You may, or may not, know that the Monte Carlo Rally is currently underway. But given the lack of a British TV deal for the WRC, I’m going to go with most people not being aware that the 81st running of the most famous rally is going on right now. Growing up, rallying was a…
Category: Manufacturers
Hidden Desires #1 – Vauxhall Corsa VXR
Last year I ran a short feature called “Crap Cars I Like” on ESM. The aim was to explain my love for cars which automotive journalism, the internets, or society as a whole had shunned. However, I decided the name did too much of a disservice to the cars featured. So, instead, this segment is…
2012 EngageSportMode Awards (Part One)
After a long twelve months, the time has finally come to hand out the infamous EngageSportMode ‘macaroni and glitter’ trophies to this year’s award winners. It may now be 2013, but cast your mind back (a few days) to last year. Despite the world’s ongoing financial problems, the ever-present environmental lobby and the ridiculous price…
Audi A1 Sportback 1.4TFSI S line – The Big Review
If you’ve been reading the long running saga about me attempting to buy a new car, you’ll know that I’d swung towards the Audi A1 but was finding it tough to get a dealership to sell me one. The end result was Tyneside Audi providing me with a A1 1.4TSFI Sportback for the weekend, to…
ESM’s 2012 Car Buying Predicament #5
I realise that calling this series of posts a “predicament” is somewhat of a dramatisation. Like having to decide on whether to pick a Cheryl Cole or Megan Fox calendar for the ESM office, this is a nice first world problem to have to deal with. But at the same time it is hardly like…
ESM’s 2012 Car Buying Predicament #4
So after weighing up the benefits and pitfalls of PCP car financing, I managed to come to the conclusion that if it enables me to get a better, newer car (tailored to my specification), then it is probably a necessary evil. Having been tempted by the seemingly generous offers available from MINI, it seemed sensible to…
Friday Photo from the Archives #4
After several posts about car buying predicaments, here’s somebody with another automotive dilemma. Namely my Father, and the choice of not one, but two, Subaru Impreza WRX STis to drive. The WR Blue Impreza on the right was my Dad’s actual company car for a number of years. The black one appeared after he won a…
Bye Bye GTi – Saying Auf Wiedersehen to a Wolfsburg Legend
Tonight, ESM’s Mate Steve explains why he’s surrendered ownership of the iconic MkV Golf GTi, along with noting the highs and lows of owning a hot-hatch legend. Last week I handed back the keys to a VW Golf GTi MkV, you might ask why, hopefully this will become clear. Just over 3 years ago I…
ESM’s 2012 Car Buying Predicament #3
So after all the hours spent researching cars that would fit into the £8k used budget, ESM’s mate Steve threw a spanner in the works. As you’ll discover later this week, he’s just got a cracking deal on a brand new MINI Countryman for his better half. Given the state of the economy, car dealers…
ESM’s 2012 Car Buying Predicament #2
Previously on ESM, I set out a rather lengthy list of criteria that I wanted the Polo replacement to have. Somewhat predictably, I then went away and spent several hours days searching AutoTrader and other classifieds. When you’ve given yourself a string of demands which make your average terrorist blush, unsurprisingly the options were limited, with…
Friday Photo From the Archives #3
Continuing the Japanese theme for this week, here is another photo fresh from the archives. If by fresh you mean taken about two days ago: This Nissan 350Z belongs to ESM’s Mate Dave who, whilst finding himself bored with a week off work, traded in his diesel Seat Leon FR for the tree-fiddy-zed. Going from…
Four to the Floor: Car Dealers Reviewed and Rated
EngageSportMode isn’t usually concerned with the technicalities of the car buying process, typically eschewing shiny main dealers for independent traders. However, ESM does enjoy wandering around checking out new cars, so when ESM’s mate Steve wanted some company on researching cars for his girlfriend, there was only one answer. The options had already been narrowed…
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