rival Porsche model's delicacy of response at the limit, but in compensation, you'll get yourself a car that's arguably better looking, unarguably better equipped, more powerful and endowed with a greater sense of occasion, inside and out. Plus it steers, handles, stops, goes - and sounds - exactly like a Jaguar sportscar should. Don't knock it because it's not a Boxster or a 911: the F-TYPE was never intended to be like anything else. This model is different - powerful, sensual, ultra-precise: a car that feels alive.
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