2019-04-01 CAR UK (1)

Three hefty gas

guzzlers, one

person per car...

so that’s where

all the fuel went

58 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | APRIL 2019

Mind the gap

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Thank you for another wonderful issue

(January 2019). I especially liked the

article on the new Jaguar i-Pace and the

beautiful XK120. The opening image

of the two cars is wonderful. However,

the panel gap on the front right of the

i-Pace between the bonnet and front

face is so uneven as to make me wonder

about the quality control at Jaguar.

Perhaps they could use the beautiful

leather strap from the bonnet of the

XK120. If would help with the fit and

add a bit of nostalgia.

Geff Bourke

S marks the spot

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Further to Georg Kacher’s article on the

new 2020 BMW M3 (2019 New Cars,

February), and in particular a proposed

two-wheel-drive M3/4 (aka Pure), the

production name would surely be M3

sDrive, no? I can’t speak for BMW, but

future M-cars will undoubtedly feature

M xDrive drivetrains as a default choice

(petrol, hybrid or electric). Makes sense

when you see it listed in the price lists

too – always a good thing to consider.

Mike Spencer

Bum deal

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Comfortable seating is the epic fail of

most modern cars. As a 6ft 2in chap

with long legs, I find it incredibly hard

to get comfortable in most driving

seats. What makes the difference is

a seat cushion that tips. If I can raise

the front edge to support my thighs,

then I am in with a chance. If I can get

good lumbar support too, then I am

happy. After copious VW and Toyota

vehicles, none of which were genuinely

comfortable, I currently drive a Volvo

XC60 – annoyingly large in car parks

but splendidly comfortable.

I cannot believe that it is a question

of cost, as my wife’s ancient Nissan

Primera had a tippable seat cushion.

Citroën offered them in the BX decades

ago. As the seat is the principal point

of contact between man and vehicle it

amazes me that so many manufactur-

ers give you such a raw deal.

Peter Johns

Spread the cost

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I enjoyed Tim Pollard’s comparison of

three generations of Audi A8 (Our Cars,

Februar y 2019). However, until then I

had been pretty sure that the two A8s

I have run since 2004 over a total of

276,000 miles had not cost £1,380,000

to run (per the £5 per mile quoted), but

around a tenth of that.

You have me worried now.

Jack Adams

Your higher mileage and longer

ownership would have spread

the depreciation more thinly. Our

figures are at least comparable to

other cars on the CAR long-term

test fleet. BM

Upwardly mobile

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‘Vauxhall prices are now just four per

cent off Volkswagen’s’ (Vauxhall boss

Stephen Norman, Inquisition, February

2019). Good luck with that.

Glenn Churton

Reverse engineering

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Well done for refusing to swallow

Audi ’s illogical approach in fitting the

e-Tron with rear-view cameras rather

than mirrors. Based on your description

in Does It Work? (February), they

simply don’t do anything better than