Car UK May 2019

Do similarities

of style and

spirit outweigh

differences in cost

and performance?

No word yet on

the Tributo’s price,

but we’re pretty

sure it won’t hit

Dacia sales

MAY 2019 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 55

Opinion

CAR’S NEW LOOK + FERRARI TRIBUTO + SAM SMITH’S FINEST HOUR

Well done us

The new issue of CAR magazine (April

2019) dropped through the door this

morning. As a subscriber for over 20

years I’ve seen a few redesigns, and this

is one of the best. I’m not even sure

which article to pick first!

I particularly like the reader

involvement (One year on and The

shortlist) – and with that in mind I’d love

to tell you about my VW Golf GTE...

Simon Hull

Thanks for your positive feedback

Simon – a lot of hard work went into

the new-look CAR, so it’s fantastic

to hear it’s going down well among

the loyalists! And you can read more

about your GTE on page 140... BM

Now you see me...

The point raised by letter writer Ray

White in the April issue about the

Audi e-Tron’s use of cameras instead of

mirrors got me thinking about when I

was younger.

When those cameras are inevitably

smashed off in an all-too-likely filtering

prang, how to repair them? You won’t

be able to gaffer-tape any old mirror

in their place like my first C-reg Ford

Fiesta and all the Ford Transits I’ve

driven over the years...

The cost and convenience will be a

double-lose for owners. Technology for

technology’s sake in my view...

Sam Clifford

Couldn’t agree more. Justifying the

additional cost and complexity of

new tech is difficult enough when

the advantage is clear – and here

that’s just not the case... so far at

least. BM

Still the magic number

A spot of garage cleaning yielded

unexpected treasure – my long-

thought-lost copy of CAR, September

1988 wherein Messrs Green, Setright

and Bremner were let loose in a BMW

3-series. In the interim BMW has gone

on to do other things – of course the

purists hate them.

And yet the spirit of that car is

alive and well. A fortnight spent

house-sitting/dog-walking for a cousin

gave me access to the family car, an ⊲

Like

with

like

Great to see four fine coupes

tested in the March issue (Quick

Group Test), but it seems to me

to be a game of two halves.

One half asks is the Mazda

MX-5 RF a better sports car than

the GT86? Probably.

The other half asks is the

Cayman a better sports car than

a TT? Yes! At borderline twice

the price, the Porsche should

be superior, otherwise their en-

gineers should get back to the

drawing board. Perhaps the odd

£22,790 is small change and

therefore of no consequence to

well-heeled journos!

Please don’t compare the Up

GTI with a Golf GTI in a future

test.

Carry on the great work.

Andy Ferguson

Letter

of the

month

WAQ HASHMI WINS BMW M2 COMPETITION

CAR AWAITS!

YOUR DREAM

GUARANTEED WEEKLY WINNER

SPONSORED BY