*EVO Magazine 12/06: Car of the Year 2006*
12-19-06, 08:23 PM
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*EVO Magazine 12/06: Car of the Year 2006*
PART ONE:
12. Audi TT 2.0T:
"Metcalfe reckons you don't quite have the intimacy with the road of most of the other cars, and Porter says 'it lacks the final edge that makes you want to drive to The Mumbles for no reason'. Hayman mumbles something about it not being an event...If you fancy a TT, look no further than the front-drive 2.0. It's a bit of a bugger for Audi's marketing dept., but, since the advent of sophisticated stability and traction control systems, for most cars and most drivers four-wheel drive is an expensive irrelevance."
11. Litchfield Impreza Type-25 Spec C:
"The Subaru is unbelievably fast. You feel you're going to be arrested at any second, like it should be illegal! And it feels absolutely nailed to the road on those tyres...But it's almost too much, because the engine is such a monster and you almost don't feel in control of it all the time. And I'm not abig fan of the steering, which is too light and suffers from kickback through the wheel when you hit bumps. If you had two drivers of similar ability and they both felt comfortable with the car, the Subaru would be quicker than the Evo, but the Evo driver would feel more involved.'"
10. Suzuki Swift Sport:
"It's the smallest, the least powerful and the cheapest car here, but the telling thing is that it never felt outclassed and embarrassed in this company. In fact, it's been more fun than many of them...'Good honest, affordable fun,' reckons Mr. Eveleigh, 'though personally I'd spend my twelve grand on a second-hand hot hatch with an extra 50bhp.'"
9. Porsche Cayman:
"Metcalfe likens it to a gelding (which, for those of us who don't know their way around a farmyard, is a male horse that's had its knackers whipped orf). But it isn't just the performance deficit per se. You can still have a terrific drive in the Cayman, especially on roads like these...No, it's that ruddy price tag...This one, remeber, with a fairly typical inventory of tasty options, costs a faintly incredible £46,793. Which works at at £194 for every single bhp. (The TT, another car oozing quality and integrity, charges you £148 for each of its horses, the Evo just £100.)So save up for an S (or buy a 996 Carrera). In the terms of this magazine, the entry-level Cayman, for all its traditional Porsche strengths, is a lousy buy."
8. Renaultsport Clio 197:
"Bovingdon has now christened 'Cayman syndrome'. That is, on a great road, where you're completely absorbed with the driving, the lack of low- and mid-range muscle doesn't seem a problem. Back in the 'real world' where you might be looking for a quick bit of overtaking urge and you're caught in a gear too low, it does. It just doesn't feel how near-as-dammit-200bhp in a small hatch should feel. 'The Clio could be great', says Bovindon, 'It just needs better steering - and the Megane's engine!'"
6. Mini Cooper S Works GP:
"It only comes unstuck on really bumpy roads where, as Ev found, you eventually have to back off just when you'd expect a hot hatch to be in its element. Barker marked it down, too, for its impracticality. 'Removing the rear seats in something like a 968 CS or a TT Sport is OK, because they might not have had them in the first place, a la 350Z, but in the hatchback Mini it just looks silly, and if you put lots of gear in there you're forever living in fear of it coming pouring between the seats.' But its sheer force of personality - a livewire chassis and a snortingly good engine - lifted it above the Clio."
6. BMW Z4 3.0si Coupe:
"The Z4 is a proper sports car with a lovely engine and decent steering feel. Compared with the M versions of the Z4, I reckon this is a more fluid, more rounded car, and it's quick enough. But the 335 has the better chassis and steering."
4. BMW 335i Coupe:
"...It's the 335 that edges ahead of the Z4 3.0. Both are thoroughly enjoyable, both blessed with glorious straight-six engines with soulful voices and a real depth of reach. Both have excellent chassis, with a quality of damping that restores our faith in smaller BMWs after one or two recent aberrations. But it's the 335 that comes closest to reaching greatness...And then there's that engine. If there was a prize for brilliant use of turbos, the 335 would waltz off with it....Some of the young dashers reckon it's a bit soft, and we're united in our loathing of the interior - 'like a 3-litre tin of Dulux magnolia has been detonated inside it,' as Barker puts it - but the 335i strikes a brilliant compromise between refinement and involvement."
4. Lotus Exige S:
"'Smooth' and 'Dull'. Two words that have will never, ever, be used to describe a Lotus Exige. I wasn't the only one to experience what felt at the time like a 'hello Mr. Sheep' understeer moment. But when the Lotus wasn't having its ProBax seats reshaped by rapidly clenching buttocks, it was accelerating the heart-rates of all who drove it, and in a wholly positive way. Hayman's not sure. 'Its racer appeal is somewhat undermined by the amount of understeer it exhibits,' he muses. And Porter reckons it's too stiff...But Metcalfe's raving about it. 'What a fantastic car. Looks terrific and goes like stink...It's my favourite car here - real miniature exotic.' And from the only bloke any of us knows who commutes to work in a Zonda, that's praise indeed."
3. Mitsubishi Evo IX FQ-360:
"If the FQ-360 is the last of the current Evo line, then it's going out on a high. With the exceptions of Porter and Hayman, who have clearly been spending too long chatting outside in the cold, puffing on their Marlboros, we were blown away by the bewinged Mitsubishi. Metcalfe says it's as visually appealing as a Portaloo...but even he's been won over. Bov, who is an Evo fan, reckons this one has the broadest appeal of any we've driven. 'All the Evo strengths are there - huge performance, great steering response, wonderful tiptoe feel and rear-led balance - but now they're backed up by a decent ride and a more rounded personality...As a pure drivers' tool it's simply brilliant.'"
2. Renaultsport Megane 230 F1 Team R26:
"'Renaultsport make creating great front-drive hatches look easy, but it isn't. Just ask Peugot,' muses Metcalfe. 'The Megane has talent oozing from every vent. It's such an accomplished chassis that it makes a focus RS or Astra VXR feel a bit silly. In fact, I reckon this could be a new cult car in the making.' 'The car the Focus RS should have been,' says Bovingdon. 'It's got all the good things with none of the stupid torque-steer and the crashy ride...All of the front-drive cars here are good in their own way, but this is the cutting edge.'"
1. Lotus Elise S:
"'Nothing else makes the same connection between driver and car and road.' That was what I wrote about the original Elise when it won Performance Car of the Year back in 1996. And while a lot has changed in the intervening years, that still holds true. Lotus has struck gold again with the S. 'Removing fatter tyres, any unnecessary kit and mating it to a basic engine has re-ignited the Elise,' says Hayman. It still has the classic Lotus brew of relatively soft springs and firm damping. Also a near-perfect balance between power and grip. And crucially, the best, most natural feeling and communicative steering. It is also, recalling the context of this test, one of the more affordable cars here. As Barker says, 'It's as much Elise as you want and need.' And now, with the Megane, it's heading for the Route Napoleon and I wish I was going with it, but this is the moment I hand the eCoty baton to Mr. Vivian. It will take some very special cars indeed to eclipse this remarkable little Lotus."
PART TWO:
9. Aston Martin DB9 Sports Pack:
"It's just so much better than all the previous Astons. You think 'thank goodness they've got this one right'. It doesn't in any way feel as if the Sports pack has just been slapped on. It feels right - the way you'd want a DB9 to be out of the box. 'It does have this slightly strange engine mapping thing, though...Each time you change gear you hear the revs flare as you put the next gear in. You're convinced it's with your timing but it's not. I reckon that the DB9 is a great car, but its main fault, for me, is that it never really keys in to the road, never gives you that real sense of mechanical grip at the rear. It always just feels a bit dainty whereas the Ferrari just digs in and feels wonderful. But all the old faults - the wooden brakes, the steering, the gearchange - have been fixed and it feels right, so you enjoy it as a proper GT/cruiser.'"
8. Mercedes-Benz CLS 63 AMG:
"...It's the engine/transmission combination that nevertheless draws you in. And now I can see things from a different perspective. If the Merc's windscreen had cross-hairs, the Ferrari's voluptuous rump would be centered right between them. And here's the thing. With little of the telegraphed slam and conspicuous ferocity of its supercharged predecessor, the 63 is faster. With the - let's be real here - still more rapid 599 punching a hole in the air ahead, there's room to give it the lot. What identifies the big V8 as truly state-of-the-art is its refusual to cool the colossal push as it homes in on the 6800rpm redline; if anything, my spine sinks deeper into the Recaro seat's shapely backrest as the rev-limit approaches. In the pantheon of AMG's greatest road car engines, it's this one that arguably stands alone."
7. Renaultsport Megane 230 F1 Team R26:
"The maddest Megane will have its moment (quite a few, actually) but, for the time being, Gus can't complain. He's driving a trackday-optimised car called the Megane Renaultsport 230 F1 Team R26 after all. Limited slip diff, 227bhp, six-speed 'box, Recaro seats, extra-raspy exhaust, 0-62mph in 6.5sec, Brembo brakes and, best of all, thoroughly tweaked suspension with specific damper settings and stiffer springs, slightly increased damper travel, beefier front anti-roll bar and revised rear suspension. All for £19,570, making it the cheapest car here by quite a margin. Car photographers are a fast-driving breed and Gus is something of a convoy specialist. If anything, we should worry about holding him up."
6. Jaguar XKR:
"...The Jaguar is definitely on my side. It feels immensely poised and much more light on its feet and sporting than the Aston had. It's more than respectably rapid in a straight line, too. If only it's engine didn't sound so thin and whiny. Best of all, though, is the magnificent gearbox which, in sport mode, is uncannily predictive and unleashes the most delicious blipped downshifts. It's just as good in paddle mode, though it's a shame the paddles themselves feel as if they've been lifted, as Henry puts it, from an Xbox steering wheel."
5. Lotus Elise S:
"The real surprise, though, is the Lotus, which proves decently comfortable both in seat support and ride quality and, below 90mph, isn't too noisy, either. I'm at the wheel when the autoroute runs out and we head for the hills. There's plenty of traffic and, if you've got the Merc's 508bhp (or even the Renault's 230bhp and turbo-gorged torque) under your right foot, plenty of opportunity for overtaking. This narrows like the closing doors of a lift with just 134 horses at your disposal, even if at their burden is a meagre 860 kilos. I just...just manage to hang on to the tail of the Megane, but only by wringing every last ounce of energy from the 1.8-litre Toyota motor and, to be honest, popping a few brave pills."
4. Chevrolet Corvette Z06:
"As Brits, or dare I say it, 'Europeans', we're accustomed to laughing in the face of American so-called drivers' cars. At least we were, until Ford sent a GT along to last year's eCoty, wherupon it kicked the world's best supercars in the goodies and ran back to Detroit with the silverware. Has the Corvette Z06 returned to rub salt into the wound? Perhaps. With 7 litres, 505bhp and the kind of detail engineering only found in the most serious homologation specials, it certainly has the wherewithal to slug it out at the pointy end of a dazzling eCoty gathering. If it were built by Porsche it would wear an RS badge and command twice the asking price. It really is that special...It's the raw animalistic power of the thing and the fantastic, short-throw gearshift that leave the deepest impression. The mighty V8 has murderous forth- and fifth-gear pulling power...The firmer springs and stickier rubber don't exact too severe a penalty on ride comfort but dial up truly stupendous grip, traction and stability on smooth tarmac. But switch off all the traction aids and there's oversteer. My God there's oversteer. A contender? Absolutely...It's good to have it here with the GT3 because the GT3's doing a similar thing - obviously more money and more quality in the detail. But as a hooligan's car, I can't think of anything better. It's like the ultimate, well-built TVR."
3. Lamborghini Murcielago LP640:
"'The whole look of it, the doors, the ducts. It's a proper supercar in that respect, whereas the Ferrari isn't as immediate, hasn't got the same shock value. The car feels lighter and more nimble and more pointy than previous Murcielagos; you're not aware of it being such a big car. You need to build up your confidence in it because it turns in quite quickly. You kind of feel the back moving, but not quite like an old Diablo with the weight of the engine moving you around. It's not a problem unless you were on a track - there's so much traction. It's just one of those cars that's quite hard work, but the rewards are worth it. There's just a slight feeling of old tech everywhere you touch. But it's got the most lovely engine.' And it goes."
2. Porsche 997 GT3:
"'There's so much to enjoy in the balance of the car. The tyres look like semi-slicks and offer masses of grip but they're not scary to drive...I might have expected just a touch more feel from the steering, but it's so consistent, so meatily weighted. The engine is just awesome. At first it doesn't seem to have enormous punch from tickover but then it just seems to keep pulling and pulling and revving and revving until it feels absurd that you haven't had to change up. To that extent it really feels like a proper race engine, and hard-edged unlike any lesser 911 flat-six. It sounds like it has just taken a wrong turn at the end of the Mulsanne.'"
1. Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano:
"'The Ferrari just seems a decade ahead of everything else here because it does everything brilliantly, almost at the flick of a switch. First thing, if the roads are a bit slippery, you can drive it and feel completely happy because you know you can leave it on the Sport setting and then, when you get to a road you know and feel more confident, it just gets more and more focused. It's a fantastic driving environment as well, the cabin is just so well sorted. And it's not too extreme. Get in the GT3 and you're in a racing car straight away. In the Ferrari you're in a GT, it's got some luxury, a bit more style.'"
The Nearly Cars...
The models that narrowly missed out on a place at eCoty 2006
Bentley Azure
Bentley Continental GTC
BMW Z4 M
Brooke 260 Double R
Caterham CSR 260 Superlight
Ford S-Max
Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder
Lotus Europa S
Mazda RX-8 PZ
Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG
Mosler
Nissan 350Z GT-S
Porsche Cayenne Turbo S
Porsche 997 Turbo
Vauxhall Vectra VXR
...And the Must Try Harders:
Alfa Romeo Brera
Chrysler 300C SRT-8
Lexus IS250
Maserati Quattroporte GT
Shelby Mustang GT500
Subaru Impreza STI
Toyota Corolla Compressor
VW Polo GTI
Modified by SMG at 7:06 PM 12-19-2006
12. Audi TT 2.0T:
"Metcalfe reckons you don't quite have the intimacy with the road of most of the other cars, and Porter says 'it lacks the final edge that makes you want to drive to The Mumbles for no reason'. Hayman mumbles something about it not being an event...If you fancy a TT, look no further than the front-drive 2.0. It's a bit of a bugger for Audi's marketing dept., but, since the advent of sophisticated stability and traction control systems, for most cars and most drivers four-wheel drive is an expensive irrelevance."
11. Litchfield Impreza Type-25 Spec C:
"The Subaru is unbelievably fast. You feel you're going to be arrested at any second, like it should be illegal! And it feels absolutely nailed to the road on those tyres...But it's almost too much, because the engine is such a monster and you almost don't feel in control of it all the time. And I'm not abig fan of the steering, which is too light and suffers from kickback through the wheel when you hit bumps. If you had two drivers of similar ability and they both felt comfortable with the car, the Subaru would be quicker than the Evo, but the Evo driver would feel more involved.'"
10. Suzuki Swift Sport:
"It's the smallest, the least powerful and the cheapest car here, but the telling thing is that it never felt outclassed and embarrassed in this company. In fact, it's been more fun than many of them...'Good honest, affordable fun,' reckons Mr. Eveleigh, 'though personally I'd spend my twelve grand on a second-hand hot hatch with an extra 50bhp.'"
9. Porsche Cayman:
"Metcalfe likens it to a gelding (which, for those of us who don't know their way around a farmyard, is a male horse that's had its knackers whipped orf). But it isn't just the performance deficit per se. You can still have a terrific drive in the Cayman, especially on roads like these...No, it's that ruddy price tag...This one, remeber, with a fairly typical inventory of tasty options, costs a faintly incredible £46,793. Which works at at £194 for every single bhp. (The TT, another car oozing quality and integrity, charges you £148 for each of its horses, the Evo just £100.)So save up for an S (or buy a 996 Carrera). In the terms of this magazine, the entry-level Cayman, for all its traditional Porsche strengths, is a lousy buy."
8. Renaultsport Clio 197:
"Bovingdon has now christened 'Cayman syndrome'. That is, on a great road, where you're completely absorbed with the driving, the lack of low- and mid-range muscle doesn't seem a problem. Back in the 'real world' where you might be looking for a quick bit of overtaking urge and you're caught in a gear too low, it does. It just doesn't feel how near-as-dammit-200bhp in a small hatch should feel. 'The Clio could be great', says Bovindon, 'It just needs better steering - and the Megane's engine!'"
6. Mini Cooper S Works GP:
"It only comes unstuck on really bumpy roads where, as Ev found, you eventually have to back off just when you'd expect a hot hatch to be in its element. Barker marked it down, too, for its impracticality. 'Removing the rear seats in something like a 968 CS or a TT Sport is OK, because they might not have had them in the first place, a la 350Z, but in the hatchback Mini it just looks silly, and if you put lots of gear in there you're forever living in fear of it coming pouring between the seats.' But its sheer force of personality - a livewire chassis and a snortingly good engine - lifted it above the Clio."
6. BMW Z4 3.0si Coupe:
"The Z4 is a proper sports car with a lovely engine and decent steering feel. Compared with the M versions of the Z4, I reckon this is a more fluid, more rounded car, and it's quick enough. But the 335 has the better chassis and steering."
4. BMW 335i Coupe:
"...It's the 335 that edges ahead of the Z4 3.0. Both are thoroughly enjoyable, both blessed with glorious straight-six engines with soulful voices and a real depth of reach. Both have excellent chassis, with a quality of damping that restores our faith in smaller BMWs after one or two recent aberrations. But it's the 335 that comes closest to reaching greatness...And then there's that engine. If there was a prize for brilliant use of turbos, the 335 would waltz off with it....Some of the young dashers reckon it's a bit soft, and we're united in our loathing of the interior - 'like a 3-litre tin of Dulux magnolia has been detonated inside it,' as Barker puts it - but the 335i strikes a brilliant compromise between refinement and involvement."
4. Lotus Exige S:
"'Smooth' and 'Dull'. Two words that have will never, ever, be used to describe a Lotus Exige. I wasn't the only one to experience what felt at the time like a 'hello Mr. Sheep' understeer moment. But when the Lotus wasn't having its ProBax seats reshaped by rapidly clenching buttocks, it was accelerating the heart-rates of all who drove it, and in a wholly positive way. Hayman's not sure. 'Its racer appeal is somewhat undermined by the amount of understeer it exhibits,' he muses. And Porter reckons it's too stiff...But Metcalfe's raving about it. 'What a fantastic car. Looks terrific and goes like stink...It's my favourite car here - real miniature exotic.' And from the only bloke any of us knows who commutes to work in a Zonda, that's praise indeed."
3. Mitsubishi Evo IX FQ-360:
"If the FQ-360 is the last of the current Evo line, then it's going out on a high. With the exceptions of Porter and Hayman, who have clearly been spending too long chatting outside in the cold, puffing on their Marlboros, we were blown away by the bewinged Mitsubishi. Metcalfe says it's as visually appealing as a Portaloo...but even he's been won over. Bov, who is an Evo fan, reckons this one has the broadest appeal of any we've driven. 'All the Evo strengths are there - huge performance, great steering response, wonderful tiptoe feel and rear-led balance - but now they're backed up by a decent ride and a more rounded personality...As a pure drivers' tool it's simply brilliant.'"
2. Renaultsport Megane 230 F1 Team R26:
"'Renaultsport make creating great front-drive hatches look easy, but it isn't. Just ask Peugot,' muses Metcalfe. 'The Megane has talent oozing from every vent. It's such an accomplished chassis that it makes a focus RS or Astra VXR feel a bit silly. In fact, I reckon this could be a new cult car in the making.' 'The car the Focus RS should have been,' says Bovingdon. 'It's got all the good things with none of the stupid torque-steer and the crashy ride...All of the front-drive cars here are good in their own way, but this is the cutting edge.'"
1. Lotus Elise S:
"'Nothing else makes the same connection between driver and car and road.' That was what I wrote about the original Elise when it won Performance Car of the Year back in 1996. And while a lot has changed in the intervening years, that still holds true. Lotus has struck gold again with the S. 'Removing fatter tyres, any unnecessary kit and mating it to a basic engine has re-ignited the Elise,' says Hayman. It still has the classic Lotus brew of relatively soft springs and firm damping. Also a near-perfect balance between power and grip. And crucially, the best, most natural feeling and communicative steering. It is also, recalling the context of this test, one of the more affordable cars here. As Barker says, 'It's as much Elise as you want and need.' And now, with the Megane, it's heading for the Route Napoleon and I wish I was going with it, but this is the moment I hand the eCoty baton to Mr. Vivian. It will take some very special cars indeed to eclipse this remarkable little Lotus."
PART TWO:
9. Aston Martin DB9 Sports Pack:
"It's just so much better than all the previous Astons. You think 'thank goodness they've got this one right'. It doesn't in any way feel as if the Sports pack has just been slapped on. It feels right - the way you'd want a DB9 to be out of the box. 'It does have this slightly strange engine mapping thing, though...Each time you change gear you hear the revs flare as you put the next gear in. You're convinced it's with your timing but it's not. I reckon that the DB9 is a great car, but its main fault, for me, is that it never really keys in to the road, never gives you that real sense of mechanical grip at the rear. It always just feels a bit dainty whereas the Ferrari just digs in and feels wonderful. But all the old faults - the wooden brakes, the steering, the gearchange - have been fixed and it feels right, so you enjoy it as a proper GT/cruiser.'"
8. Mercedes-Benz CLS 63 AMG:
"...It's the engine/transmission combination that nevertheless draws you in. And now I can see things from a different perspective. If the Merc's windscreen had cross-hairs, the Ferrari's voluptuous rump would be centered right between them. And here's the thing. With little of the telegraphed slam and conspicuous ferocity of its supercharged predecessor, the 63 is faster. With the - let's be real here - still more rapid 599 punching a hole in the air ahead, there's room to give it the lot. What identifies the big V8 as truly state-of-the-art is its refusual to cool the colossal push as it homes in on the 6800rpm redline; if anything, my spine sinks deeper into the Recaro seat's shapely backrest as the rev-limit approaches. In the pantheon of AMG's greatest road car engines, it's this one that arguably stands alone."
7. Renaultsport Megane 230 F1 Team R26:
"The maddest Megane will have its moment (quite a few, actually) but, for the time being, Gus can't complain. He's driving a trackday-optimised car called the Megane Renaultsport 230 F1 Team R26 after all. Limited slip diff, 227bhp, six-speed 'box, Recaro seats, extra-raspy exhaust, 0-62mph in 6.5sec, Brembo brakes and, best of all, thoroughly tweaked suspension with specific damper settings and stiffer springs, slightly increased damper travel, beefier front anti-roll bar and revised rear suspension. All for £19,570, making it the cheapest car here by quite a margin. Car photographers are a fast-driving breed and Gus is something of a convoy specialist. If anything, we should worry about holding him up."
6. Jaguar XKR:
"...The Jaguar is definitely on my side. It feels immensely poised and much more light on its feet and sporting than the Aston had. It's more than respectably rapid in a straight line, too. If only it's engine didn't sound so thin and whiny. Best of all, though, is the magnificent gearbox which, in sport mode, is uncannily predictive and unleashes the most delicious blipped downshifts. It's just as good in paddle mode, though it's a shame the paddles themselves feel as if they've been lifted, as Henry puts it, from an Xbox steering wheel."
5. Lotus Elise S:
"The real surprise, though, is the Lotus, which proves decently comfortable both in seat support and ride quality and, below 90mph, isn't too noisy, either. I'm at the wheel when the autoroute runs out and we head for the hills. There's plenty of traffic and, if you've got the Merc's 508bhp (or even the Renault's 230bhp and turbo-gorged torque) under your right foot, plenty of opportunity for overtaking. This narrows like the closing doors of a lift with just 134 horses at your disposal, even if at their burden is a meagre 860 kilos. I just...just manage to hang on to the tail of the Megane, but only by wringing every last ounce of energy from the 1.8-litre Toyota motor and, to be honest, popping a few brave pills."
4. Chevrolet Corvette Z06:
"As Brits, or dare I say it, 'Europeans', we're accustomed to laughing in the face of American so-called drivers' cars. At least we were, until Ford sent a GT along to last year's eCoty, wherupon it kicked the world's best supercars in the goodies and ran back to Detroit with the silverware. Has the Corvette Z06 returned to rub salt into the wound? Perhaps. With 7 litres, 505bhp and the kind of detail engineering only found in the most serious homologation specials, it certainly has the wherewithal to slug it out at the pointy end of a dazzling eCoty gathering. If it were built by Porsche it would wear an RS badge and command twice the asking price. It really is that special...It's the raw animalistic power of the thing and the fantastic, short-throw gearshift that leave the deepest impression. The mighty V8 has murderous forth- and fifth-gear pulling power...The firmer springs and stickier rubber don't exact too severe a penalty on ride comfort but dial up truly stupendous grip, traction and stability on smooth tarmac. But switch off all the traction aids and there's oversteer. My God there's oversteer. A contender? Absolutely...It's good to have it here with the GT3 because the GT3's doing a similar thing - obviously more money and more quality in the detail. But as a hooligan's car, I can't think of anything better. It's like the ultimate, well-built TVR."
3. Lamborghini Murcielago LP640:
"'The whole look of it, the doors, the ducts. It's a proper supercar in that respect, whereas the Ferrari isn't as immediate, hasn't got the same shock value. The car feels lighter and more nimble and more pointy than previous Murcielagos; you're not aware of it being such a big car. You need to build up your confidence in it because it turns in quite quickly. You kind of feel the back moving, but not quite like an old Diablo with the weight of the engine moving you around. It's not a problem unless you were on a track - there's so much traction. It's just one of those cars that's quite hard work, but the rewards are worth it. There's just a slight feeling of old tech everywhere you touch. But it's got the most lovely engine.' And it goes."
2. Porsche 997 GT3:
"'There's so much to enjoy in the balance of the car. The tyres look like semi-slicks and offer masses of grip but they're not scary to drive...I might have expected just a touch more feel from the steering, but it's so consistent, so meatily weighted. The engine is just awesome. At first it doesn't seem to have enormous punch from tickover but then it just seems to keep pulling and pulling and revving and revving until it feels absurd that you haven't had to change up. To that extent it really feels like a proper race engine, and hard-edged unlike any lesser 911 flat-six. It sounds like it has just taken a wrong turn at the end of the Mulsanne.'"
1. Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano:
"'The Ferrari just seems a decade ahead of everything else here because it does everything brilliantly, almost at the flick of a switch. First thing, if the roads are a bit slippery, you can drive it and feel completely happy because you know you can leave it on the Sport setting and then, when you get to a road you know and feel more confident, it just gets more and more focused. It's a fantastic driving environment as well, the cabin is just so well sorted. And it's not too extreme. Get in the GT3 and you're in a racing car straight away. In the Ferrari you're in a GT, it's got some luxury, a bit more style.'"
The Nearly Cars...
The models that narrowly missed out on a place at eCoty 2006
Bentley Azure
Bentley Continental GTC
BMW Z4 M
Brooke 260 Double R
Caterham CSR 260 Superlight
Ford S-Max
Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder
Lotus Europa S
Mazda RX-8 PZ
Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG
Mosler
Nissan 350Z GT-S
Porsche Cayenne Turbo S
Porsche 997 Turbo
Vauxhall Vectra VXR
...And the Must Try Harders:
Alfa Romeo Brera
Chrysler 300C SRT-8
Lexus IS250
Maserati Quattroporte GT
Shelby Mustang GT500
Subaru Impreza STI
Toyota Corolla Compressor
VW Polo GTI
Modified by SMG at 7:06 PM 12-19-2006
12-20-06, 07:40 AM
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I love the way EVO does the ECOTY contest and I think they have a lot of good insight. However I can't see why the 911 turbo just missed the cut.
Was it b/c the GT3 was representing? I feel it's a dis-justice to say the turbo can't represent a different segment.
I didn't read the reason why the Turbo did not make the cut, but it seems as if they are saying the DB9 and the AMG CLS are better cars than the turbo?
Was it b/c the GT3 was representing? I feel it's a dis-justice to say the turbo can't represent a different segment.
I didn't read the reason why the Turbo did not make the cut, but it seems as if they are saying the DB9 and the AMG CLS are better cars than the turbo?
12-20-06, 11:34 AM
#5
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I dis-agree with the STi not making the cut but the EVO does? Why did they test the stock STi but the EVO FQ-360 which you can not even buy here in the states. They have a upgraded model of the STi to compete woth it in Japan but I forgot what they call it.
12-20-06, 12:52 PM
#6
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I can tell you those Megane and Clio Sport cars that we have in Mexico are damned good for what they give you for the price, especially in the performance department. About time that someone put them on the list.
12-20-06, 02:31 PM
#7
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Because it is a UK publication...and frankly the STi is a pig and doesn't have the veracity of an Evo, much less a FQ360 or the newer FQ400.
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