This all could be put down to coincidence, of course…If the past is supposed to be another country, then, as the title of this programme suggests, 1973 is another planet. Also, you can’t hope to recreate the original, brilliantSweeney, so why try? A real fish out of water is going to be Jack Regan, with the dress code of Jason King unleashed in our time and trying to cope with old cars morphing into new ones – which are devices used extensively in Mars.In 2001, I decided to turn the comic strip into a television script. The corporation is so labyrinthine that finding the right person was a problem, so out of the half dozen acknowledgements is a rejection that says it won’t work and anyway there are too many cars in it Yet that’s why people like the new Mars show It is the cars everyone remembers. I sent it to loads of production companies, but also it wound up in the hands of several BBC executives. Spencer was even reviewed favourably by The Independent who described him as “an un-PC superhero with a Zapata ‘tache and flares”.I thought it was more interesting to put a bloke from 1973 into 2000 rather than the other way around, so that is one difference between Spencer and Mars. This graphic novel ran for several months and got a decent cult following before the money ran out. Beaten up and left for dead in a Docklands warehouse freezer, this private detective is electrocuted back into life in the year 2000.

The critics seem to agree that, with the motors, the no-nonsense Sweeney behaviour, the clothes, and the modern cop in a retro world, it is at least a bit different from the dire Midsomer Murders

I should be pleased, but instead I’m just a tad bitter. You see, this prime-time programme slot should be filled by a drama called Spencer Haze with my name below the “devised by…, script by…, executive producer…” credits.
Spencer Haze started as a graphic comic-strip on Channel 4’s motoring website www.4car.co.uk. Spencer Haze, as the titles went, “was a man running out of time and that time was 1973″, coincidentally the same as Life on Mars. The driving experience is much the same – nothing wrong with it but a long way short of inspirational. The 2.2 diesel is quiet and has more than enough power for most.. Tune into BBC1 on Mondays at 9pm and you’ll catch the drama Life on Mars If you like ’70s cars and styles, as I do, you’ll love it. Maybe you are expected to be completely overwhelmed by the sat-nav, which has a screen bigger than the TV in our bedroom.

Everything is electric but actually the instrumentation is a bit sparse. The low RPM to reach 70mph was impressive, so was the quiet engine I was happy with the seats. The suspension, judged against the incomparable XM, was acceptable I disliked the tyre and wind noise I also disliked the thick front pillars. The windscreen lacked height, making me feel I needed to lower my head. The front of the cabin is adequate, but I’m used to more space.Tom Begg, 56, Management consultant from Abergavenny, South Wales USUAL CARS: BMW 3 SERIES, AMC JAVELIN SST COUPE, FORD KAWho buys Jaguar estates? For me the saloon shape is all about echoes of the old Mark Is and IIs, so although the estate is OK it does not have quite the same cachet Inside is fine, but nothing much to excite, either. There is plenty of room for the kids, it is relaxing to drive and it is a relatively rare sight on the road, which is “cool”.Michael Shotter, 66, Community regeneration officer from St Werburgh’s, Bristol USUAL CAR: CITROEN XM 2 LITRE TURBOThe name Jaguar stirs memories of high-speed trips in a Mark V 50 years ago on the Blackdown Hills This Ford-designed Halewood Jaguar was less exciting I liked the six gears and the acceleration in sixth I thought the clutch was good.

The verdict: this was a “cool car”, and in retrospect I think that sums the car up very nicely. Sitting in the driver’s seat, in the very smartly appointed cabin, everything falls to hand easily Lots of toys, sat-nav, electric seats etc. On start up you can tell it is a diesel, but it is nowhere near as intrusive as the 1.7 unit in my Astra, and once on the move it was barely audible The six-speed gearbox and clutch are light Would I buy one? Yes. Sat-nav systems are used heavily on the Verdict, as we take the test to readers in every corner of the country, and the X-Type’s -with its full postcode input and superb graphics – is one of the best.Finally, anyone spending a lot of time in the X-Type will have to be able to get on with its rather traditional British interior. Personally, I liked it, although it was also a sad reminder of what we have lost with the demise of the Rover 75, which did that wood and leather thing so well.Paul Killner, 37, and Tom, 11, IT consultant from Thornbury, Bristol USUAL CAR: VAUXHALL ASTRA 1.7CDTIAs we approached the Jaguar, Tom nodded in approval at the paint job, the fat wheels and the leather upholstery. The first is the diesel engine, now with 2.2 litres, which is capable of pulling long gearing, and producing quiet and relaxed cruising in sixth that is only slightly marred by wind and road noise The second is the satellite navigation set-up. Two features in particular make it ideal for the high-mileage driver.

And the engine fitted to this car is so smooth and strong that the taboos against four cylinder or diesel-powered Jags are shattered, too.But I’m not sure a front-wheel drive Jag hits the mark. It’s not that adopting this layout necessarily makes the X-Type worse to drive; it’s just that rear-wheel drive would have shown that the company was more protective and understanding of its heritage, and prepared to go a bit further to reassure the buyers of its cheapest car that they were buying a “proper” Jag.If you’re not obsessed with the purity of automotive bloodlines, though, this car makes a strong case for itself. But the three big departures from most people’s notion of a Jag came under the bonnet: diesel power, four cylinders and front-wheel drive.Traditionally, Jaguars drank petrol because diesel engines were rough, slow and smelly; OK for taxis, but not for Jags Four-cylinder engines were shunned for the similar reasons. The taboo against Jag estates now seems silly; the estate X-Type is practical and looks better than the saloon.