What the F

[Big Kev]

Well I know we're supposed to be green and all that stuff these days but I like petrol and noise

I've had an Audi TT-S since 2016. It's a great car, a lot better than people give it credit for but I just didn't gel with it for some reason. Probably because when I bought it there wasn't a lot on the market that I really really wanted. The Cayman didn't have enough boot space and I didn't fancy a Golf R as it wasn't quite different enough for me. The Audi was the best of a bad bunch.

During the lockdowns I started seriously thinking about whether I could get my 'affordable' dream car, the Jaguar F-type. I've liked it since I saw the CX16 concept in 2014. The world shortage of silicon chips meant that used car values rocketed while new sales were at a standstill and that added a good chunk to my TT value (it went up in value £5000 in 3 months!) and all this Covid stuff made me realise life is short, what the hell. So I ordered a Jaguar F-type V8 P450 (444bhp) in July..... and picked it up today

I'll try and get a recording of the start up. That's all the mental health fix I need!

[nutty]

Amazing! I do really love the look of them! Congrats

[Duke]

Congrats Kev, look stunning even in photo's & yes life is too short. Enjoy the new hot rod!!!

[Bauer]

Oh nice one


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[w00dsy]

I don't think there's a better looking car from the back. Well done Kev, splitting atoms is paying off.

[durbster]

I love Jags and that's one of the best. Fantastic choice.

Always turns my head when I see these on the road.

[thornz]

Awesome car! One of the best sounding as well, on my bucket of list of cars to own before they are taxed/banned out of existence.

[Exar Kun]

Sensational Kev! Still such a head turner despite how long they've been on the market. Nice work!

[smithcorp]

wow, amazing, congrats

[Big Kev]

Sounds alright on a cold start

[StanDaam]

Need more vrrrm vrrrm Kev!!

[Big Kev]

Yeah I didn't want to annoy the neighbours. I'll try and get a revvy clip in the car park at work one day.

[Duke]

Crickey it's so dirty already.

[w00dsy]

Crickey it's so dirty already.

The beauty of buying a car in the middle of winter in England.

[Jamo]

Noice Kev! Does it have a proper gearbox?

[Big Kev]

8 speed paddle shift only.

That dirt is from just under 600 miles of driving (1000km). In the winter here we typically have either wet or damp/defrosting conditions so the fine dirty spray is unavoidable. But I have a friend at work who loves detailing and this month he's going to give it a full weekend of TLC

[durbster]

We have a field across the road from where our cars are parked. At this time of year we don't even have to drive them anywhere for them to look dirtier than that.

[durbster]

How's the big cat settling in Kev?

[Big Kev]

Nice thanks.
2024 miles now since December so I'm through the run in period. It's got a lovely sound over 3500rpm Some nice crackles if you lift off in 1/2/3 gear around that rev range too. It doesn't do the machine gun bangs like the originals but that's EU regulations for you and to be honest I'm not as 'look at me!' as that so it suits me just fine that I can make it bang when I want it to. It does make people jump though

The mpg is crap but what the hell My daily commute is 15-17mpg! A motorway run is around 26 but I have seen it peak at 32 a couple of times.

The infotainment is a bit crap but I'm learning to live with it. Unfortunately I can't do wireless carplay and I'm not keen on the wireless transmitter dongles that you can get so I'm still pondering how to make the most of that without having to plug the phone in. But to be honest, that's the only slight downside. Everything else is great.

I've just bought a subtle private plate for it which I'll get made up and fitted when I have the chance. (I'll put it in spoiler tags so it doesn't get bot crawled)

[SPOILER]

KF71 YPE which sort of spells K F-Type

Wow that start up video is not far short of 1000 views! I've gone viral!

[Big Kev]

As the jag is costing me a fortune to run, I've just bought a cheaper daily. A mid-spec nearly new Ford Puma.

Been a lot going on with my mum in the last 18 months which means I've put a lot of miles on the big cat driving from Oxford to Wales and back. Almost 15,000 on it now. It was always in my plan to get a cheap daily and save the Jag for the weekends but things have accelerated in that respect as I wasn't planning it for a couple more years.

My mum is coming to live with me from this Sunday as she needs a little bit of looking after and I'll need a car to get her around in so started looking at options that weren't so low to the ground! As I can't charge an EV at home (yet) the cost of using a public charger every week and running something small and economical like a Puma was the same. So about 5 weeks ago I started looking around Autotrader and there are a heck of a lot of 1-2 year old cars with under 10k miles on them. Just a case of waiting for the right spec.

Last week a local Ford garage got a 1.0L turbo MHEV Puma in gun metal grey, 1800 miles, 12 months old, auto, reversing camera, front sensors, cruise control, heated seats and wheel, wireless charge pad, for £8k under list. It was a managers car. Having that! Put a holding deposit on, test drove it last week and bought it. Picking it up next week.

It'll do me as a daily driver and mum bus, certainly be better than 15mpg! And maybe in 3-4 years I'll swap it for the Puma EV that is rumoured to be coming.

[Bauer]

You are a good son. That’s what I take away from that.

[Big Kev]

That's nice of you to say

[durbster]

Am I right in thinking you had the original Puma Kev?

[Big Kev]

Well remembered. I did. First car I ever bought new, in 1999.

This is very much just Ford reusing the name rather than the concept.