CAR (UK)

Snug as a bug in a Jag

Do you need an all-wheel-drive SUV for the British winter? You do not.

- By Ben Miller

Faced with the threat of an icy, low-mu winter, people can take leave of their senses. Terrified of snow, my own mother swapped her R53 Mini Cooper S for a far less supercharg­ed Rav4. I grieve still.

With 444bhp, rear-wheel drive and little more than an electronic diff, an empty boot and a very pert rear end over the back axle, the bald facts would suggest I immediatel­y trade the F-Type for a

Toyota SUV, for fear of becoming a permanent part of the snow-bound Lincolnshi­re landscape.

But the truth is the Jaguar is proving itself an unlikely but formidable winter car. In an inch or two of snow the Rain/Snow/ Ice drive mode gamely summons forward motion where by rights there should be none, and life in the cockpit is peachy. The heated seats are monumental­ly powerful, able to roast a shoulder of lamb in the blink of an eye, and they’re warm before you’re even out of your village. The heated steering wheel, too, is a beautiful thing, particular­ly if, like me, you like your extremitie­s warm but your cabin relatively cool and fresh. The F-Type also enjoys electric heating for the front and rear screens, so there’s no extended idle (love thy neighbour) or warm-water-in-akettle shenanigan­s required.

Then there’s the less obvious but if anything more impressive stuff. Modern Jaguars mostly enjoy a very impressive ride/handling balance that works brilliantl­y on UK roads. In the normal drive mode the F-Type deals with rough roads nicely, and even in angry Dynamic it stops well short of becoming a bone-stiff plank.

The advantages of this are, primarily, a very un-sports-car-like ability to shrug off rough and lumpen roads. But the same well-damped yet pliant wheel movement also plays a key role in the P450’s really impressive grip and traction, even when the tarmac’s frozen and the surface mirror-like with rainwater and filth. Couple that with the very supercharg­ed power delivery (linear and consistent­ly torquey) and you find yourself not pussyfooti­ng around in poor weather but really driving – and loving every minute of it.

Mazda 3 GT Sport Skyactiv-X Month 7

The story so far

Great-looking hatch with an engine that makes big claims

Motorway refinement has to be top of the class…

…but mpg refuses to live up to its potential

Logbook

Price £26,675 (£27,465 as tested) Performanc­e 1998cc four-cylinder, 178bhp, 8.2sec 0-62mph, 134mph Efficiency 48.7mpg (official), 31.6mpg (tested), 131g/km CO2 Energy cost 13.8p per mile Miles this

month 1467 Total miles 7380

 ??  ?? A facelift to date the firstgen car – we’re fans
A facelift to date the firstgen car – we’re fans
 ??  ??

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