We hail the taxi that started it all

Forget the Jaguar XK120, the Land Rover, the Citroën 2CV and the Morris Minor: of all the vehicles launched in 1948, the Austin FX3 is arguably the most seminal – at least for Londoners.

See, the FX3 and its 1958 successor, the FX4, were the cars that defined the landscape of the British capital after World War II. They were the first black cabs – and the city would never be the same again.

But what were they actually like to drive – and, more importantly, to ride in? We flagged down two original examples to find out.