Jaguar World – July 2019

18 |JaguarWorld/July 2019

LETTERSLLLEEETTTTTTEEERRRSSS

Changeofheart

I’dalwaysassumedthattheBMW3-Serieswasabettercar

thantheJaguarX-TYPE–it’swhatthemotoringpresstold

us 15 yearsago.However,afterreadingCraigCheetham’s

twintestintheJuneissue(FleetNews,p46),Ihaveto

changemymind.It’samazinghowtheBMW–alwaysseen

asaleaderinautomotivedesign–hasdated,whereasthe

Jaguarlooksasgoodasitdidinthe2000s.Anditsoundslike

theJaguaristhebettercartodrive,too.

YouhavetowonderwhytheX-TYPEwasn’tmorepopular

thanitwasandwhythepresswasnotkeeneronthecar

whennew.WasitsMondeoheritagetoblame?Orwasit–

likethebuyingpublic–blindedbythe3-Series’hype?

RogerBanham

Oldways

ItwaswithgreatironythatyourFord-eraspecialarrivedon

mymatatexactlythesametimeasrumoursbegantocirculate

onsocialmediaabouttheFrenchcompanyPSA(whichowns

Peugeot,Citroënandmorerecently,Vauxhall/Opel)buying

JaguarLandRoverfromTata.Iftheyaretrueitwouldbeverysad.

IbelieveTatahasbeenverygoodforJaguar,allowing

thisfamousbrandtogrowanddevelopcarsthatfititsown

image,carslikethecurrentXJ,F-TYPEandevenF-PACE.Plus,

ithasgivenJaguartheopportunitytodesignitsownrange

ofchassisandengines,whichmeansthatthecurrentrangeof

carsarerealJaguars.

IftheFrenchcompanybuysJaguar,willwegobacktothe

Ford-erastyleofusingpartsfromelsewhere?Worsestill,

wouldbetherebadgingofPeugeotsorCitroënsasJaguars

–couldyouimaginethe 5008 SUVbadgedastheJaguar

D-PACE?Let’shopetheserumoursremainjustthatandthat

JaguarremainsunderTata’sprotectivewing.

ChrisClements

Rightdecision

I’mintheluckypositionofhavingaccess

tobothanAstonMartinDB 7 (my

father’s 19983. 2 coupe)andanXKR(my

own 4. 2 convertible).AfterreadingPaul

Walton’stwintestintheJune 2019 issue

(BloodBrothers,p 34 ),Ihavetoagree

withhim.

TheAstonistheprettierofthe

two,therearespecially,despite

theMazda-sourcedrearlights.

TheJaguar,though,hasthebetter

interior,lookingbetterdesigned

andfeelingbetterbuilt.And,as

Paulalsosays,theJaguaristhe

morerefinedofthetwo,the 4. 2 V 8

beingsmoothandquietcompared

totheancientstraight-sixinmyold

man’sAston.

Ialsolikethefactthat,at£ 15 k,I

paidexactlyhalfwhathedid,butI

reckonmycarisjustasgood.Not

thathe’llagree,ofcourse...

JonHamilton