IT’S surprising how many cars are named after animals … and equally surprising how few live up to the sometimes racy tag.

OK, I’ll be upfront. I drive a Rover 45. So to take the analogy down its ludicrous yet strangely logical line, it’s a stately octogenarian at the grand old age of 84.

And yet it’s the first car I’ve ever had that’s gone straight through its MOT without costing a stack of cash.

My MOT bill normally runs into hundreds of pounds and involves the kind of things I only hear about at this not so special time of year and have absolutely no idea what they do. What about the old but not so faithful track rod end – that’s normally a good one – and I’ve been through a few of those in my time.

“You track rod end’s gone mate,’’ the mechanic would say.

“Do I need to see a doctor?’’ I’d reply.

The bill was even less amusing if that’s at all possible.

But not this year. This year it’s all so different. All the Rover needed was its headlights lowering. Apparently it was staring at other cars in a funny way.

Now that’s not to say the car’s not without its problems. Just before Christmas it needed a new ignition barrel after it became hit and miss whether the key would turn – normally more miss than hit – and the sad and sorry end came in Sainsbury’s car park when no matter how much WD40 I sprayed in it wouldn’t move at all. Along came RAC man with the ‘special stuff’ to spray in and it worked … for a couple of days. A search on the internet turned up a new barrel in a Lancashire scrapyard and a garage in Huddersfield fitted it. Job sorted, eventually.

So the Rover can now be seen as a faithful old friend, a kind of Labrador on wheels. Friendly, not that quick and always thirsty.

But you’d be surprised how many cars out there are named after the animal kingdom. Some are at the lower end of the food chain … and rightly so. Check out the Reliant Robin. A nice cheery name and the Robin’s kinda cute.

Reliant Robin’s problems are more with the Reliant bit. Years ago Huddersfield firefighters had to douse one. It melted and all that was left was an engine coated in molten plastic.

Del Boy’s famous for having a dirty yellow one but it’s actually not a Robin. The crafty cockney geezer went upmarket and drove around in a Reliant Regal.

Now that’s a naming faux pas if there ever was one.

And here’s some more. I had a Vauxhall Cavalier at the same time I owned had a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. The cavalier was a diesel-powered workhorse and probably the most reliable car I ever owned. The cavalier lazed around and slept most of the day.

How about the Fiat Panda. Pandas are quite cuddly. The Fiat version was like a tin box on wheels. OK, all cars are, but few still look just like a box.

The Triumph Stag probably earned its name and reputation from hunting. The three-litre V8 engine was so unreliable you were forever hunting for spare part.

The Singer Gazelle was made in the 1950s. It had a top speed of 78mph and could accelerate from 0 – 60mph in 25 seconds. A real Gazelle would have left it standing.

And then there are the ones that got it right. Jaguars tend to be purring and stylish; Volkswagen Beetles look like, well, beetles and the Barracuda, built by Chrysler from 1964 – 1974, had the power and look of the ferocious fish it was named after.

Surely it’s only a matter of time before one’s named after a Meerkat. After all, they’re everywhere. Then we can compare the meercar.com too and a whole new generation of even more irritating adverts can be born.