2016 Jaguar F-Type S Coupe Quick Spin [w/video]

2016 Jaguar F-Type S Coupe Quick Spin [w/video]A Firm Handshake Goes A Long WayImage Credit: Seyth MiersmaImage Credit: Seyth MiersmaImage Credit: Seyth MiersmaImage Credit: Seyth MiersmaImage Credit: Seyth MiersmaImage Credit: Seyth MiersmaImage Credit: Seyth MiersmaImage Credit: Seyth MiersmaImage Credit: Seyth MiersmaImage Credit: Seyth MiersmaImage Credit: Seyth MiersmaImage Credit: Seyth Miersma2016 F-TYPEMSRP$65,000ShopReviewsMore PhotosJaguar F-Type R-S Spy Shots2016 Jaguar F-Type: LA 20142016 Jaguar F-Type S - Manual2016 Jaguar F-Type R Coupe2016 Jaguar F-Type R Convertible2016 Jaguar F-Type S Coupe - AWDSeyth Miersma

Vital StatsEngine:SC 3.0L V6Power:380 HP / 339 LB-FTTransmission:6-Speed Manual0-60 Time:5.3 SecondsTop Speed:171 MPHDrivetrain:Rear-Wheel DriveEngine Placement:FrontCurb Weight:3,492 LBSSeating:2Cargo:11.0 CU-FTBase Price:$78,295The Jaguar F-Type – as either a coupe or a convertible – has proved easy to fall in love with. It's one of the best looking cars in the world, period. And it has been endowed since launch with lovely engine options on either end of the range, athletic rear-drive handling, and a tuneful exhaust that sets one's heart to thumping.

So how does Jaguar improve on such a winning formula? The answer that enthusiasts have hoped for is that Jag offer its sports machine with a traditional manual gearbox. And for the 2016 model year, those hopes have been fulfilled.

Always wiling to take one for the team, I flew out to New York state to drive the 2016 F-Type S Coupe, fitted with the new manual transmission. (The trip included time in the F-Type R AWD that you'll hear more about later, and a long stint in the Range Rover Sport SVR, so I wasn't exactly shy about requesting the gig.) The short version is that the F and the 6MT get along like special sauce, lettuce, and cheese. But for the detailed blow-by-blow follow along.

Driving Notes

So, how is the manual? That's the primary force animating this review, after all. The short answers are: great, fine, just dandy. The middleweight clutch (not too light, not too firm) is easy to operate at speed or in heavy traffic. The gearlever offers positive, smooth action, not particularly mechanical, with throws that are of average length. The closest analogous experience I've had is with BMW manuals, though the Jag's clutch is slicker.But the biggest win for the stick shift in the F-Type is spiritual (if you'll excuse my being a bit romantic). This is after all the heir to the E-Type legend, a stirring rear-drive coupe (or convertible) that looks like wet sex and goes like heaving hell. The eight-speed automatic will continue to offer a more modern driving experience, but the manual just feels right with the car.You're going to have to prefer that kind of purity over outright speed to get the manual, too. Jag with sell you a hand-shaker with the base, 340-horsepower F-Type or the 380-horse F-Type S, but not with the V8 or new-for-'16 AWD variants.The supercharged V6 in the S is far from disappointing. Keep the sport exhaust active and you're likely to be the best sounding thing on the road that day, unless you run up on a coffee klatch of Ferraris. Third gear reveals enough torque to pull hellaciously through tight corners, and enough top end to triple the speed limit on the roads that offer those bendy bits (not that I ever would).Handling on those same roads is exceedingly pleasurable, though not edge-sharp. Jaguar has a nice balance of ride quality and flat-cornering ability here, well suited for spirited weekend driving or even casual cruising. The F-Type S never feels stressful or edgy. It also doesn't feel as sharp as a Porsche Cayman or Boxster, or as mean-minded as a Nissan 370Z. I'd prefer the F-Type Coupe to look at, but the Porsche version of the $70k-ish sports car formula is ultimately more rewarding for me to drive. Your results may vary.Take a gander at the video we shot in the F-Type, and the scale of my head alone should give away the fact that I'm a gigantic human. At six-feet and five-inches tall, around 240 pounds, I fit into the F-Type coupe, but just. The seats go low to the floor so headroom is decent (I even wore a helmet in the F-Type Coupe R at the track). But laterally I'm almost too wide for the side bolsters, and my knees wouldn't be unsuitable for turning on the windshield wipers if I were feeling acrobatic. You regular people should slide in just fine.Visibility on the sides and at the rear, is going to be challenging for any sized driver, however. The low, raked glasshouse provides an unblemished forward view, but I was twitching like a squirrel on the highway shoulder when trying to change lanes in city traffic. Easy solution: drive fast enough to stay ahead of the pack.Just make sure you have a good grasp on where you're headed while pacing the field. JLR doesn't have a great navigation system in its toolbox, and I was constantly almost missing my turns trying to follow the breadcrumbs on this one. Small complaint for a sports car in the era of smart phones, but one weak point in the F-Type armor, nevertheless.
I'm not sure that any measurable factor is made better by this new ZF six-speed. But I hardly care. A fast, foxy machine has been made more involving to drive by way of the new transmission, and shoppers should give it a hard look before they plunk down their cash.Featured Gallery2016 Jaguar F-Type S Coupe Manual: Quick Spin

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2015 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Custom Sport Quick Spin

2015 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Custom Sport Quick SpinA Spot Of Luxury Camping To Reminds Us How Good Trucks Have BecomeImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon Ramsey2015 Silverado 1500MSRP$26,170ShopReviewsMore PhotosHottest Cars and Trucks in AmericaMost Popular Cars By StateOur Picks For The Best $5,000 Used CarsCars That Depreciate FastestHistory's 10 Best Selling Cars Of All TimeWard's 10 Best Engines of 2015Jonathon Ramsey

Vital StatsEngine:5.3L V8Power:355 HP / 383 LB-FTTransmission:6-Speed AutomaticDrivetrain:Four-Wheel DriveEngine Placement:FrontCurb Weight:5,360 LBSSeating:2+3Cargo:53.4 CU-FTMPG:15 City / 21 HWYBase Price:$45,810As Tested Price:$57,405Coincidentally, the week we had the 2015 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Custom Sport a friend asked, "What would you buy if you could only have one vehicle for everything?" After a week's driving and trailer hauling, very close to first choice would be an American pickup. They're all so good now, you can't lose. And as we found in the Chevy you can go anywhere and haul anything, and you pay no penalty for capability until you try to find an open space on the street to park. Nicely equipped versions like the Custom Sport aren't cheap, but if you need a truck and you like the look of this one, it is really good.

Driving Notes

The cabin is big and inviting, and everything in it is big and inviting. The materials are nice enough to look and feel swanky but not so lavish that you're afraid to get them dirty. The seats are sized for adult male bears but they don't swallow you up. The sunroof is big enough to be an observatory.It's also quiet. The only time it gets mildly unruly is when you call for power and the engine has to downshift a few gears, otherwise you don't hear the exhaust unless you roll down the window.It looks like it was designed with a T-square. I quite like it, the body-colored bumpers toning things down, the 20-inch wheels doing a much better job of filling those ample arches than the standard 17-inchers.The truck is built for people who take their work and all their gadgets with them. The front console has three USB ports, two 12-volt cigarette lighter ports, and a three-prong 110-volt outlet. The giant cubby at the base of the console has an insert to hold a clipboard or a small tablet. The abyss under the center armrest has one more 12V cigarette lighter, two more USB ports, an SD card reader, and another specialized holder for something the size of a small tablet. There's a WiFi hotspot so the streaming never has to stop. The Chevrolet navigation was trouble-free as usual, and you can input destinations on a QWERTY touchscreen keyboard. Every nav system should be so solid.The Silverado has some of the best feature implementations we've encountered in any vehicle. The lane departure warning and park assist systems don't vibrate the steering wheel, they vibrate the seat. The left, right, and middle of the seat bottom will pulse as necessary, an intuitive, peripheral way to deliver a message that doesn't interrupt your primary focus.The rear-view camera is no longer offset, it's centered. The image and the screen clarity, even at night, were so good that I could hitch up the Airstream trailer I was pulling without any help. The headlight knob always resets to Auto; if you turn the headlights off, when you shut down the truck and restart the lights are on Auto again. It's an instant cure for when valets and everyone else who gets behind the wheel change the headlight setting, which you'd might not realize until your headlights don't come on at night or you have a dead battery the next day.We got this to haul a 22-foot Airstream trailer with a listed base weight of 3,634 pounds, which the 5.3-liter EcoTec3 V8 and six-speed gearbox did easily. The 355 horsepower and 383 pound-feet of torque aren't eye-popping numbers (you can get an optional 6.2-liter V8 with 420 hp and 460 lb-ft mated to an eight-speed transmission), but 300 lb-ft is available from 2,000 rpm. It humped us over the numerous grades in the 164-mile stretch between home and our desert camp-out spot, including a steep, winding, seven-mile run out of Borrego Springs, with zero issues.The Z71 package upgrades the suspension with better shocks, a front stabilizer bar, and better bump stops for big hits. We spent a couple of afternoons pounding over washboard desert trails, the kind that would once make an empty pickup bed waggle at a different rhythm than the cab and generally go all bouncy castle. None of that here, the much stiffer chassis and details like inset doors tamping down such theatrics.The Max Trailering package swaps out for a 9.76-inch rear axle, heavy-duty springs, and different shock tuning, so the ride is stiffer than without it, but we thought it plenty plush for daily driving. The ceaseless expansion joints in LA freeways will make any really stiff or unsorted suspension see-saw, but the Silverado smoothed it all out, only getting momentarily floaty if you hit a sharp bump at high speed.And besides, the Max Trailering package means the truck you see here can tow almost 11,000 pounds. That's more than adequate for most people's needs, and it meant we had no trouble hooking up an Airstream and getting out of town for a few days. Big American pickup, is there anything you can't do?Featured Gallery2015 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Custom Sport: Quick Spin

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2015 Porsche Cayenne S Quick Spin

2015 Porsche Cayenne S Quick SpinMore Than Just A Sporty SUVImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon RamseyImage Credit: Jonathon Ramsey2016 CayenneMSRP$58,300ShopReviewsMore Photos2015 Porsche Cayenne Turbo S: Detroit 20152015 Porsche Cayenne Turbo S2015 Porsche Cayenne GTS: LA 20142015 Porsche Cayenne GTS2015 Porsche Cayenne2015 Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid: Quick SpinJonathon Ramsey

Vital StatsEngine:Twin-Turbo 3.6L V6Power:420 HP / 406 LB-FTTransmission:8-Speed Automatic0-60 Time:5.1 SecondsTop Speed:161 MPHDrivetrain:All-Wheel DriveEngine Placement:FrontCurb Weight:4,597 LBSSeating:2+3Cargo:62.9 CU-FT (max)MPG:17 City / 24 HWYBase Price:$74,800As Tested Price:$104,135There are sporty SUVs, but until the Macan came along, the Porsche Cayenne was arguably the only pure definition of a 'sports SUV, à la sports car. The second-generation Cayenne is now five years old, but still looks fresh. It's handsome without obvious effort, especially with the optional 21-inch 911 Turbo wheels.

The Cayenne S replaces the old, 400-horsepower, 4.8-liter V8 with the brand-new, Porsche-developed 3.6-liter twin-turbo V6. This engine is quickly proliferating through the range – it powers the current Panamera S and the Macan Turbo. That former 4.8-liter started life as a 4.5-liter with 350 horsepower way back in 2002, specifically developed for the Cayenne, and to the end it remained a potent engine. We tried the new forced-induction V6 with 420 hp earlier this year in the Panamera S, and other than a soggy exhaust note it maintained the character of the former V8 sport sedan, with lusty power and hasty delivery. So, how's it do in the Cayenne?

Driving Notes

The Cayenne S version of the TT V6 gets 420 hp and 406 pound-feet of torque. That means there's 37 more lb-ft than the previous V8, and 22 more lb-ft than in the new Panamera S. Yet the 607-pound difference in curb weight between the Panamera and Cayenne means the V6 has a heavier load to lift here. And it shows – the instant response is dulled.Stomping the right foot gets the eight-speed transmission rappelling through gears to provide a little kick, but real gumption doesn't come until the turbos kick in. We're maybe talking about a second of pause compared to the Panamera, but a noticeable second. Perhaps a small price to pay for slightly better fuel economy, if you really care about such in your 420-hp SUV.Part of why we notice that second is that the Cayenne S is so right-now everywhere else that any perceived hesitation gets extra attention. It offers a specific adjustability that many sports cars don't have, with one button adjusting the three-mode air suspension and a separate Sport button tweaking the steering, throttle, gear changes, and traction control.With Sport keeping all the horses at the ready and the optional Porsche Torque Vectoring holding things steady, you don't need to step up to the GTS trim to get immediate acceleration, crisp steering, flat cornering at very un-SUV-like speeds, and tremendous stopping power from a total of 20 brake pistons.That said, the exhaust note here could also use a shot of Bruce Banner's gamma rays.Red cabins generally turn me off – it's too much like the insides of the cows that provided the leather, and more than a little "Redrum." But the cabin in the Cayenne S tester earned a pass for reasons I can't define; it is seductively built and detailed, and let's be honest, it's nicer than you'll find in most versions of the 911 including the Turbo S. Even the steering wheel is beautiful, and the rim has a planed face that we've never encountered before. The gorgeous seats required practiced technique for climbing over so that we weren't impaled on the impressive bolsters.But wow, that's a lot of buttons on the center console. Sit in the back seat, lean over to view the forward cabin, and your first thought will probably be, "I wonder if the captain will give me a tour of the cockpit." It's pretty, but it's busy. We memorized the location of the five buttons we actually used and ignored the rest after pressing them all exactly once.The Panamera S' price went up about $1,900 when it ditched the V8, but the Cayenne S has gone up by a robust $8,000, to $74,800. Sure, there's a touch of extra standard equipment in the mix like bi-xenon headlights, but the real justification is to put room between it and the Macan; the 400-hp Macan Turbo starts at $73,900. The price leap and the baby SUV's arrival could explain why Cayenne sales are down by 13 percent through the first four months of this year, but the Cayenne is still the best-selling Porsche on dealer lots and we won't be surprised if it stays that way. For those who want a sports car that's an SUV, the Cayenne range shares the top of the mountain only with its little brother.

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