Motoring Discussion > Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face?	Miscellaneous
Thread Author: Westpig	Replies: 49

New Sun 8 Dec 13 21:56   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - Westpig

I took my old Jag for a spin today. Took it out of the shed, off with the covers, gave it a rinse off and I went for a pootle.. ..then the pootle quickly turned into a thrap, because I can't resist hearing the V6 sing, even if the average fuel consumption got down to 14.6... It sounds lovely at full tilt and will still surprise many hot hatches. I drove further than I needed or intended...and really enjoyed it, it put a right smile on my face..and all from a car that I'd struggle to make £1500 if I sold it. I love that car..and it's clean and tidy enough to turn heads...and looks good in a light metallic blue (even if the grey leather seats look a bit old fashioned as a colour now). Maybe I'm just easily pleased nowadays. She'll be sold when I'm gone. Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 8 Dec 13 22:25   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - Ted

Any occasion to get the bike fired up and out on the road brings a smile. Of course, the Jowett is here to make me smile. Once I get in, feel the flat four beat and the steering wheel in my lap. Elbow on each armrest...column change.. lazy driving. Good. Ted Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 9 Dec 13 10:54   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - Westpig

>> Of course, the Jowett is here to make me smile. Once I get in, feel >> the flat four beat and the steering wheel in my lap. Elbow on each armrest...column >> change.. lazy driving. I still have my Triumph 2000 Mk 1...but...I don't know whether or not this is considered heresy, but as the Jag does everything so much better, it seems to get preference nowadays. Probably got something to with the fact that the Jag is more reliable...and the Triumph needs its 3rd gearbox overhaul since I've owned it (auto)..and I begrudge the money going out. Triumph still looks the part on a sunny day though.... and the staright six sounds good. Deep maroon in colour and it is immaculate... on the outside...fairly good on the inside but the carpets will have to be the next project..and then the seats...it's never ending. Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 9 Dec 13 12:24   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - Cliff Pope

>> >> I still have my Triumph 2000 Mk 1...but...I don't know whether or not this is >> considered heresy, but as the Jag does everything so much better, it seems to get >> preference nowadays. >> I don't know Jaguars - is this yours? tinyurl.com/nbbxx43 If so I'd probably agree, and ditch the Triumph. :) Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 8 Dec 13 22:30   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - Dog

My Subaru Forester still does it for me, I've had it 7 months now and the gilt hasn't worn orf, yet. It does everything I've ever wanted in a car, it's very comfortable, feels solid and safe, especially with all these kamikaze cyclists about these days :( It's coming up to 7 year old mind, so I have to shake a spanner or two at it occasionally, but that's all part of the joy really =TLC! Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 8 Dec 13 22:53   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - Bromptonaut

Just driving the car in a way appropriate to its capabilities. I'm booked for Dad's end of semester minicab trips to (a) Sheffield and (b) Liverpool this week. (a) will be undertaken in Fleur, our new 115PS Berlingo and will be delivered with panache and use of speed. (b) will be with 68PS 05 1.9D Enriico. Never going to achieve sub 20s 0-60 times but driven with care and feel his point to point speeds will not disgrace. Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 8 Dec 13 23:23   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - bathtub tom

I had great fun in driving the old 750cc Panda to its limits. Similarly, the Kia Pride gave great pleasure at the 'traffic lights grand prix' with it's 1340cc, twin-choke-carb giving all of its 60-odd BHP to over 7K RPM. The damn thing just wouldn't go round corners! Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 9 Dec 13 08:29   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - BiggerBadderDave

I'm not interested in 0-60 and in the last 4 years I've had the Lexus, I never tried it. But last week I had to join a fast dual carriageway from a small village a few miles out of Warsaw. It was a dusty track, there wasn't even a slip road, I just had to hope for a big gap and hit the gas. The cabin went from silent luxury to a tremendous roar and when it changed from second to third I had to take my eyes off the road or speedo and watch the rev counter. That moment as the needle shot from 4000 to 6000 it pressed me into the back of the chair. It felt sooooo good. Suddenly I was way too fast, had to hard bake for the truck in front, flip into the fast lane, hit the kick-down and do it again. That was my hooligan moment and I loved it. Big smile on my face, yanked up the volume too. Forever Autumn was playing. Perfection. I have to go tomorrow but the wife and kids will be there so not so sure I'll do it again. Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 9 Dec 13 09:36   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - legacylad

Just getting my 9yo 330 out of the garage, These past few months I have ummed and aaahed about change for the sake of it. A Spec B tourer, Focus ST estate, 330/335 estate, S4 estate and even a friends RX 400h. But at the end of the day I can put up with the ragtops impracticality just for that engine/handling balance and roof down trips. Yesterday took my Mum & family members out for a birthday lunch, and even though it was only an hour round trip, it convinced me to hang on to it a while longer. Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 9 Dec 13 12:03   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - Alanovich

>> end of semester Hell's teeth. Term. Please. :-) Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 9 Dec 13 12:08   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - Gromit

No, there are two semesters or three terms in a college year. Makes a big difference to how often the students are subjected to harrassment, sorry, assessment, during the college year :-0 Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 9 Dec 13 12:26   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - Cliff Pope

>> or three terms in a college year. >> Four at Cambridge, depending on subject. Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 9 Dec 13 12:27   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - No FM2R

>>there are two semesters or three terms two terms / three terms two semesters / three trimesters Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 9 Dec 13 12:33   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - Alanovich

I don't care how many there are. If there are two, then there are two terms. That's that. There is no such thing as a semester outside of an episode of Friends. :-) Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 9 Dec 13 13:58   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - Gromit

Strange, then, that many universities (yes, even in the UK) refer to moving from three terms to two as "semesterisation" :-0 Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 9 Dec 13 16:45   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - Alanovich

>> Strange, then, that many universities (yes, even in the UK) refer to moving from three >> terms to two as "semesterisation" :-0 >> Then they've all been watching too much Friends and asking too many Starbucks slaves if they can "get" a "Joe". Terms. "Semesterisation" - :-0 indeed. Ugly horrible made up nonsense. They are, obviously moving from a three term system to a two term system. What's wrong with saying that? Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 9 Dec 13 09:56   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - Chas

My current car a 208 GTi. For the first time in a long time I actually look forward to driving it each time which is what it's all about if you're interested in driving. 0 to 60 in 6.8 seconds, top speed of 143 MPH, peak torque at 1700 RPM, 45 mpg on a run, reasonable ride and well equipped. What's not to like? All the motoring journalists hark back to the 205 GTi and say the 208 isn't as good. I am old enough to have driven both and definitely wouldn't want an accident in the old car....plus it was smaller, slower, less economical, poorer equipped and more expensive in real terms. The 205 was an absolute star in it's day and I loved them but that design/technology of car just cannot be built these days. Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 9 Dec 13 10:48   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - Runfer D'Hills

I've been driving since 1976 but I still pretty much enjoy driving anything. Even the most basic of cars can be fun if you chuck it about a bit. More so perhaps than more capable ones which run out of road and the boundaries of legality much more quickly. Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 9 Dec 13 15:09   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - BobbyG

Humph agree with you there - as we get more and more cossetted in our modern cars I feel the fun comes in basic forms - last year I had a few days with a Chevrolet Matiz and having to rev the nuts off it just to get it up a motorway slip road was so much fun! I regularly see a Mk3 Cortina on my commute and would love to have a shot in it - it looks tiny compared to modern cars although I have just checked and its 4261x1702 which is not small by modern standards. Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 9 Dec 13 11:30   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - ToMoCo

Do you have the 3.0l V6 WP? Just had a look on autotrader and wow!, you can get a lot of car for not very much money. Last edited by: VxFan on Mon 9 Dec 13 at 12:59 Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 9 Dec 13 14:36   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - Cliff Pope

£9,750 here: www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C442116 It's a straight-6 3.8 litre Gorgeous! Last edited by: Cliff Pope on Mon 9 Dec 13 at 14:36 Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 9 Dec 13 15:46   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - Boxsterboy

There was a time when I owned both a brand new Porsche Boxster, and a very old 2CV. Both gave pleasure in their own very different ways. The Porsche was all about steering feel, mid-engine balance and power. The 2CV was (and is) about a sympathetic ear for an old car, momentum preservation and optimisation of limited power. Loved them both. Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 9 Dec 13 17:01   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - Runfer D'Hills

I've enjoyed driving many cars both past and current but the only one which caused a permanent grin was the Westfield. It was a more or less feral thing. Neck snapping acceleration and braking, gripped like nothing else I've ever driven and the sound, pinpoint handling and oh the sound... Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 9 Dec 13 19:19   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - Westpig

>> Do you have the 3.0l V6 WP? Just had a look on autotrader and wow!, >> you can get a lot of car for not very much money. Yes. Three litre SE auto. It is a lot of car for the money. The engines are very reliable and the known faults like sticking door locks and individual coils will have been sorted by now. Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 9 Dec 13 19:37   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - Crankcase

I had one just like yours, Westpig, in the blue but with the lighter leather. We liked it very much indeed, and indeed if I ever say to Mrs C what the best car we've had is she always says that one was the nicest looking, although for comfort she picks the Vauxhall Carlton, interestingly, and for fun, the Renault 5 turbo, and so on. I'd have another if I could afford to keep it on a daily basis, but I'd rather spend the cash on other more boring things. Bit jealous though. Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 11 Dec 13 19:19   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - Westpig

>> I'd have another if I could afford to keep it on a daily basis, but >> I'd rather spend the cash on other more boring things. Bit jealous though. >> Suits you sir..and being diseasel it'll not break your wallet on fuel...you know it makes sense, you only live once. tinyurl.com/lenb8mh P.S. not my post code Last edited by: Westpig on Wed 11 Dec 13 at 19:20 Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 11 Dec 13 19:30   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - Crankcase

Hmm. That's not much is it. This is a dead ringer for the one I had. Also links to Autotrader. tinyurl.com/ltj5q97 Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 11 Dec 13 19:36   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - Westpig

Mine looks like this tinyurl.com/mtvxwld Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 12 Dec 13 21:39   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - WillDeBeest

Read this while I was away and made a note to reply when I had more than a work computer to hand. As you'll have noticed, my feelings for the LEC are more of respect than affection, but there's a moment each day when it does give me a little inward smile. It's the moment as I'm leaving work, when I snick the selector into D, smoothly release the parking brake and guide the car forward into the channel that leads to the exit gate. The key word here is 'guide'; 'drive' seems too strong a word. It's something to do with the automatic easing the car forward without pressure on the pedal, so it's effectively taking me home of its own accord, and all it needs from me is a gentle hand on the wheel. It's also the one time I'm truly aware of the star at the far end of that big bonnet; for those few seconds the whole thing just feels right. Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 12 Dec 13 22:11   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - Runfer D'Hills

Know what you mean WDB. I started my engine at 05.00 hrs this morning. Drove 180 miles before breakfast. Worked all day, started it up again at 18.00 hrs and did the return 180 mile trip arriving home 21.00 hrs. The driving parts were effortless. ( wish I could say the same about the bits in between ) Magic carpet of a car. Just seems to sort of take you to places in splendid isolation from the outside world. Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 12 Dec 13 22:19   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - BiggerBadderDave

"wish I could say the same about the bits in between" Family jewels eh? Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 12 Dec 13 22:34   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - Runfer D'Hills

It has a special heater for those. Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 12 Dec 13 22:40   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - swiss tony

>> It has a special heater for those. >> No.... that's just a golf tee. You know, the thing that holds your balls whilst driving... Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 12 Dec 13 22:44   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - Runfer D'Hills

Reminds me of a girlfriend I had once. She used to... Ach it was a long time ago... ;-) Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 13 Dec 13 08:10   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - Duncan

>> I snick the selector into D, smoothly release the parking brake >> Serious question. Why do you bother with the parking brake? Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 13 Dec 13 09:45   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - WillDeBeest

Serious answer: for the same reason that I leave my manual car in gear with the handbrake on. The car park at work is perfectly level but my drive isn't, nor are many other places I visit. Any mechanical device can fail, and when the consequence might be catastrophic and the precaution to prevent it is so simple, why would I not use the parking brake? Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 13 Dec 13 09:56   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - four wheels good...

Back to the subject: Taking the MX-5 for an Italian tune-up, roof down on a crisp sunny winter's day. Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 13 Dec 13 11:11   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - Dog

What model of Mercedes is a LEC actually, Beest & Runfor D'Humph? Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 13 Dec 13 15:08   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - WillDeBeest

The Yorkshire one. Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 13 Dec 13 16:16   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - Dog

'e' by gum :o) Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 14 Dec 13 00:31   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - legacylad

Dare I finally ask what is a LEC? Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 14 Dec 13 00:42   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - rtj70

I assume a LEC is a Large Estate Car. Or words to similar effect. Last edited by: rtj70 on Sat 14 Dec 13 at 00:43 Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 14 Dec 13 00:49   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - legacylad

Lux exec car? Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 14 Dec 13 00:53   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - Avant

Largely Extravagant Charabanc. Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 14 Dec 13 08:04   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - Dog

And there's me looking on HJ for a Mercedes E Class LEC ... what a pilloock! :+) Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 14 Dec 13 10:42   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - WillDeBeest

It does get explained periodically, when someone asks. I see the list of threads pinned to the top of the page has been pruned recently. Perhaps we need one to explain 'LEC' and other C4P jargon, so we don't put off that long queue of would-be members we keep hearing about. Last edited by: WillDeBeest on Sat 14 Dec 13 at 10:43 Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 14 Dec 13 10:46   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - Runfer D'Hills

Wouldn't bother WDB. It only fell into use because the repeated use of the "M" word was upsetting some of the proletariat. ;-)) Last edited by: Runfer D'Hills on Sat 14 Dec 13 at 10:47 Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 14 Dec 13 12:38   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - DP

Alfa 2.5 "Busso" V6 at 6000 RPM on a wide open throttle. If they could find some way of bottling the noise, it would make a hell of an anti-depressant. Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 14 Dec 13 12:46   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - Runfer D'Hills

Talking of noises, this always makes me smile. It's worth playing all the way through BTW... www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lmE17Dg23w Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 14 Dec 13 22:32   Jaguar S-Type - What gives you a (motoring) smile on your face? - Avant

It looks as if it was - appropriately - a Fordson tractor in the first place. In my childhood in the 50s Fordsons were blue and Fergusons grey. As I've said before, in the noise stakes there's still nothing to beat a 50s two-stroke Commer lorry. Reply to this message | Report message