Astraist wrote:Why disagree?
Handling isn't an entirely objective metric in that it needs to suit a driving style, which can vary between drivers. It's part of the reason why the opinions of automtive journalists to a car can vary.
Personally, I don't care much about a car being "nimble" (in terms of "clocking" it into the corner) because getting the steering right to me means initiating it so early before the corner that the intial response to the helm isn't a limiting factor.
True, I do combine styles and occasionaly "V" a corner, but it is rare enough and done at speed so low that it causes no issue with the response of any vehicle.
Oh, I wasn't inviting disagreement, it was simply a matter of me reporting what I had noticed about the large Jaguars, and wondering what the experts felt about them. It's all a bit academic now, as I'm talking about cars I had 25 years ago. I spend a lot time down memory lane these days: I must be getting old.
With regard to a car being 'nimble', I agree it's not important in normal circumstances with a sensibly driven car. Having said that, there is always the possibility of a sudden emergency arising, and I do remember one occasion where, with a Series 3 XJ6, I had to make a sudden swerve to avoid a pedestrian who stepped into the road with (honestly) no warning of their action. In that case I think the qualities of the car played an important role in avoiding a collision. Credit where it's due, eh?