The 75 and ZT, lovely as they are, are getting into a niche ownership category now. They are either owned by someone who has picked one up for peanuts with some MOT on it and will run it into the ground for a year, or by an enthusiast like most of us here who will care and cherish and think nothing of the time and money to keep them at their best.
There isn't really a middle ground as these cars are at an age where they need the attention.
My first child was born in October 2020 and I had a few problems with the 75 which I had no inclination to be spending precious time outside in winter fixing when I had a newborn baby indoors.
I needed (and quite frankly, wanted) something where I knew I could jump in and go anywhere at any time without having to carry spares and tools with me in the boot (needed all the space for the pram and other baby ancillaries).
At one point before my daughters birth, my 75 cut out on the steep hill out of our estate - it was early in the morning and no traffic so I managed to roll it down and onto my driveway, backwards, with no engine power so no power steering or servo assist on the brakes.
It's all well and good, and it was a good laugh and she fired up fine the next day, but when you have a new baby you just want something where there is zero worry.
After first having a 2008 Jaguar XF 3L V6 petrol (which was stunning to drive but the underside was scarily crispy) I ended up buying a low miles 2019 Mazda 6.
Not as luxurious to drive as the 75 or the XF but she is built better than anything I've driven before and leaves the Germans in the dust for build quality. Family experience with Mazda's are that they are pretty bulletproof so hopefully that Japanese reliability holds true throughout my ownership which I plan to be for at least the next 10 years.
I still have my 75, she is tucked away in a relatives garage and I regularly have a yearning to get her back on the road. I have a lot of emotional attachment to the car which prevents me from selling her and I would never even contemplate scrapping.
I fired her up and moved her out of the garage a few weeks ago for the first time since April and my god, instantly upon sitting in the drivers seat I was just cossetted by the supple cloth seats and that gorgeous, classy interior - I just wanted to nap immediately it was so comfy.
Neither the Jag nor the Mazda come even close in terms of comfort.
That said, these days I find time and patience is in short supply and I am extremely glad to have the Mazda to rely on as a family car - supplemented by my fiancées Rover 25 which has just turned 18 years old and soldiering on.
Everyone has a different reason and circumstance for wanting to move onto a newer car. What works for you may not work for them and vice versa.
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