Jaguar faced a dilemma in designing the F-Pace. The company’s image was based on sleek, swift saloons and rakish sports cars.

However, the migration to SUVs was becoming a flood. But it had to be done in a way which did not tread on Land Rover’s toes. The result was an athletic SUV-like ‘crossover’ with an on-road focus.
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Has it worked?  It does have its own distinct look and, rather than base it on a Land Rover or Range Rover, the F-Pace team adapted the architecture of the XE and XF  cars. That brought with it an 'aluminium-intensive' body structure with some magnesium thrown in for further weight-loss.

How far will a car realistically go on a full tank of fuel? Most car owners will know it isn’t as far as manufacturers lead to you believe in their advertising.
 
Some car manufacturers – in the wake of 2015’s ‘dieselgate’ scandal, and pre-empting the introduction of a revised testing process for vehicles – have already begun to publish their own ‘real world’ fuel consumption figures to help manage customer expectations.

​Some consumer automotive publications have introduced their own alternatives to official figures, with one, HonestJohn.co.uk, giving owners the chance to input their own fuel economy to database that then returns an average for individual models.

​Passing Junction 10 of the M40, heading towards Birmingham late on a Monday morning, a Ferrari 360, barrelling down the outside lane took a nano-second to fill my rear-view mirror.
 
Fast it might be, and head-turning it might be, but with 50 miles behind me and another 400 to go, I was grateful to be at the wheel of a Vauxhall Astra diesel.
 
Having covered just shy of 1,000 miles in two days (and further 1,000 over the next three says), it was apparent just how good the Astra is: since the original model made its debut back in 1979, it has matured into a fantastically capable, good-looking and affordable car.

A classic Bentley Turbo R faces off against a new Mulsanne Speed in the Brecon Beacons

For decades Bentley motor cars were overshadowed by the models of the Rolls-Royce marque. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, they were made using the finest materials by skilled craftspeople, as were Rolls-Royces.

But they were effectively badge-engineered vehicles, slightly less ostentatious versions of the luxury cars regarded as the best in the world.

It was much the same when the Silver Spirit and Mulsanne replaced the Silver Shadow and T Series in 1980. At the time of their launch around 90 per cent of the models produced in Crewe wore the Spirit of Ecstasy as a radiator grille mascot with the remainder sporting the flying B.

In 1982 we began to witness a shift in how the company wanted both brands to be perceived with the launch of the Mulsanne Turbo. It produced around 50 per cent more power than a Mulsanne or Silver Spirit, and perhaps the pivotal moment that defined the start of the delineation of both brands arrived in 1985 with the launch of the Turbo R.

It's always fascinating seeing highly skilled and specialised craftspeople working in modern production. This is why visiting Bentley's factory in Crewe is always an education.

​A demonstration of how ancient techniques have not lost their place among ultra-modern technology in the production of some of the world's finest luxury cars.

This month the factory will begin production of the new Bentayga SUV. Bentley will be the first super-luxury automotive brand to launch a 4x4, and the model is expected to increase the company's sales worldwide by 50 per cent over the next few years.

It was late September in Spain. The grape harvest was upon us, people were out collecting mushrooms in the morning and olives in the evening.

Lemon and orange groves were heavy with fruit, fields being put to the plough. Birds of prey, silhouetted as they circled by a blood-red sun sinking slowly westward behind a vast range of mountains, called an end to the working day. You don’t see that from an aeroplane.

When I visited Spain in a Range Rover the previous year, it deployed the top 4.4 litre SDV8 diesel and 339ps.This time the Range Rover Sport’s unit (diesel again) was the six-cylinder 3.0 litre SDV6 producing 292ps. Slightly shorter and lower than the Range Rover, RRS nonetheless has a similarly high driving position – now too a ‘5+2’ with seats for 7 thanks to a longer wheelbase (but the back “+2s” best regarded as ‘occasional’).

Land Rover can lay claim to inventing the luxury off-road 4x4 with the Range Rover in 1970 (at £1,800). Discovery came in 1989 and soon made the Land Rover badged vehicle a ‘must have’ motor car for the more comfortably off middle class.

Built on a separate chassis, they offered manual transmission and centre differential lock, permanent 4x4 with a transfer box for high/low ratios.  Although far from “utility” vehicles, these were dual-use 4x4s still capable of a proper job of work.

Mercedes-Benz evolved a more ‘soft-roader’ approach with the M-class of 1998 - aimed initially at and built in the USA.  But the ‘Sport’ in SUV came – unequivocally – with the BMW X5 of 1999. It abandoned the transfer box but concentrated instead on a competent permanent 4x4 system which was as much of an asset on-road as off it.

Most new cars do well at launch but the shine can come off the paintwork with longer at the wheel.  Earlier this year the Range Rover impressed - a towering achievement. Now came an opportunity to put it to the test: Spain and back in five days; 2,500 miles with everything from motorways to rural upland tracks in between.