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…
New Metal | Hyundai i30 N
It seems to have spent an inordinate amount of time lapping the Nürburgring, but Hyundai’s new hot hatch is finally here. Hyundai is suitably proud of the fact that the new i30 N has racked up some 6,000 miles of testing at the fearsome Nürburgring-Nordschleife circuit. That includes competition running in the ADAC 24 hours…
Editorial | Volvo – fully switched on from 2019?
If you’ve read the news lately, you could be forgiven for thinking that Volvo has killed the combustion engine. No, not quite, but you can’t blame the company for blowing its own trumpet a little. Given the past year, and the risk of being labelled a traitor or enemy of the people, we’d wonder if any organisation…
New Metal | 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody
America is in a rather strange situation politically at the moment. Thankfully, things are just as crazy in the world of muscle cars. How better to improve on the Challenger SRT Hellcat than by making it wider? Yes, it’s another Mopar creation on EngageSportMode. No, we’re not sponsored by Dodge. Although if Sergio Marchionne wants…
Gallery Feature | Fifty Shades of (automotive) Grey
Over 17% of new car buyers picked grey last year, and it’s now the third most popular tone in the UK. But how many different types of grey can there really be? Quite a lot, actually. For reference ESM’s Editor has never actually seen Fifty Shades of Grey, or read any of the books. However, he surmises that…
Back Catalogue | Volkswagen Polo GTI
With a new Volkswagen Polo GTI announced, we’ve taken a look back at the previous versions of Wolfsburg’s supermini that have worn the fabled hot hatch badge. And not just because ESM’s editor has owned two of them… Ok, maybe the ownership history plays a small part in it, but there’s also the motivation to…
New Metal | 2018 Volkswagen Polo GTI
The all-new sixth generation Volkswagen Polo was revealed to the world last week, along with an enhanced GTI model. Yet certain things have left ESM feeling slightly bittersweet about it all. With a life spent living in the shadow of the bigger Golf GTI, it’s unprecedented for Volkswagen to announce a new Polo GTI at the same…
BTCC 2017 | Croft – what did we learn? | Plus, exclusive photos |
Last weekend saw the British Touring Car Championship make the actual trip to the North East. EngageSportMode dispatched our BTCC Correspondent, ably assisted by Uncle Steve, to cover things on the ground as they happened. On Sunday, BTCC fans woke to the worrying news of the injuries suffered by Luke Davenport, Jeff Smith and Aron…
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…
2017 Indianapolis 500 | Chevrolet’s Indy 500 Pace Car History
Like just about everybody else this weekend, ESM has decided to jump aboard the Indy 500 bandwagon. Thanks to Fernando Alonso deciding to ditch the Monaco GP for a shot at Indy glory, outlets who normally wouldn’t give IndyCar the time of day are making a big deal about the Indy 500. However, the Indy…
BTCC 2017 | Oulton Park – what did we learn?
The thrills and excitement of the British Touring Car Championship headed north for the latest rounds at Oulton Park. Tom Ingram had been on top of the standings for the majority of the season so far, but he didn’t leave as a happy driver after a disastrous weekend. This was the major headline from the…
New Metal | Volkswagen Up GTI Concept
We seem to have been teased for years about a possible hot version of VW’s city car. Finally, we’re almost there, with the announcement of this production-ready concept. The ‘concept’ tag needs to be taken pretty lightly. From the details released, and the photos supplied by Volkswagen, this thing looks as close to being fit…
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