The IS-F was reduced to the status of driveway ornament for a few days last month as another four-door supersaloon became my primary mode of transport. As befits its reputation, the Lotus Carlton made a real impression on the neighbourhood. Passers-by stopped and stared – two even knocked on the door – and my four-year-old, Luke, transferred his affections to the older car, chiefly because it had a bigger wing, headlight wipers and ‘sounds like a jet, Daddy’.

I liked the fact that the Carlton was easier to see out of (thinner A-pillars, lower shoulder line) and far better packaged (palatial for passengers, giant boot). But getting back in the IS-F also reminded me how much stiffer a modern bodyshell is, how much easier and safer it is to drive quickly and how habitable it is inside with all the toys and gadgets.

Are these all good things, though? Every time I get in the Lexus I find myself thinking that, like most (perhaps all) other modern hot saloons, the Lexus’s focus on speed and grip has come at the expense of true driver interaction, and partially as a result of having my eyes opened by a 20-year-old Vauxhall, my relationship with the IS-F is starting to falter. Progress? I’m not so sure.