The Jaguar XK range has a devoted following, and it’s easy to see why; it’s beautiful, poised and goes like stink. If only Jaguar could recreate the recipe, but in a more accessible package.

Well, they have. Welcome to the F-Type, the XK’s baby brother. It might only have two seats but it comes with the option of a smaller engine and prices start at just £58,520, £13,000 cheaper than the XK.

The F-Type has two engine options with three power outputs. The sweet spot of the F-Type range is widely acknowledged to be the V6 S, the hard-riding, hard-charging cousin to the basic V6. It is beautifully balanced and fast enough that you have no need of the V8’s enormous power.

A car like the F-Type is so much more than raw performance though, if for no other reason than every model in the range has more of it than you are ever likely to need. Cars like the F-Type are designed to flatter, to enrich, and to make you feel ever so slightly better than you did before you climbed in. And in this the V6 S excels.

The exhaust and engine howl provide a dramatic backdrop to jaw-dropping performance. Acceleration, cornering and braking levels are as high as anyone short of a supercar owner will have experienced and when you dig deeper the Jaguar reveals a composed, civilized side to it that is just as attractive. This is a very fast car that you could use everyday.

The options to customise your car are endless; there are 13 exterior colours to choose from, four different hues for the roof, and ten (yes, ten!) different alloy wheels. Plus two different colours for the brake calipers. And that is before you consider interior colours and textures. Leather abounds inside, but the design is edgy, modern and contemporary. This is an E-Type for the 21st century.

The basic V6 is a lovely car to drive, but the extra power and control of the V6 S is addictive enough to make the £9,000 premium worth every penny. And the V8? It is gloriously wanton, ridiculously fast and very expensive. I’ll take a V6 S thanks, but will understand if only the full-fat V8 will do for you!