004 LEADER

Welcome back.

Another edition of the magazine, another issue to overcome not of our own making. This time the cost of living crisis and the shocking rise of fuel prices have pushed us to the limit, but we keep driving forwards. That word - driving - as you’ll no doubt be aware has multiple meanings. The first and obvious definition is why we are all here, for the thrill and catharsis an engaging car can provide along a good road. Another use of the word can relate to willpower and the ethos of this magazine, which is to inspire. Some of the eagle-eyed amongst you might have therefore spotted our new tagline - driving enthusiasm - on the front cover, to which multiple definitions apply.

This incorporates a fractional shift in the magazine, best illustrated by the McLaren 720S Spider to the left. Don’t worry, we are not abandoning our roots that focus on real world performance cars, we’ll just be adding an occasional sprinkling of stardust to expand our reach. I’d be interested to know how you feel - I think Trinity and Ben did a great job on the article. The supercar is balanced our by our monster feature, part II of our internal Hot Hatch War where we take our own, secondhand, £5,000 hatches to do battle in the Scottish Borders. We experienced all four seasons and then some, which certainly curtailed the planned photography with the weathers best efforts to turn Andrews cameras into snow globes, but no-one stopped smiling the entire time. The trip was inspired by EVO magazines brilliant car of the year epics, and to enjoy such great roads in four opposing cars, with cracking drivers and company, then to sit down and dissect each car, the highs and the lows over a couple of beers really felt like we were living our own ecoty moment. I hope that comes to life in the storytelling when you read the mammoth 10,000 words spread across 32-pages. In such conditions, it really was any cars’ game - especially when you throw in the inevitable secondhand gremlins all cars acquire at this price point. This is so different from testing pristine press fleet cars and in my humble opinion, makes for a compelling read.

Elsewhere, we celebrate another McLaren, the F1, which has just turned 30. Buying Power takes a look at how you can get your hands on a Porsche 968 Club Sport, John Bee takes some Aussie muscle for a spin and I see how the Suzuki Swift Sport, one of the simplest motoring pleasures, stacks up with hybrid tech. Sandwiched somewhere in between is a Clio V6, the usual Fast Club reports and a critique of the new direction the WRC is taking, finished off with Short Shift. Phew. As you can tell, this is our biggest, most ambitious issue yet, totalling over 50,000 words, all free, and once again I thank the team for making it happen. In return, please do us a small favour and spread the word. Thank you

I do hope you enjoy our forth publication

Craig