James has been writing about cars for more than a decade and half, in which time he has driven pretty much everything from humble hatchbacks to the highest of high performance machines. He’s been a special correspondent to Autocar since 2019, helping deliver first drive verdicts, gathering together group tests and formulating the odd feature.
Before this, James spent many years running the road test desk of, ahem, another weekly automotive magazine, which was followed by a stint doing the same job for monthly title, evo. The less said about his wilderness post-university years selling mobile phones and insurance, the better.
When it comes to running the rule over the latest four-wheel arrivals, fitness for purpose is everything for our man, which is why the Dacia Jogger and VW up! share space with the Caterham Seven and Porsche 911 GT3 in his list of current top 10 favourites. That said, his personal collection of cars is eclectic, running to an old Land Rover Defender 110, a ropey Saab 9-5 estate, a rather nice Mazda MX-5 (okay, that’s Mrs Disdale’s) and a criminally neglected MK2 Golf GTI (8-valve, small bumper and with power steering, before you ask).
James is an expert in:
- New car testing
- Sports cars
- Vehicle dynamics
- Engineering
Muck Rack
