There’s something reassuring about driving a classic you’ve owned for a number of years, where all the little quirks and issues alert you to something out of the ordinary just as quickly as the big touch screen colour display in the dash of a top-spec modern car.

In my old Alfa for instance, there’s no buffering in the fuel gauge circuitry so the needle swings wildly between nearly full and almost empty if you drive enthusiastically and in fact if there’s anything less than half a tank then the low fuel light will flash too. Personally I’ve always ignored it and learned to look for fuel only when the ever-louder buzz of the fuel pump behind me gets especially irritating, at which point I know I’m on borrowed time.

A pity then that I didn’t have the same degree of familiarity with the Rover P5B I drove recently for a photo shoot, which coughed gently to a halt with the gauge on the stop, just as I was wondering how much fuel it had on board.

I like to think I’m pretty fit but pushing a P5 uphill feels like Geoff Capes lifting up the VW Polo in that ’80s TV ad, so the walk of shame with the plastic Bell can was in order.

At the other end of the scale, this month’s focus on Swedish classics brings you the Saab Sonett and Volvo P1800, both cars which proved the Swedes could do exotic as well as sensible. Of course as I write this both firms have been through the mill but it’s Volvo which has ended up in front, with Ford having sold the firm to Chinese interests while Saab’s Trollhättan lines have remained idle since the spring.

All of which is a great shame, as poring over both the Sonett and the 99 Turbo made me remember just why Saabs developed such a cult following in the UK, with an engineering depth which went way further than the ignition key on the floor. It’s one brand which will be sadly missed.

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For all this and much more see the December 2011 issue of Classic Car Mart.