Star & Car: Eleanor Pendleton, fashion blogger

The lowdown: the award-winning beauty editor and style influencer loves the combination of sweeping coastal turns and a classic British marque. 

Career highlights: founding beauty website Gritty Pretty in 2010; winning accolades including Jasmine Awards for Journalistic Excellence and Best Visual Feature. 

Vital statistics  

17 - the age I got my Toyota Echo 

4 - the number of cars I've owned 

What was your first car? 

It was an ice-blue Toyota Echo that I bought from my uncle. It was like a tiny three-door hatch manual. It was a really easy, zippy car and very easy to park. I actually only had it for three-months before someone ran straight up the back of me and crushed it. Then I had to wait until I could get another one.  

How did you find the whole learning to drive experience? 

I learned how to drive in my dad's Jeep. That was a manual. I was just obsessed with the idea of driving a manual car. I don't know why. Maybe it was perhaps to impress the boys or something back then. Then towards the very end I think I was well and truly sick of it after constantly switching from first to second in traffic. 

Was it a smooth process, or a tad fraught? 

My parents organised for me to have lessons, which was probably a very clever decision on their behalf. It was probably more for their anxiety than mine (laughs). I remember the first time I stalled in traffic. I was on an incline and I'll never ever forget it because it was absolutely terrifying. But that was really my only scary moment.  

As a Jaguar ambassador, what are you driving these days? 

I've got a Jag XE, which is a far cry from my Toyota Echo. It's a really elegant, sophisticated silver. It has such a beautiful black and tan leather interior, and it's such a beautiful car to drive. I never really obsessed about cars up until I drove this. Now I completely get it. I get what people are talking about when they say a Jag purrs as soon as you turn it on.  

So would you describe yourself as a driving fan per se? 

Definitely. I drive a lot for work. I live in Freshwater and my office is in Rosebery, so I love that I get to drive to work every single day. In Sydney traffic it's at least an hour, but I love that hour in the morning and evening. It's an hour I get to myself to listen to music and to make all of my phone calls. Beyond that, one of my favourite drives is to go all the way up north to Palm Beach. I love going through those beautiful bends at Avalon. If you know the traffic timing sweet spot, it's beautiful.  

What's your preferred drive music? 

My mornings are spent listening to Nova. All the fun tunes from the '90s come on in the morning. Then aside from that I switch to Spotify. I've got a couple of really nice playlists on there - a bit of a mix of indie acoustic covers. Then on Friday it's always hip-hop.