The first F-Type I ever drove was the 5.0 V8 S, and as you can see from this review I thought it was a bit much. Great fun, certainly, but ridiculously wayward on wet roads and demanding of respect on dry ones.I have never yet driven any Jaguar that can cope with the power of the five-litre supercharged V8 engine, even when its maximum output has been suppressed to 488bhp as it is in the F-Type, and I've suspected for a long time that no Jaguar will be able to handle it unless it has four-wheel drive.The 3.0 V6 S is a different matter altogether. It uses the new three-litre supercharged V6 engine which in this application produces up to 375bhp. That's still quite a lot, and although the sound isn't quite as stirring as the one produced by the V8 it's still very special. Unless you step into it within thirty seconds of blasting the bejaysus out of the V8, you're not going to feel that the V6 sounds dull.You do lose a bit of performance, of course. The V8 takes 4.3 seconds to accelerate from a standstill to 62mph. The V6 takes six tenths longer. Well, boo-hoo. Unless you compete in very short drag races, there is no journey you can take that will be spoiled by it taking 4.9 seconds when it might have taken 4.3. Nor is the V6's slower top speed (171mph rather than 186mph) of any importance whatever.And in any case the V6 can seem quicker, and may actually be quicker in some circumstances. The V8, as previously noted, requires care because you have to drive round the occasional inability of the chassis to cope with what the engine is giving it. The V6, even on damp roads, is much more useable. much more willing to accept wide throttle openings.If I had the chance to take both cars over the fearsome Pass of the Cattle in northwest Scotland, assuming that there was nothing coming the other way and the authorities had suspended the speed limit, I bet I'd be quicker in the V6.And even on tamer roads (which means almost every other road in Europe) you can feel that you have used the V6 in a way that a high-performance sports car can and should be used. Other than in very short bursts, that's not going to happen in the V8. Which, incidentally, is £12,000 and change more expensive.For me, that's it. The V6 is the better car. Case closed.I admit I've been using the term "V6" rather carelessly here, because the F-Type V6 is actually a different car, with a 335bhp unsupercharged engine. The one I'm talking about here is the V6 S. I haven't driven the "real" V6 yet, but for everyday use I suspect it might be better still. And it's £9000 cheaper.£9000 for an extra 40bhp? Well, no, there's more to it than that, because the S also has 19" alloy wheels, sports suspension with adaptive damping, a limited slip differential, an Active Sports Exhaust (which makes it sound even better at the touch of a button), bigger brakes and sports seats, among other things. £9000 doesn't sound quite so bad when you take that lot into account.If you know anything about manufacturer press fleet cars you won't be surprised to learn that this one was heavily burdened with optional extras including 20" wheels, premium leather upholstery, even sportier seats and an excellent Meridian surround-sound audio system.Along with other bits and pieces, these sent the price shooting up from £67,520 to £80,990, which was a bit alarming, but only £1005 more than Jaguar asks for a completely option-free V8. Engine 2995cc, 6 cylinders Power 375bhp Transmission 8-speed automatic Fuel/CO2 31.0mpg / 213g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 4.9 seconds Top speed 171mph Price £67,520 Details correct at publication date
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