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Stress test
Reading Richard Bremner’s account of the Jaguar I-pace drive to Hinckley Point and back (‘Alternating current’, 19 September) made me stressed! I found this story pretty shocking and rather sad really. A regular car would have done this journey in less than half the time with no stress.
I couldn’t find any reference to costs, either. Endless service station coffee and recharge costs next time, please.
Although electric cars can be surprisingly fun to drive, this surely is not the long-term future for longer trips unless there are some massive changes to infrastructure very soon. Zipping around town and a modest commute is about it. Jonny Horsfield Via email
Through a glass darkly
Why do people pay for privacy glass? I understand that the owners of big cars like Steve Cropley’s Mercedes-benz S-class would often be chauffeur-driven and may feel they need privacy, but owners of anything from a Ford Fiesta to a Ford Mondeo to even Jaguars? How often are the back seats occupied in these cars? And of these, how many feel concerned about being seen from the outside? Very few, if any, I suggest. Having one window darkened does nothing for the visual appeal in my view – just the opposite. Alan Coring Via email
Bigger is better
After reading your comparison of the new Ford Focus with its rivals (‘A hatch made in heaven’, 3 October), I was taken back to a time when multitests were the norm in the motoring press, in the 1980s and 1990s.
I used to nag my dad to grab the latest editions of Volkswagen Golf vs Ford Escort and Ford Sierra vs Vauxhall Cavalier. Inevitably, he gave in so I could excitedly see my favoured Ford-brand products lose again. We all know that the 1980s
was not a great time for Ford’s midrange models.
The Focus Mk4 makes the past a long time ago for Ford – even though it looks like a BMW 1 Series to me – and it was great to see dynamics back at the fore of this latest car.
Although I’m now in my forties, the big test made me think I was nine all over again and I tore through the pages to see the verdicts of each car. Bring back more big tests! Jim Warner Via email
Stories from Mucklow Hill
I very much enjoyed Dan Prosser’s article on the Vauxhall Corsa GSI and its ascent of Mucklow Hill (‘Head for the hills’, 19 September). I lived near the top of that hill for many years and wrote extensively about the area.
Among the buildings you noticed at the bottom of the hill is Somers Forge, which manufactures, among other things, armaments. Unknowingly, the forge on this site produced two large, finely engineered tubes for Saddam Hussein’s notorious ‘supergun’ projects in the late 1980s. The Iraqis pretended they were for use in the oil industry. Providentially, they were intercepted in Greece and never reached their destination.
You mention that an early vehicle took 9min 25sec to climb Mucklow Hill. This seems to be a very long time even in the snow, but it should be noted that originally this was a Continental-type zig-zag road intended to make the gradient more manageable. This earlier trip may well have preceded the straightening of the road to facilitate motor bus travel. Even then, it was not until 1913 that any bus was powerful enough to tackle this steep incline. Anthony N Rosser
Weston-super-mare
Squeaky clean
Perhaps Steve Cropley’s ears pick up frequencies that mine don’t but my experience of rattles and squeaks in cars differs from his. My two-and-ahalf-year-old Ford Mustang is squeak and rattle free. The Skoda Superb I had was rattle free at five years old and, two years further on, my friends have it, still with no squeaks, just like their Honda. I did not notice any trim noises from my brother’s Fiat Punto.
The same cannot be said of my five-year-old Morgan 3 Wheeler or my 1930 Sunbeam. Tim Grundey Inverurie
Don’t turn a bland eye, Jaguar
Your article about the problems facing Jaguar made unsettling reading for any British petrolhead (News, 26 September) but it seems to me that the problem has two clear
and identifiable roots.
Firstly, Jaguar styling seems to have lost its way. Arguably, the last good-looking and desirable Jaguar was the XK. The S-type was an unfortunate retro pastiche and the XF brought back memories of the Ford Sierra. Even the F-type is uninspired to look at, perhaps even more Oriental than British.
Secondly, Jaguar is now asking an awful lot of money for its cars. Often ‘like for like’ places them directly up against not BMW but Mercedes, and your reviews make it clear that while the cars drive very well, the perceived quality doesn’t put them in that class.
It seems the reception given to the I-pace is being allowed to direct the future of the company, but the I-pace will succeed because it is, by a long way, the best-looking Jaguar since the increasingly hallowed XK. It is so desirable because of the design, not because of its drivetrain, and that is where Jaguar needs to put its efforts. Blandly styled offerings will fail whatever system of propulsion is being used. John Solomon Via email
Efficiency drive coming
The disturbing report on climate change will presumably lead to dramatic changes in the car industry. I foresee Autocar coming out with reports such as ‘SCOOP: new smaller Range Rover’ and ‘New slower Porsche tested’, then ‘Track-day special Atom capable of 55mpg’ and, ultimately, ‘Mercedes announces new range of bubble cars’. Fortunately, at the age of 89, I am not unduly worried. Peter Taylor Via email
No overtaking
Matt Prior’s test of the racing electric Jaguar I-pace (‘The Pace Race’, 3 October) raises a question: who are likely to become the more frustrated at being unable to overtake identical cars around a small and narrow street circuit: drivers or spectators?
Yours in sensory underload. Mike Carter Via email