Add me to the list of J-Gate fans, even though I hardly ever use it. I have
tried mine a few times, and found it to be good fun and very easy to get to
grips with. However, since most of my driving involves cruising up the
Auckland motorways (that’s freeways to some of you), or crawling around the
congested streets of Auckland, I mostly just stick it in “D” and enjoy the
ride.
As for motoring journalists, I wholeheartedly agree with the comments of
the other listers about the pathetic reviews that most of them write. Who
cares if you can slide a car sideways around a disused airfield at 100+
mph, when you’re lucky if you can get over 30 mph on the average city
street. They always seem to criticise the characteristics of a car that
99.999999% of the population never even come close to experiencing. Having
said that, the reviews and back-to-back comparisons in the English magazine
Jaguar Monthly tend to be unbiased and give realistic comments on what the
cars are like to drive under “normal” circumstances. They don’t even show
any favoritism towards our chosen marque, and regularly rate the
German/French/other opposition better in many respects. But, in the end, it
comes down to individual choice, and I for one, would always pick a Jag
over anything else (unless they start following the current trends in
automotive “styling”).
Lastly, as some listers have already pointed out, Bentley is owned by VW,
and Rolls-Royce is owned by BMW. I read somewhere that TVR is actually the
largest British owned car manufacturer. I also read somewhere else that the
company that makes London cabs is the largest British owned manufacturer.
How sad is that?
Regards,
David Orr,
Auckland, NZ,
92 XJ6 3.2