Car of the Year

-

evo, issue 51Well, dear reader(s), it’s nearly Christmas, so it must be time for each motoring magazine’s Car of the Year issue. (Beware: spoilers ahead!) True to form, both Car and Evo have theirs out at the moment. For someone like me with a vested interest, these issues are compulsory reading. Of course, I’ll only buy them if my car (or prospective car) does particularly well, but then good memories are better than bad ones, aren’t they?

First out of the blocks, it’s Car magazine, the title for enthusiastic motorists who still know where their pipe and slippers are. Actually, in Car magazine, it’s their Performance Car of the Year issue, which suits me down to the ground. So then, where does the Cooper S come? Fourth. “Not bad,” you might think, “fairly respectable, I suppose.” Then you look at what beat it. First was the Zonda C12S, followed by the Ferrari 575M and then the awesome Mercedes SL55 AMG.

“Holy shit!” you’re now thinking. “The Mini clearly didn’t stand a chance against that kind of opposition — but what in the hell must it have beaten?!?!” Well, in no particular order and off the top of my head, here are a few of them: the Evo VII FQ-300, Focus RS, Elise 111S, Bentley Arnage T, Lambo Murcielago, Maserati 4200GT, Clio Cup, Impreza WRX STi, Caterham R300... shall I stop now? :-)))))

Next up was Evo with its Car of the Year review, which, by the magazine's very nature, is another Performance Car of the Year affair. In this one, the Mini fared less well, coming only sixth. Evo, however, made no consideration for price or value for money in their ratings, so where it might've scored big points in Car magazine, the Cooper S gained no ground here. Still, it's another bloody good showing. Cars beaten this time include the Nissan 350Z, Clio Cup, Jaguar XKR-R and Impreza WRX STi.

Overall, I'm feeling fairly smug right now. :)

Popular posts from this blog

Driving the Tank

-
I don’t normally give cars nicknames. With the Zed, however, I’m tempted to call it The Tank. Not because of its size or muscularity, but as an abbreviation of sensory deprivation tank. Yep, that’s right — and it’s not a good thing. The test-drive concerns I had about the 350Z being too comfortable a car are still with me. Except now, I’ve translated that nebulous feeling of unease into a sense that it simply doesn’t provide enough feedback. Journeys at night and in wet weather can be absolutely exhausting. I find myself trying to heighten my senses to the tiniest cues coming through the steering wheel, chassis and pedals. Often I’ll end up leaning forward in my seat, as if listening to a quiet friend in a noisy pub. Thankfully, however, it’s not like that all the time. When you put your foot down and hustle it a bit, the car starts talking again. You begin to feel you’re dictating things rather than reacting to them. Sadly, I’ve had very little opportunity to grab the bull by the
Read more

Windfall

-
You get a £500 bonus at work — how do you spend it? The big decision for half of my colleagues appears to have been XBox 360 or Playstation 3? Myself, I’ve opted for a front bumper respray. Of course, as soon as I said as much, I was told, quite earnestly, that I really need to stop thinking about cars so much. Hehe. Well, it made me laugh anyway. :) Yes, I might well be chucking money away — I doubt the work will add the equivalent value to the car come the day I sell it — but it won’t half improve my enjoyment of the car. As it stands, the polka-dot affair I’ve got at the moment (courtesy of Bill Heaney’s crap finishing) makes my heart sink every time I approach the thing. In just a week’s time, I’m going to be smiling again instead. It’s been at least 6 months since that last happened (the lack of blogging here in that time is no coincidence) and maybe it’ll reinvigorate me full-stop. Dammit, I love driving too much to feel depressed about my car. Roll on the good times. Oh, a
Read more