JUDGE'S NOTES: RICHARD MEADEN
Meaden's best drive came in the cheapest car in the test
IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE I'VE enjoyed driving as much as I did on this year's eCoty. From the anticipation of heading north to join the rest of the evo team to the satisfaction of heading back home again tired but fulfilled after a brilliant week, pretty much every drive I had was a corker.
It was a vintage eCoty. Absentees Barker, Catchpole and Towler were missed, but the location was fresh (at least as a backdrop for this test) with awesome roads and little traffic. The weather was unseasonably kind, with a perfect mix of sun and rain to build a detailed picture of each car's capabilities. Most importantly, the epicentre of our road network was a café with apparently limitless supplies of cake.
Rather than blowing the budget on hotels, we all stayed together in an enclave of converted barns and outbuildings. It was reminiscent of evo's formative years when we used to rent a big old gaff on Anglesey. It reminded this grumpy old man why he's fortunate to work with such a great bunch of blokes, though to be fair the benefits of seniority meant I wasn't sharing a bathroom with Aston 'best leave it five minutes' Parrott...
I don't recall another year in which mid-engined cars featured so heavily. Remarkably, if it wasn't for issues of availability we could have had more, with the Corvette C8, Huracán Tecnica and Lotus Emira all eligible and deserving of inclusion. We'd also hoped for the new Civic Type R, but couldn't quite finagle one out of Honda.
Denne historien er fra January 2023-utgaven av Evo UK.
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Denne historien er fra January 2023-utgaven av Evo UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Maserati GranCabrio Trofeo - The latest, V6-powered GranTurismo is now available in open-top form. Is its combination of performance, comfort and style a winning one?
How appropriate for a car that includes a variant called 'Folgore' ('Lightning' in Italian) in its line-up that giant forks of the stuff are straddling the road ahead. It's almost as if Maserati has a direct line to the big man upstairs. Then again, giant hailstones are clattering against the fabric roof as well, and then turn to a deluge of water so heavy that to top 15mph feels reckless. Possibly not the environment the Italian firm had in mind when they chose to launch the new GranCabrio Trofeo around the Italian Lakes. Still, if nothing else it's a stern test of the canvas above my head and one that it passes with ease: there are no puddles forming inside, as you would expect of a £169,585 convertible, and it feels as quiet and snug as if I was driving the GranTurismo coupe.
Cupra Formentor Abt
It's farewell to the original Cupra Formentor with an Abt-tuned run-out package. It's a quietly excellent car; just a shame about the price...
Renault Sport Clio 200 Turbo
This misguided departure from the French brand's hot hatch heritage saw the Clio fall from grace
REBIRTH OF AN ICON
The Kalmar 9X9 is a modernday reinterpretation of Porsche's game-changing 959 supercar, with a carbon body and up to 917bhp. And evo is helping to develop it
Volkswagen Golf GTI
The underachieving Mk8 GTI gets a shot at redemption with the new, revised Mk8.5 version. Is it the leap forward it needs to be?
BEST BUYS
FAST FORDS FROM THE CORTINA TO THE ESCORT AND THE FIESTA, Ford is responsible for some of the most popular cars in British history. But alongside these everyday machines it has also produced a stream of desirable driver's cars.
HY AND DRY
The switch to electric power means an early exit for Hyundai N's brilliant ICE hot hatch duo. We go for a farewell drive in the 120 N
SEXY BEAST
The Vanquish name is back for Aston Martin's latest seriesproduction flagship, with a stunning new look and simply brutal performance from an 824bhp twin-turbo V12
THE JOY OF DRIVING
From mastering the everyday commute to unlocking the full potential of your performance car, our new series will help you become safer, more confident and ultimately more skilled behind the wheel
TINY DANCER
You haven't seen a Mini dance like this before, but then you haven't seen a Mini with a 4-litre M Power V8 under the bonnet and rear-wheel drive. Introducing Vini...
