Youtube hearted comments of TassieLorenzo (@TassieLorenzo).

A lot of Jaguar enthusiasts seem to dislike the taller body of the all-new aluminium X350 and to really dislike the radical Callum styling of the X351. For them, the XJ should be more like this XJ40 or like the X300 or like the X308! "Very long, very low, very sleek" indeed as Matt says.
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It's amazing to see a XJ40 (or Daimler) in showroom condition like this! A not inconsiderable number of them seem to be more than a little worse for wear for their years. To see one that looks like brand new inside and out is quite the revelation! 😊
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Fault when hot sounds like typical crank angle sensor problem, doesn't it? 🤔 Edit -- Also what brand are those parts, they don't look like Lucas boxes, aren't Lucas boxes green? 🙂Nevermind, it was mentioned later Denckermann, fair enough, no Lucas goodness but Lucas is just rebadged Magnetti Marelli now anyway, lol.
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Proton sales really collapsed here in Australia ever since they changed from being modified older Mitsubishi designs to their own designs. It seems that cars like the Waja, Gen2 and second generation Satria were the beginning of the end of Proton in terms of being able to export cars successfully around the world. 🙁 The Proton Jumbuck was at one time a very popular small utility (pickup/bakkie), it took over from the Subaru Brumby/Brat somewhat, but with no replacement you don't see any of the type of vehicle around any more (apart from the odd Jumbuck or Brumby survivor). The small utilities offered in South Africa, Brazil and elsewise like the Renault (Dacia) Oroch or Volkswagen Saveiro are otherwise not offered in Australia anymore. I take it they are not offered in the UK either?
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7:00 National food of Malaysia: Nasi Lemak. Extremely delicious. Highly recommended! It's rice cooked in coconut milk served with curry, boiled egg, fried anchovies, roasted peanuts and sambal (chilli) sauce. Other popular Malaysian dishes include Laksa (curry noodle soup), Mee Goreng (curry stir-fry noodles), Nasi Goreng (curry fried rice) and Curry Puffs (curry pastries)... Are you spotting a theme? 😄
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Woohoo, a Honda FR-V! What a car! :)
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An Alfa dealer will sell you a Tonale and tell you its just as good! 😂
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This side of the Crown Vic is starting to look very solid! They really are a very heavy duty car from another age.
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Nice video! That indicator noise is horrendous.
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Matt: "Why isn't everything metallic brown?" They tried around ~2012! There was a real comeback for metallic brown offerings: Ford Focuses, Porsche 911s. It seems like it went out of fashion (again) just as quickly as it did in the 1970's. 🥲
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C'mon, the 8th-gen Civic hatch (commonly called the UFO Civic) had a lot more character than most. It was virtually French. It seems buyers didn't really want that, and it has returned to a more conventional style since then. Honda has very often taken risks with car design. Not so much in this car, but in plenty of others. Be it the 1300 Coupe 9, the Beat, the City Turbo, the Element (a four-seater SUV with no B-pillar and a sunroof over the boot, because why not!), the six-seat FR-V, the original Insight with the aluminium body, the original HR-V in two doors with the roof spoiler, the CR-Z... Honda has plenty of radical designs. The two Honda NSXs -- analogue era and hybrid era -- are perhaps a little bland but still very good sportscars too, they drive very well, and Toyota's Lexus LFA is arguably the greatest sportscar of all time. It's arguably superior to any Porsche Carrera GT or Ferrari Enzo. The LFA is such a perfectly engineered sportscar and incredibly precise and theatrical.
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Has this car been fully restored? I wonder how much of the craftmanship owes to Jaguar and how much owes to the people who have painstakingly restored the car? Could it be better than standard in some areas? 🙂 Though the craftmanship seems to have ended at that wonky radio install where both the radio and one of the speakers seems to be askew.
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To this day, the 156 and 147 are incredibly pretty cars when seen out and about! To be honest, I'm not sure whether the rumours that a cheap 2005 Alfa Romeo 156 "shed" would cost more to maintain than say a cheap 2005 Honda Accord Euro "shed" are true or not? Thankfully the Honda rusting is not an issue here in Australia (no diesel Accords in Australia only the 2.4L, while I would avoid the JTD and go for a Twinspark, JTS or Busso 156). Some seem to say 159s and Giuliettas cost less to maintain, but that would seemingly deny the 147 & 156 already having a reputation for impeccable durability? 🤔
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Nice review but I struggle to find this car all that interesting (granted, it is nowhere near as vulgar as the big SUV AMGs like the GLS63 AMG!). I noticed that L'Argus had, I think, the standard A45 on the Nurburgring and were struggling with the car having somewhat soft suspension (for the category) with a lot of understeer that rolls into weird torque vectoring oversteer under throttle (the Mk8 VW Golf R behaved similarly, while they may seem to handle OK in isolation just compare to L'Argus' laps with the old Civic Type R or Megane RS Trophy -- those appear to handle *so much* better & be more planted than the AMG or Golf IMO, giving so much more driver confidence), I take it the stiffer setting of the 45S model fixes that? :) Edit - I went back and checked, L'Argus did indeed have the S model as it turned out, interesting. I'm not sure that cars like this (or the Golf R or Audi S3 or the new AWD M135i) are necessarily designed for people who care about corners (as the Civic & Megane are, within the constraints of also being a practical shopping hatchback), as opposed to those who care more about a badge, gadgets and being fast in a straight line TBH. [Hence explaining the suspensions tuned more for comfort than outright handling precision (not to mention automatic-only in some cases).] Bizarrely, the new more reserved 2023 Honda Civic Type R is somehow less tacky than this IMO, especially the interior, the interior is positively conservative by comparison to all the bling in the Mercedes! It might just be me, but I just can't find the A45 more interesting than a Megane RS or Civic Type R.
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Leaking water pump probably. Usual EA888 stuff, not a big deal. For it to be a head gasket would be exceptionally unusual AFAIK.
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" And a proper car at that. None of this “SUViness” anywhere! " Funny you mention that, the Stagea was replaced with the Skyline Crossover / Infiniti EX35 SUV in the Nissan/Infiniti line-up! There was also a Subaru Outback-ised version of this shape called the AR-X FOUR with a lift kit and plastic cladding too.
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I'm guessing because it is not as sporty, has a steering box etc? Less drifters are interested -- lol! It's a lovely looking car though. Martin Brundle said the 190E Cosworth has a better chassis than the E30 M3, though he can't recall saying that... I think the 190E Cosworth is certainly already a classic (not so affordable though). Is the W201 more of a downsized W124 than a sports saloon? Davide Cironi wasn't very thrilled about the W201 Cosworth Evo II, whereas he waxed lyrical about the Sierra RS500.
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Did you get the Proton Jumbuck in the UK? I think it will be a future classic, if it isn't already. It's such a unique car. Same for the similar Subaru Brumby/Brat which is probably already a classic!
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6:50 Digital clock ten years out of date? :P Toyota were still using that clock until about 5 years ago...
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The mention of the Momo seats reminds me: is the 156 with the (I forget what it's called) pack, one of the last mass-production vehicles to offer a wood-rimmed steering wheel as factory standard?
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"It's 25 degrees, so hot today." :Australian raises eyebrow: 😜In dry Mediterranean climates like here in southern Australia, you can use portable evaporative coolers outdoors which are really handy and surprisingly effective!
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That driver's side wiper blade is definitely not the right length! That should be much longer. The minivan sure is a fine format for a vehicle, even if this Shuttle/Odyssey isn't that loved in general. The replacement model had much sleeker styling. I think that's the F22/F23 engine under the bonnet there, the unsporting SOHC cousin of the F20C DOHC engine in the Honda S2000, also related to the H22A DOHC in the Accord Type R (and used for Super Touring racing). PS. It would be fun to get an Accord Type R on the channel!
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Lotus trying to go up-market? Sounds familiar! The story of 50 years!
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Nah, the Rover 400 is based on a Honda -- the mighty EG/EK chassis -- so it wins by default! The MG ZS 180 is a much fruitier hot hatch than the Volvo C30 T5. The C30 T5 seems to be tuned as more of a cruiser (compared even to the Focus ST 5cyl which is already more of a cruiser than the MGs or Honda Type Rs to start with), compared to the double wishbone MG ZS.
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Is there a good reason, SAIC call the cars "MG"s and not "Morris"es so as to not upset the MG faithful who think an MG should be sporty? Is it just because the MG brand (and LDV) was all that was left? Did the Morris (and Austin) trademarks even come with SAIC's purchase? 🙂 I appreciate SAIC are planning an electric roadster called the "MG Cyberster" and perhaps having two passenger car brands (both Morris and MG) would be too much to handle from a marketing point of view?
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Wow! Wow! Wow! I hope this didn't set Matt back too much, these NAs -- definitely not an MX5 -- are getting very collectable. Love the Nardi(?) wooden steering wheel! It might be worth getting a wooden gearknob to match in place of the freezing cold metal one!
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One of Chris Bangle's great designs! 😃
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Is the running gear from a Toyota Celica ST185 GT4 going in this? 😂A brave purchase indeed!😬
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Wow, you still have Crown Vic taxis, that's amazing! :)
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Interesting! I wonder which handles better, the Rover chassis tuned by MG (the ZT) or the ostensibly Honda Civic/Honda Integra chassis tuned by MG (the ZS)?
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Great job Matt!
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Maybe those 8mm bolts were 5/16" (7.93mm) and not metric? Shame to see such dreadful hidden bodgery. 🤬
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I wonder why the Falcon and Granada didn't share platforms and components? The "jelly mould" Falcon didn't come out until '89, with a passing resemblance to the US Taurus. The Colonge V6 engine line being entirely divorced from the Australian inline-six line of engines, seems like unnecessary duplication? I guess it could be that the Australian cars were very much built down to a price (due to tariffs on imported cars), plus the Australian definition of a large engine (being 3.9L in the EA Falcon, and later the 5.0L Windsor) being quite different to the European definition of a large engine... Apparently Ford Australia sold a 3.2L EA Falcon with 120hp, the same as the 1.5L Civic you tested recently. Yikes!
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It seems like crazy that this was designed independently of the 1988 Australian (& still rear-wheel-drive) Ford Falcon! They didn't even share the same engine (I6 with crossflow head for the Australian car). Utter madness duplication of effort!
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How does the 9-5 stack up compared to the Jaguar S-Type? :)
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1500kg would be a decent weight for a C-segment car, only 200-250kg more than a ICE. However having seen these about (there is a fetching mauve colour available!), they are sized more like a B-segment car. So 1500kg is pretty heavy for a B-segment car. But I guess the advantage is a bigger range, compared to something like a Mini Cooper electric which only weighs 100kg more than the ICE version (but has a very small range). I'd like to see BEVs get as close to weight parity as possible IMO, less weight makes everything better! (Supposedly the Mini Cooper SE is a hoot to drive and nearly as fun as the regular ICE Mini Cooper S, thanks to the weight being close.)
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That's a slightly non-Concours example Matt! A bit of a contrast to the mint example in the Honda heritage collection. It's not too bad if looked at from the distance of the exterior filming though. 🙂 Is that a RenaultSport metal gearknob instead of a Honda one? The standard radio replaced with a double DIN fascia but a single DIN radio? Carbon-fibre effect bonnet? Those Rage 19" alloys are not good IMO, they take the ride from bad to abominable (I put 17" wheels on mine instead). Someone has turned the cluster dimmer down (the dial on the left of the rev counter), the speedo & rev counter is not supposed to be that dim (it defaults to dim after changing or disconnecting the battery for some reason)! Thanks for the review! The sort of front cupholders are under that sliding cover on the centre console. Re: how low the car is... It's quite low as standard, but there are lowering springs available to lower it another 15mm (which I don't know why you'd ever fit, but people do). I don't agree that Honda ought to have gone turbo on this car! Still being NA is what makes it special and fun. Perhaps it could have had the K24 for more torque (and slightly lower revs) though, the Civic Si got a K24 from 2012-2015. This example car could be the basis for a cheap 750 Motor Club racing car perhaps? Despite not being very fast, the FN2 is a popular choice for a club racing car because it is fairly reliable and there are a lot of parts available (750MC is great because they use a power-to-weight formula, which allow for all kinds of cars to enter and have a chance, by adjusting power output and ballast to fit into different classes -- would great to see more Rovers and MG Rovers out there!). 🙂
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That aftermarket CarPlay tablet stuck on the dash, looks just like the factory unit in many late model vehicles. 😂
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It's good if you like huge engines in rusty cars! lol
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What a fun car! I guess MG Rover could have fitted some stronger rods and pistons in the engine for the production model (budget permitting?), if they had any concerns about durability with the extra boost on the engine? I'm guessing KV6 engines already have a forged crankshaft?
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