Top Gear and Gadget Show producer Jon Bentley on the love for his first car - which he still owns

He inherited it and used as a daily drive for many years.

“It’s been rebuilt a couple of times,” he said. “I’ve observed the work being done but I’m not really a mechanic. I know bits and pieces but I’m far from being an expert.”

He says he has had a love-hate relationship with the car but he’s fond of it now. “It’s a cool car but I didn’t always think so,” he said.

Jon, best known for his work on The Gadget Show on Channel 5, was also a presenter on Top Gear and well recalls driving events on North Yorkshire’s roads.

“If you say Yorkshire I think of the great roads in the north of the county,” he said. “It’s where the motoring magazines used to go at one time for road tests. They were good days.”

He now drives a Toyota GR86 as his daily car and has a fondness for Skoda Yetis, having bought two for his daughters.

“They were great cars,” he said. “It’s a shame they were discontinued. I have a 4x4 version.”

Jon, who grew up in Somerset, now presents Shop Smart, Save Money on Channel 5, said he is interested in electric vehicles but not at their cur rent prices.

“I think they will improve a lot in the next few years,” he said. “I couldn’t really justify buying one at today’s prices but as they improve and become cheaper, then maybe.

“But with the driving I do petrol makes sense. I tend to not do many miles for a while, then have a long day driving to various destinations so electric wouldn’t be feasible for me just now.”