If one car sums up all that was good and bad about the British car industry, then it must be the Triumph Stag. Where it was good, it was brilliant; and where it was bad - it was terrible. Achingly desirable to look at, and with a sountrack to die for, the Stag had the world at its feet. And yet - it stumbled at the hurdles marked ‘development budget’ and ‘build quality.’

The good news today is that all the teething troubles are well known and a large proportion of surviving Stags have been put together properly, with specialist knowledge. That leaves us free to enjoy the best bits of the Stag without worrying (too much) about when the engine is going to grenade.

It's now a strong and refined grand tourer that’s simple and cheap to maintain and has one of the best exhaust notes this side of a street rod event. Common with a three-speed auto, but the manual/overdrive version is preferred, and not just because it uses less fuel.