Almost four weeks after purchase, and the XM has already covered over 1000 miles in my ownership. So, how’s it going?

XM is very good at timber hauling

I have to say, really rather well. I did have some concerns about the car, as it had only covered 1500 miles since passing its MOT in January, and had been sitting unused for at least two months. I needn’t have worried though, as the XM has proved really rather wonderful.

Not perfect though. I’m finding the lack of lumbar support an issue – well, when I spend 11 hours in two days at the wheel – and the heavy clutch is a bit of a pain. Yet even despite this discomfort, I still marvel at the way it eats up miles. Even though the spheres aren’t at their best, I also marvel at the ride comfort. Tired spheres are still better than the coil springs fitted to many cars it seems.

In fact, the only real downside seems to be that I’ve run out of cassettes and need to create some new ones. Which means trying to remember how you do that.

But, let’s briefly consider the To Do list. The most urgent one is to get the offside sill welded up. This hasn’t happened yet and I really need to get on top of it. I also need to rebond the sunroof glass, as I think this is the source of the occasional water leak. The suspension spheres do need replacing or regassing, but a lack of funds is preventing this at the moment. Thankfully it isn’t too bad so it isn’t particularly urgent. I’ve no idea when the timing belt was last replaced though, so this may need to be considered. I suspect it’s ages off in mileage terms, as the car has only been covering around 4000 miles a year. There’s a strong chance it was much longer ago than the five-year recommended interval though.

Best rear lights ever. Towing electrics broken though

Rather more minor is sorting out an annoying rattle caused by the upper trim on the driver’s door coming adrift. I have plans here. I do now also have a spare set of rims, so plan to get winter tyres fitted to those. Perhaps soon as it seems to have gone rather cold. I also need to get the towing electrics working. It loses practicality points because of that!

I still smile a lot when driving this car though. I’m fully aware that something could go horribly wrong at any moment, but it feels so special to drive, and that 12-valve turbo diesel engine pulls so well. It’s nice to be happy with an automotive purchase for a change!