Yes, it’s a huge diesel estate on EngageSportMode. It’s also one of the best cars we’ve driven this year, and we’re not ashamed to admit it. When we recently wrote about Volvo’s new electrification strategy, we mentioned how we’d been somewhat seduced by an experience with their product range. This particular V90 is the one…
Category: SMMT Test Day
Quick Review | MINI John Cooper Works Challenge
Can a MINI priced at £32,000 ever really be worthwhile? Well, yeah actually, based on our brief experience at the 2017 SMMT Test Day. On the face of it paying the same amount as a Volkswagen Golf R, or a Ford Focus RS, for any MINI may seem hopelessly decadent, or even foolish. But stick…
Short Review | 2016 BMW M240i Convertible
The M235i might be gone, but the replacement has even more performance. We took a short, topless, drive, to see if the M240i stacks up as a cut-price M2 alternative. Full disclosure. The M240i does not have a 4.0-litre engine. BMW nomenclature has paid little attention to engine capacity for years, so don’t be fooled. No, under the bonnet…
SMMT Test Day 2016 – Part Two
We’re continuing our twelve car odyssey through this year’s SMMT Test Day. Part one can be found here if you need to refresh yourself. Things get a little weird and a little crazy in part two. If our first selection of cars at SMMT were varied, although generally performance themed, the second sextet proved to be incredibly diverse. From…
SMMT Test Day 2016 – Part One
Returning to the SMMT Test Day after the extravagant ‘twelve cars in one day‘ affair of last year, ESM promised to try to be more selective over driving choices this year. The result was certainly a varied motoring experience, to say the least. It’s the potentially the biggest day of the year for anyone who writes about cars,…
EngageSportMode Awards 2015 – Part One
You know the drill. At the end of each year EngageSportMode likes to dish out hypothetical trophies made from macaroni and glitter. This year is no exception, other than 2015 featured a lot more new metal to be driven. Does it matter that we’re already into 2016? No, of course not. Sticking with our tried and tested formula, part…
SMMT Test Day 2015 – One day, Twelve cars [Part 3/3]
We’ve made it to the final part of our epic journey through the dozen cars we experienced at the SMMT Test Day. Don’t forget to read part one and part two first! Eight cars down, we were now into the home stretch of the 2015 SMMT Test Day. Two of the final quartet were rather…
SMMT Test Day 2015 – One day, Twelve cars [Part 2/3]
Round two of our SMMT 2015 mega-test continues, with a further batch of four cars. By mid-morning had we picked any more winners from the 170 on offer? Part one can be found here, if you need to read that first. As a way to build up an appetite for lunch, two performance Renaults and…
SMMT Test Day 2015 – One day, Twelve cars [Part 1/3]
The annual SMMT Test Day is often described as being like Christmas for motoring writers, with a huge range of cars available to drive on the demanding Millbrook test track. So, is it really the automotive journalism nirvana it’s meant to be? You bet. With this being our first time at the SMMT Test Day, ESM didn’t…
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