LOOK here, Santa, it really is time you got up to date. Put Rudolph and his mates in a rest home, and get yourself a high-speed load lugger, just right for careering round the world loaded up to the roof rack with prezzies.

I've got the very thing. Plenty of room for parcels (especially those odd-shapes like bicycles or prams), and all the speed you need to get you back home in time to get the turkey in the oven.

Forget Ringwood and Ranter. The name is Rover which changed its name to MG Rover to take full advantage of the more youthful feel of the sportier marque, giving the fuddy-duddy Rover image a brighter dimension.

MG's small-but-fun open-top sports cars which made the name famous in the Twenties and Thirties were all built, just like today's, as an offshoot of a mainstream product in those days, they used Morris cars, and 'MG' referred to Morris Garages.

In reviving the MG name, the maker has not limited itself to just smaller Rovers. The biggest models, the ZT series, based on the award-winning Rover 75, are a realistic rival for BMWs, Audis and even Jaguars.

Anyone considering Jaguar's entry-level X-Type might like to know that the top MG ZT, with its 2.5-litre V6 engine, is over a second quicker from 0-60mph, has a top speed which (just) beats the Jag, but is £900 less expensive!

Today's MGs are, says Rover, "intended to revel in the fun, the thrill and the sheer delight of driving". Even the spec sheet lists "outrageous fun for all . . . a raw and bold personality" and "real driving involvement and control".

That's a far more healthy and honest attitude than the recent tut-tutting of the nanny culture (as reported here) after just one person made a single complaint to the