Ain't she a beauty? Mine for £200
Never buy a cabriolet in spring or summer, they say, because that's when everybody wants one and prices hit the roof.
I'd like to think the same advice goes for lawnmowers, as that would explain why I was the only bidder on a very clean looking Qualcast Suffolk Punch on eBay the other week.
Either way I found myself heading North again in the wintry conditions that have become almost typical for the time of year, concerned more about whether the roads would be passable than whether I'd chosen the right workhorse for the job.
Er, should have thought of that...
As a result I am forced to admit that Jaguar's XFR, while still near the top of my 'favourite inventions since the bread slicer' list, has at least one fundamental flaw. You can't buy it with a load-lugging estate car body.
Many PHers seem to have a fondness for 'wagons' even though they don't necessarily need one. In fact I sometimes wonder if the attraction is anything to do with that instinctive affinity Aussies have for their 'utes', or the septic tendency to drive Ford F150s. By which I mean it's not always the practicalities that appeal, but more the possibilities.
That said, the extra practicality would certainly have been useful the other day because, if I'm brutally honest (close your ears now, XFR fans), it's just conceivable the car's relatively narrow boot opening was not intended to swallow one of Britain's most illustrious names in self-propelled lawnmowers whole.
The mower is pristine, before you ask
The collection chore was only thwarted momentarily, however, as with the handle removed the important bit of said mower sat quite comfortably on the folded back seat, once duly protected with blankets.
Does anyone else agree the XF would make an absolutely cracking looking estate car? If the wagon treatment manages to save Jaguar's otherwise execrable X-Type, just think what it could do for the already glamorous XF - especially in 503bhp 'R' guise.
Not that such a thing is likely to happen anytime soon, by all accounts, as Jaguar's small team of R&Ders is reportedly busy working on a new more affordable roadster to undercut the XK series instead - although an XF estate variant has been the focus of intermittent rumours. In fact, it could be argued that the trend towards crossover-type SUVs will make the traditional estate car obsolete before too long, but anyway, that's the subject I was pondering on the journey back to the mother-in-law's.
Where, I'm pleased to say, the 'new' Suffolk Punch was very warmly received as after an extended lay-up its Kawasaki four-stroke started easily on the second pull of the rip-cord in her kitchen.
Caution, your supercharger may be hot
I couldn't hear what she was saying exactly, over the noise and all, but when I peered through the thick cloud of exhaust smoke to the other side of the room she was definitely hopping up and down with excitement.
So I hopped back into the Jag and legged it, the cabin's tranquil ambience improved temporarily by the evocative scent of cut grass. Which is a lot nicer than the wet dog smell that pervades our old Saab estate - maybe we'd be better off with a Landrover after all...