A year ago Sebastien Ogier was running second to that pesky other French Sebastien; Monsieur Loeb. This year he finds himself leading into the final day of the 2014 Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo, after a strong drive to get himself back into contention. Can he hold on tomorrow to take the win? Ogier did encounter some good…
Tag: Volkswagen
Volkswagen takes 2013 WRC Drivers’ Championship
He might have only needed one point, but Volkswagen Motorsport’s Sebastien Ogier wasted no time in wrapping up the WRC Driver’s title on his home turf. With a third place on Rally France’s ‘Power Stage’ on the opening night of the event, Ogier cemented his grasp on his first World Rally Championship by making impossible…
2013 Frankfurt Motor Show Photo Highlights
EngageSportMode couldn’t be at this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show but, fortunately, it knows some people who are. So with the press days now out of the way, what are some of the highlights from the 2013 Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung? Below are some of the stand out new cars announced at this year’s show. Some are purely…
New – Volkswagen Golf R
The hot-hatch arms race ramped up another notch today, as photos and information about the latest Golf R were released. The headlines are the promise of 300 PS and a possible 0-60 mph in under 5 seconds. Volkswagen seems to be putting all the attention grabbing emphasis on the mechanical, as the outside of the…
Why the Volkswagen XL1 is better than a Le Mans racer
Volkswagen is currently making a lot of noise about this: If you didn’t already know, that’s the Volkswagen XL1, currently the world’s most fuel-efficient hybrid car in regular production. EngageSportMode isn’t usually a fan of eco-cars, but the design details of the XL1 mean that it feels less hair shirt and more Nomex overalls than…
EngageSportMode Shares the R-Line Love
If you just cannot get enough of hearing about my Polo R-Line, but would rather read about it elsewhere, then you prayers have been answered. Over the coming months I’ll be documenting my ownership of the R-Line over at PoloDriver.com But in all seriousness, I am genuinely honoured to have been asked to contribute to…
Friday Photo from the Archives #7
Some car ideas work better in certain places than others. Some, such as the BMW 5-Series GT, don’t really seem to work at all – at least not in America that’s for sure. The Volkswagen Jetta (or Bora/Vento/Golf with a boot) is one of those propositions that has never really taken the UK by storm….
Volkswagen’s Crazy Power-Pickup Amorak Concept
If you hadn’t noticed, and it has been kept well hidden, EngageSportMode is a little bit of a fan of Volkswagens. ESM also happens to be a fan of pickup trucks, stemming from a lifelong aim to own a Dodge Ram or other huge American truck. So the unveiling of the Amarok by VW a…
New Volkswagen up! Special Editions
EngageSportMode is a genuine fan of the Volkswagen up!. When we tested the base-model Take up! last year, we were hugely impressed with its value for money, perky performance and VW quality. We suggested that should you want a new city-car, you had no other viable option. It’s also worth pointing out that we were…
Friday Photo From the Archives #5
Continuing with the theme of ESM’s BTCC correspondent, here is a (fairly) recent photo of our two cars chilling out together: A few similarities; both black, both VW-group, both petrol-turbo and both with motorsport pedigree. Our correspondent’s is the rather rare Seat Leon TFSI, which existed for only a short period of time in the…
VW Polo R-Line – 1,000 Mile Review
As you might have just read, after a huge period of indecision, ESM finally acquired a Volkswagen Polo R-Line. That was back in late January so, several months and miles later, just what has the kitted-up supermini been like to live with? First, some photos from when it arrived and the cleanest it has been…
ESM’s 2012 Car Buying Predicament #6 – The Finale
Recently I wrote about the end of my ownership of the 9N3 Volkswagen Polo, following the epically long saga to replace it which began all the way back in October last year. So after several months of searching, test driving and negotiating, just what did land on the EngageSportMode drive? Originally when my quest began I…
EngageSportMode 