Jaguar F-TYPE P450 Convertible 2024 Review

Although production in the UK has ended and supplies are now limited, the 2024 Jaguar F-TYPE line-up in Australia continues to be anchored by the V8-powered P450 Coupe priced from $181,670 plus on-road costs, as well as the P450 Convertible driven here that starts at $186,920 plus ORCs.

The slimmed-down range came after JLR Australia culled four-cylinder and supercharged V6 versions of the F-TYPE back in 2021.

Sitting atop the line-up is the flagship Jaguar F-TYPE R, which is available strictly in coupe form and is priced at $283,020 plus ORCs.

Finally, Jaguar has also produced 150 examples of the F-TYPE ZP Edition, 24 of which are coming to Australia priced at a lofty $373,547 plus ORCs.

The F-TYPE competes with the likes of the Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet (from $300,200), Lexus LC 500 Convertible ($218,242) and Chevrolet Corvette (from $190,000).

The 2024 Jaguar F-TYPE P450 Convertible received an uptick in specification for its final model year, with our test car adorned in 75 kit to commemorate 75 years of sports cars from the storied British marque.

Visually, the 75 years fillip brings items including unique black 20-inch alloy wheels and silhouette badging on the front wings, complemented by a blacked-out grille and rear badging. There’s also a choice of the sporting Giola Green paint hue that adorns our test car as a no-cost option.

Inside, slimline ‘Performance’ seats upholstered in Windsor leather are included as standard, while a standard Interior Black Pack darkens up the vents, instrument cluster, steering wheel spokes, switch bezels and centre console grab handle finisher.

Those features are over and above automatic LED headlights, LED tail-lights, single-zone climate control with pollen filter, keyless entry/start and an auto-dimming rear-view mirror.

As is the case with European vehicles, you can tailor your F-TYPE to the moon if you wish. Our test car features a $2750 Climate Pack featuring a heated windscreen, heated windscreen and dual-zone climate control, a $2110 Full Extended Leather upgrade, 12-way heated and cooled electric memory front seats ($1150) and much more, ballooning its as-tested price to $195,470 plus ORCs.

The F-TYPE is backed by a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty in Australia, with five years’ roadside assist. Servicing intervals are spaced every 12 months or 26,000km, with a five-year/130,000km service pack a complimentary inclusion from new.

As is common with high-end sports cars, the Jaguar F-TYPE has not been crash-tested by the likes of Euro NCAP or ANCAP, however the 2024 P450 Convertible tested here keeps pace with most modern safety expectations.

It comes fitted with a full suite of airbags, a swift-thinking stability control suite and many of the latest advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) including autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane departure warning, lane keep assist, driver detection warning, speed sign recognition, a reversing camera and front and rear parking sensors.

There’s also rollover protection in the convertible, in the unlikely event you tip the F-TYPE on its lid.

That said, you need to pony up an additional $1000 for basic features such as blind spot assist and rear traffic monitor, which are part of an option pack.

The 2024 Jaguar F-TYPE P450 Convertible features a 10.0-inch infotainment screen with wired Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, Bluetooth and native sat-nav, matched by a separate 12.3-inch display in the instrument cluster.

There’s also digital radio (DAB+) and a 10-speaker stereo with subwoofer, together with two USB outlets up front.

The swansong 2024 Jaguar F-TYPE P450 sources power from a rumbling 5.0-litre supercharged V8 that makes 331kW/580Nm, driving the rear wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission.

All told, coupe and convertible versions can accelerate to 100km/h from rest in 4.6 seconds, with a governed top speed of 285km/h.

Both versions feature a switchable exhaust that invokes a brilliantly British snarl in its most open settings.

For what it’s worth, the same basic engine configuration knocks out an even headier 423kW/700Nm in the all-wheel drive F-TYPE R, which propels it from 0-100km/h in 3.7sec, with a top speed of 300km/h.

You’re not exactly buying a 2024 Jaguar F-TYPE P450 Convertible as a fuel miser, but the V8 is quite respectable in terms of its everyday consumption.

Against a claim of 11.3L/100km on the combined cycle, we averaged about 12L/100km on test in a mix of conditions and achieved 9.1L/100km in highway driving using 98 RON premium unleaded.

In a word, memorable. In an era of tightening emissions standards dictating more and more electrification and downsized cylinder counts, the outgoing 2024 Jaguar F-TYPE P450 Convertible presents as a fitting antidote.

The V8 is cathartic and visceral in its tuning and sound. And best of all, it is an engine that can be enjoyed doddling about town just as much as tackling a winding country road.

From the moment you depress the starter button, the F-TYPE cabin is infiltrated with a wonderful British bellow, invoking elements of an old-school hot rod.

With the hood down, the engine provides laugh-out-loud moments, snarling and crackling on the overrun and providing linear and tangible progress across the rev spectrum.

The 5.0-litre is not an engine that will reset your perception of speed, per se, but the blown V8 offers real depth in its application of power and torque, with the former peaking from 6000rpm and the latter materialising from 2500-5000rpm.

Equally, the matching eight-speed auto is well timed with its shifts and offers an ample spread of ratios commensurate with either around-town driving, highway passage or sporting roads.

The F-TYPE delicately balances the rawness of the V8 with an in-cabin experience that is more akin to a day spa: there is limiting wind buffeting at cruising speeds with the top down, and the lush cabin materials impart a true sense of occasion.

The V8 is happily offset by quick-thinking electronics and a rear-drive bias that really seals the deal as a driver’s car.

Elsewhere, the F-TYPE is thoughtfully suspended, with adaptive dampers managing to take the edge off bumps in the road, while also providing taut body control under heavy braking and through quick changes in direction.

The suspension will occasionally lack control over harsher obstacles, particularly around rebound, a trait which sometimes leads to harsher deflections through the cabin.

At 1793kg, the F-TYPE drop-top definitely isn’t a lightweight – with much of that heft imposed by the V8 shoved up front – but it controls its mass admirably and strikes a nice balance between performance and comfort.

Ultimately, the tuning of the F-TYPE’s controls isn’t quite in the same league as segment benchmarks such as the Porsche 911. There’s a slightly digital veneer to the whole experience, particularly the modulation of the accelerator pedal and the brakes.

But all things considered, it is a thoroughly enjoyable convertible. And importantly, one you’ll savour for some time once the open-top sound of that V8 is properly registered.

The 2024 Jaguar F-TYPE P450 Convertible isn’t going to be remembered for cabin space or storage, but even 11 years on from its unveiling, the interior is still a wonderful accompaniment to the gorgeous exterior profile.

The Tan Windsor interior of our test car provides a comfortable setting for a 500km-odd, week-long road test, whereupon the seats offer ample support and long-journey amenity, the driving position feels suitably low-set and vision front and rear is relatively unencumbered by the car’s soft-folding roof.

On that, the F-TYPE offers alfresco driving in the space of 12 seconds at speeds of up to 50km/h.

Sure, the interior is feeling its age. The once show-stopping central air vents, which rise electrically from the dashboard upon start-up, present as a bit naff in 2024.

The numbers in the digital instrument cluster could potentially present as a little too small for many drivers, and equally the centre touch-screen is hardly the latest word in intuitiveness. But that said, the screen worked perfectly on test and did everything we asked of it, ditto the phone mirroring software.

One silver lining in the F-TYPE’s age is the fact it pre-dates many of the latest infotainment fads, specifically the annoying focus on dense menus within a touch-screen to control basic functions such as recirculated air.

Instead, the traditional dials and switchgear offer unbeatable on-the-go functionality and ease. It’s a refreshing throwback.

In terms of space and amenity, the F-TYPE convertible is an easy fit for your 175cm-tall correspondent, but would potentially impose some restriction on taller folk.

The 233-litre boot offers enough space for a couple of soft bags but not a lot more. This, coupled with the fact it employs a tyre inflation kit rather than a spare tyre, somewhat limits the F-TYPE’s ‘weekend away’ potential.

Just like its spiritual predecessor, the gorgeous E-Type, and even the pioneering XK120 that began Jaguar’s rich sports car history 75-odd years ago, there’s something truly special about the 2024 Jaguar F-TYPE P450 Convertible.

It might lack some of the dynamic finesse of the segment-benchmark Porsche 911, but the F-TYPE is unmistakeably best savoured in this form: V8, rear-wheel drive and convertible.

The combination makes for truly unforgettable wind-in-your-hair motoring, especially in an era where the once-synonymous V8 war cry of the sports car platoon falls increasingly silent.

2024 Jaguar F-TYPE 75 P450 Convertible at a glance:
Price: $186,920 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 5.0-litre V8 supercharged-petrol
Output: 331kW/580Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 11.3L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 269g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Not tested

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