I have just bought the latest evo magazine with the Evo X and Subaru S-GT on the front.

What has happened to such a great magazine. No less than three 'advertisement features' - what happened to actually writing creative editorial. Layout is now at best adolescent. Paper quality not a patch on what it was.

It seems to have gone the same way as Top Gear. Great format, great potential, simply wandered off the reservation.

Very disappointed.

 

(nods)

Bought a copy of Classic and Sportscar last week, reminded me just how good car mags can be. Will be subscribing to it again i think. I uset to look forward to TG mag and Evo but lost interest, too many ads and weak write up's...

 

Agree, any magazine that publishes a letter by me is on the slippery slope!

 

I actually enjoyed this months a lot!

 

Ads create renenue.

Turn the page and it's an advert? Turn the page again and it's gone.

The features, reviews, and photography in Evo are second to none IMHO. I look forward to every month.

 

Cancelled my subscription last month.
I still quite like it but am increasingly finding fast cars more and more irrelevant to our lifestyle.

Which is why I have this for the day tomorrow:

 

Farmers Weekly or Sheep Enthusiast for you then

Never liked Evo, too many Zondas and egotistical journos whining about a touch of understeer at 185mph. CAR is getting back to its roots now that they have toned down the flowery prose a bit.

Classis & Sportscar for me at the mo too. Starting to show my age...

 

95% of the readers of Evo will never be able to afford half the cars they feature. Thats why I like it soo much. I don't want to read about the latest MPV, or estate that has X Amount of luggage space. I want to read about car's I'll probably never be able to afford to buy.

Irrelevant to lifestyle? Go but WhatCar. There probably running a feature on which car has the most/best cup holders.


PS. Looking at picture of Glamour models is irrelevant as I'll never get to **** one. Doesn't stop me looking at them though

 

I must say that it really p1ssed me off to have Shell rammed down my throat repeatedly.

Its got to be said that give the choice I would now actively avoid Shell and I certainly wont be buying a Ferrari as my next supercar. Oh no, you missed out there Mr Ferrari, youre not getting my business.

Its just a pity Shell make the best Super on the market

 

That's cos I don't print it any more Since it left the company I w*rk at I've heard of bad print quality, incorrect page sequence, late delivery and many other problems. Might mean we get it back though and give me something decent to read

 

Don't be a muppet.
Maybe I should rephrase that "irrelevant to modern motoring"
I have no interest in dull family stuff like cup holders.
The magazine is okay, albeit sponsored by Shell/Porsche and lacking "normal" fun cars - I'll probably still pick up a copy now and again.
Oh and I've had two letters published in it so I must be on a similar track to them, AND actually assisting with input rather than just hiding in a room and getting frisky with images of the latest Zonda/Ferrari/whatever.

 

Useless magazine for an impartial review of a mass market car from a "driver's" point of view. It's seems their reviewers have no idea of how cars "should" drive with concern relating to mass market cars (say Focus or Mondeo). They compliment it for the way it drives, yet ignore the fact that they are the most detached, mundane and sluggish forms of transport to date.

When will a magazine start telling mass market maufacturers that cars should not have feather light steering, and should have at least some positive feedback. When will they say that they should not have over-sensitive grabby brakes that hurl you through the windscreen should a feather inadvertantly fall on the brake pedal. Whoever said it was acceptable for a compact hatchback to weight in at 1400kg? A seating position so high, you may as well be in a SUV. With it pulled along by an asthmatic engine that has absolutely no torque below 3000rpm attached to a gearbox geared for 40mph and 70mph in 1st 1and 2nd gears respectively, resulting in annoyingly lethargic response and a 0-60 in 12seconds for a branded "sporty" model which they claim as "acceptable"?

If it were a supercar, they'd shred it to pieces, but oh no, it's for Joe Blogs, thats the way it should be: Slow, unresponsive, heavy with driver controls requiring 1gram of force to actuate (might be good for arthritus sufferers and weaklings) and full of airbags. Fact is one gets more driver involvement from driving a Ford Cortina than a new Mondeo, not to say a Cortina is better - far from it. But its high time car manufacturers were told that cars should drive like cars, not like driving simulators. They should have steering that feels like its attached to the wheels and overcomming the forces of the road and speed, and brake assistance that is proprotional to the braking effort, and a chassis that doesn't weigh as much as a skip full of concrete.

A magazine complimenting such cars which are as involving to drive as the laptop they probably wrote the report on is not helping matters....and EVO (and TG) are the guilty parties here, as these mags are supposed to be aimed at people who are more enthustiastic in terms of cars.

If it were "Practical hatchback monthly" or "Rep/Fleet car monthly" It would be expected, but for Evo, there is no excuse.

I give up on EVO, and TG for that, neither have the sense (or *****) to shout the corner for the car enthuiast stuck in the small/medium/mass market car sector.

Although if I'm in an airport after a quick read on the plane I'll pick up a copy of TG but the only interesting articles are mutterings and moanings from the "Faces" columns, moreso than any of the cars they are actually reviewing.

 

I like EVO and think although it's been tweeked of late, in reality it's not changed much at all.

The photography, the exclusives and the focus on the driving experience make this the perfect alternative to Emmeroaks or whatever the other half is insisting on watching. The perfect remedy to mid-week life!

I particularlly like the racing and rallying they do, this months rallying in the Evo 6 is cool. The Pikes Peak was also a brilliant write up.

I have also just renewed my subscription - keep it coming!

 

What a horrible image...

 

What a horrible image

 

Only bits I read when I process the data for press

Agree with your comments on modern cars too. We have an Octavia which slams you through the windscreen if a fart makes it down your trouser-leg in the direction of the brake pedal The chassis feels like it would be quite competent, if only it didn't have Michelin Eco-crash-causer (Energy) tires with profiles higher than Noddy Holders platforms. The 2 litre TDi engine is nippy and extremely frugal (3 weeks between fill-ups) which, along with its enormous boot, is why we bought it. I'm sure some 18's, stiffer springs and ARB's would tighten it up to acceptable, but I'm past throwing money at cars.

 

What sort of real world mileage are you getting out of your Octavia Corradoboy?

 

Our lass drives it mostly, but she says if she's careful that high 40's 'round town are easily done. The only long run I've done in it saw just over 60 on the mway. Even when pushing it a little 'round town I see low 40's, with a tendency to boot it to get the speed and then slot it into 6th to cruise. Once in 6th on a flat steady run the mpg indicator often reads "---" as it turns off the injectors. The odd light brush of the pedal to keep momentum can see it reading "100"+ but with the available torque it is surprisingly nippy when you need it Although, my 320 ft/lb Fabia blows it away

All this is just from the computer. I will try and get her to do a brim-to-brim average over a month, but she is a girl you understand

 

POOR PRINT QUALITY

I have raised this on two occasions with EVO and yet to have a reply.

Their printers need to sort the registration out on a great number of the pages.

I can live with the new 'image'/layout, but that fact that they can't print it properly is sad IMHO

 

You need 4X4 magazine and LandRover Owner Magazine.

Welcome to 4x4i

Land Rover Owner International magazine

Cheers
Lee

 

Lee - Our useless local newsagents don't have them!
May have to order on-line.

 

Thanks for the info. Could be our next family car methinks!

 

It's a business, and as we all know businesses con you as much as they can without crossing the line (too much).

Mmm Creative Director of EVO magazine!! one of my dreams lol

 

You have completely missed the point of my post so I assume you don't read magazines.

The advertisement features look like features, run for between six and ten pages but are paid for by a sponsor. So turn a page and they are still there! For a magazine that has always positioned itself to take an independent stance it is both an insult to the reader and sell out of their own principles.

Of i accept that advertising is what pays for the magazine, but there it is acceptable in different forms.


PS When I mentioned TG in my original post, I meant the programme not the magazine. I have never read the magazine.

 

I subcribe to both Evo magazine and F1 Racing.

OK, I don't read the sponsored ads in Evo, but to be fair though, they're not in every month. If it means that my favorite magazine keeps going and not end up the same way Performance Car did, then I'd happily skip a few pages of advertisements.

I understand where you're coming from, but simply skiping these pages is no real hardship. All these trip the do abroad must cost some money. You could say they are selling out, but securing funds to make such good features IMO is worth it.

 

Try these.

All listed as stockists.


WHS High Street
Pydar Street,
truro,
cornwall
TR1 2AX

Tesco Extra
Station Road,
carn Brea Industrial Estate,
redruth
TR15 3QJ

Independent
Greens,
unit 2,
74 Fore Street
TR15 1JT

Londis
Londis (tregony) Ltd,
61 Fore Street,
tregony
TR2 5RW

WHS High Street
9-11 Commercial Square,
cambourne,
cornwall
TR14 8AT

TM Retail Convenience
36 Cliff Road,
newquay,
cornwall
TR7 2ND

WHS High Street
7 Bank Street,
newquay,
cornwall
TR7 1DH

Independent
St Columb Minor P O,
222 Henver Road,
st Columb Minor
TR7 3EH

Independent
Trescobeas Stores,
2 Trevaylor Road,
falmouth
TR11 2JY

Independent
39 Arwenack Street,
falmouth,
cornwall
TR11 3JG

WHS High Street
17-18 Market Street,
falmouth,
cornwall
TR11 3AF


Cheers
Lee

 

We're hoping to chop it in for a vRS PD170 estate next year Might swap my Furby for either an Ibiza PD160 or Leon PD170 the year after.

 

I don't fully agree with the original post, however:-

1. paper quality has gone downhill. I much prefered the early-issue quality paper.
2. I see the Shell adverts have crept in again despite the negative letters Evo received, and in fairness to them, printed last year.
3. Irrelevant non-evoness cars are creeping in. We all know what they are so I'll leave it at that!
4. I much prefer the old format to the revamp.
5. I've been a subscriber for over 5 years now. Rather than keep offering gifts to new subscribers, what about rewarding the loyal on-going subscribers!


Other than the above, I continue to subscribe as there's some great articles, fantastic photographs and stunning scenery.

Nick

 

In the past they have always had the odd one every few months. Three in one magazine is a weak excuse for revenue over editorial in my opinion.

In the industry one of the measures of quality is the ratio of editorial to ad pages. IIRC evo made a point of having the best ratio in an editorial only a couple of years ago...

 

evo rave about nearly every car they drive. Only when the new model comes out do they talk about the old model's faults.