Associated Network Solutions' managing director Scott Fletcher gets behind the wheel of the new Jaguar XJ TDVi.

When Fleet Times asked me to do a 'Clarkson-style' review of a high-end car, I was rubbing my hands with glee. I'm a bit of a petrol head anyway, and the thought of putting a BMW M-Power, Aston Martin, Merc SL55 through its paces excited me- "Bring it on"! , I thought. 

Then I was told it was a jaguar and my heart sank. And not just any Jaguar, either, but a diesel. Great. A proper pensioner- mobile. Why not just go the whole hog and have me test- drive a Reliant Robin, I thought?

To make matters worse, the car turned up on a horrible Friday morning in the midst of some of the worst spring weather we've had in a decade- and it was the day after id driven the new BMW M5, which id fallen in love with.

The car I was given was a Jaguar XJ TDVi Sport and on seeing it for the first time, it looked quite attractive. I then asked how much it cost, and roared with laughter. £50,000 for a 2.6 diesel? This is definitely beginning to look like a wind up!

When I actually began the weekend test drive, though, I had mixed feelings. Although im really not a fan of that wood- effect plastic interior this type of car seems to attract (and in the Jaguar there's an awful lot of it), it did have some rather nifty features.  I played around with the buttons, and aws most impressed with the windscreen wash that shoots out of its wipers. Then, once I managed to work out where the handbrake was (there's a small flap which releases it electronically) I was on my way. The drive reminded me very much of one of these big American motors, quite a soft ride and not all that responsive. I then found the sport button, and being used to the same sort of feature on my BMW M5, I got excited. "This is it," I thought. "Get ready for take-off!"

I shouldn't have bothered. It didn't exactly kick into action with a Jaguar's roar- more of a pussycat's whimper, to be exact. And the turbo lag of around a second made it very frustrating. I quickly decided to that I needed to change my driving style to that of somebody approaching pensionable age. I even re-tuned into BBC Radio Manchester to get into character.

Suddenly, I started to see the car in a different light. It was very quiet and comfortable, had a nice turn of acceleration (in a diesel sort of way) when it was needed, lots of big cup holders, big letters on the touch- screen centre console and a beautiful cream leather interior. Then on to the kid test. My three-year old twins actually loved it, told me I should keep it and get rid of my old M5. I was not amused.

In the end, I did enjoy driving it but I personally would not have shelled out £50,000 for it, despite the snazzy window washes. On reflection, though, a petrol head in this early 30s might not have been the best person to review this car- someone with an interest in Murder She Wrote and Werther's Originals would probably have done it more justice. Ill stick to my M5, thanks.