Cropley on cars - crossing continents in the Vauxhall Insignia

MONDAY - It’s not often, even in the car-testing racket, that one gets to spend a whole day just driving. Well, driving and talking.

When photographer Stan Papior and I set off in the newly engined Vauxhall Insignia 2.0 diesel to tour Europe on a single tank in a single day we didn’t expect it to be so simply pleasurable.

The car was always enjoyable, and far more frugal than we expected. The journey turned from a mere mile-gatherer into a pilgrimage to the birthplace of the man who made Elvis.

The weather moved right across the spectrum from rubbish to bright clarity. I especially enjoy the way hours of driving sharpen you up. It’s good to be reminded that driving a decent car, like flying an aeroplane, is fun in its own right, not just a means to an end.   

WEDNESDAY - Who’d be a politician? The drawback must surely be that your foot is perpetually close to your mouth, as David Cameron’s was when he visited Rolls-Royce today.

Our PM is understandably keen to associate himself with the achievements of the industry so selected hacks (editor Mr Holder prominent) were invited to watch him take questions from Goodwood employees, where he came across as honest and amiable.

Then came the inevitable car question: have you ever driven a Rolls? Cameron explained that he hadn’t, mainly because security men preferred him to be driven in an armour-plated Jag. Still, he observed, the weight of all that armour probably meant the Jag felt “a bit like a Rolls to drive”.

There must have been a slapping noise as the palms of Rolls managers hit their foreheads, plus a feeling of deep irony in the breast of anyone who knows the truth about forthcoming Rolls-Royces and the disadvantages of weight in cars.

The company has just finished announcing that every future model will have a bespoke spaceframe – made of weight-paring aluminium.

THURSDAY - I’ve driven so many good cars lately that I approached the prospect of conducting a large Infiniti Q70 saloon on an urgent errand Up North with trepidation, especially since this was the tax-busting 168bhp four-pot 2.2D version.

In the event, the Q70 turned out to be a pleasant and efficient car that made a very decent case for big saloons, what with its Swiss-watch quality, supple ride and terrific motorway stability.

In fact, this and my Insignia experience, plus what Matt Prior writes about the 1.0 Ford Mondeo, makes me wonder if we’re overlooking generously proportioned saloons too much these days, given that they’re cheaper than equivalent SUVs with the same carrying capacity.