Evo magazine - seems like everyone's leaving

[s m]

greenarrow said:

s m said:

greenarrow said:

Patrick Bateman said:

Leins said:

Unfortunately Modern Classics is just too "investment potential" for me. I find the articles themselves very poor in content

That's disappointing. I bought the first two issues and while decent they were too focused on this.

I disagree with that opinion. The writing is fine, its just written to highlight the good and poor aspects of the various cars featured, its not about driving cars on B Roads at the limit, which is the remit of mags like EVO. What I also like is that they aren't predictable. In this months issue for example, they preferred the MG Maestro Turbo to a Mk1 Escort RS Turbo. You would never get that in any other magazine.

This is why I don't think Modern Classics is really a rival to EVO, its more a "wake up call" to Classic Cars and Classic and Sports Car to move out of their 1960s/70s, early 80s time-warp and start featuring modern classics. Those two magazines still predominately cover cars that were only 10 years old or less in some cases (yes MGB, E Type Jag and Triumph TRs, I am talking about you!!) when they started back in the 70s.

Except CAR magazine back in the 1980s perhaps, when they picked an MG Maestro Turbo over an RS Turbo ...

Ha, Ha, yes you're right. Car back in those days were never afraid to take a different view to the herd. Very different now, where they've joined the "VW Golf is the answer to every motoring question" brigade!

Funny to see Classic Cars Jan 2017 edition rip off the December 2016 issue of Modern Classics with a similar hot hatch test featuring the Maestro....so perhaps the establishment is waking up at last to cars built after 1985!!

To be honest though, I can't remember any other contemporary mag comparing the Maestro Turbo to an RS Turbo. Autocar did a twin test of Maestro Turbo against the 309Gti and Fast Lane did a triple test with the Golf and Astra.
The ordinary MG Maestro always got fairly good reviews though, especially for handling


I did read the Classic Cars article as well - nice to see more modern cars getting a review

[greenarrow]

Well, I've read this months EVO now and its a definite return to form. Renaultsport special feature, buying guide (finally) on the EP3 Civic Type R and a best cars below £20K article, only a few mega cars featured. Great writing, fabulous photography, this is more like it!!

Maybe the departure of all those well known writers is not a bad thing after all, I mean Harry Metcalfe may have been the founder of EVO but he was a factor in it moving towards hyper cars, what with being a Pagani owner and some of the others were equally culpable. Stuart Gallagher, the new ed, has written for a number of independent mags and I quite like his writing, although he is another huge PORSCHE fan, which is maybe not what EVO needed!!

[Swede123]

As a buyer of car magazines since the mid 60s, the son of a motor dealer then, and then one myself with a continuing interest in messing about with cars, some special, some just lovely and some I still wonder why I bothered with, Evo was bought from issue 1. I bought the latest issue today.

Barker, Harris, Meaden, Metcalfe were all inspired reading. Harry did buy the occasional wheels for pennies, Barker and Meaden competing with their builds, Barker I gather is still on his Capri. I like to read of their good moments, and their not so good moments which many of us can relate to.

Unfortunately Evo now belongs to a big company that is an international publisher. It may only be a matter in time when its amalgamated with another Felix magazine and then I stop buying it. Is it a coincidence that Felix Dennis died a while ago and we now have these changes ?

Octane magazine, no longer the read every page publication, maybe the next to suffer !

[Greg-]

This month felt like a return to form, but I might cancel mine, I've got a pile of unread issues as I really couldn't get into it. Having said that, I enjoy having a magazine to read, I spend what feels like every waking hour staring at some sort of screen so having something on actual paper to read is nice.

I read an issue of a Octane magazine and immediately felt that my humble state school up bringing meant it probably wasn't for me.

[s m]

Greg- said:

I read an issue of a Octane magazine and immediately felt that my humble state school up bringing meant it probably wasn't for me.

I thought the same too

[ClockworkCupcake]

I thought that Adam Towler's article on driving a Ferrari F355 in Scotland was a real return to form, a real return to making you feel you were vicariously enjoying the trip rather than just reading about how some journo dicked around getting the tail out with a dab of oppo which is how most of EVO's articles were reading.

I also liked the large feature on sub-£20k cars, and also the Renault piece. So I am cautiously optimistic of this new Editor.

[Patrick Bateman]

I've never bought many copies of Evo in the first place but this issue sounds interesting if I can find a shop close by that actually has it.

[greenarrow]

ClockworkCupcake said:

I thought that Adam Towler's article on driving a Ferrari F355 in Scotland was a real return to form, a real return to making you feel you were vicariously enjoying the trip rather than just reading about how some journo dicked around getting the tail out with a dab of oppo which is how most of EVO's articles were reading.

I also liked the large feature on sub-£20k cars, and also the Renault piece. So I am cautiously optimistic of this new Editor.

It was a good article indeed and certainly more like "old EVO". Adam Towler was Autocar's road test editor for years and writes a good piece.

As for Octane, I've never really found it that engrossing. Not sure what market it is trying to plug.

[Tickle]

greenarrow said:

ClockworkCupcake said:

I thought that Adam Towler's article on driving a Ferrari F355 in Scotland was a real return to form, a real return to making you feel you were vicariously enjoying the trip rather than just reading about how some journo dicked around getting the tail out with a dab of oppo which is how most of EVO's articles were reading.

I also liked the large feature on sub-£20k cars, and also the Renault piece. So I am cautiously optimistic of this new Editor.

It was a good article indeed and certainly more like "old EVO". Adam Towler was Autocar's road test editor for years and writes a good piece.

As for Octane, I've never really found it that engrossing. Not sure what market it is trying to plug.

I thought the Feb edition was good too, as said; 20k cars, Renaultport Special, 355 in Scotland and the Exige 380 was praised well too.

[s m]

New issue of Modern Classics is out this week too

[krisdelta]

The Feb copy is indeed a far better read than the last 6+ months, it also marks the end of my subscription. I may buy in a few months and see if the influx of new blood has revitalised it.

[downsman]

I still buy Evo, and generally like it.

However, I'm not sure if some of the current writers are very good at driving. Obviously Richard Meaden knows his stuff, but Dan Prosser complains about an RS Audi having a shunty transmission if you don't feed some revs in before engaging the clutch in this issue. I wonder whether they've grow too used to driving autos and dual clutch transmissions.

[danp]

Too much exotica again in this months (March) Evo for me.

Cover feature is M3/M4 GTS, Catchpole is in the Eagle Spyder GT (834k!) and they drive a Schnitzer 1er (150k euro but you can't buy one). RPM 911 looked lovely at just half the price of a Singer. Guess they need to cover the AMG GT-R and GT-R Nismo but even so.

On the used side we have buying guides on V12 super cars (from 125k) and the 458 Italia (£800 for an oil change, what do they use?!). For peasants we have a brief guide on M5's and track cars.

Trott gets in an article on each of his 911's in Fast Fleet. Zzzz.

[ClockworkCupcake]

I've also noticed that it takes far less time to read an issue than before, which is problem as my issue of EVO always lives in the bathroom.

[thetapeworm]

Lots of adverts next to each other I thought but I was generally happy with the latest until the Trott double page spread in Fast Fleet, if he's gone then draw a line under him.

[greenarrow]

danp said:

Too much exotica again in this months (March) Evo for me.

Cover feature is M3/M4 GTS, Catchpole is in the Eagle Spyder GT (834k!) and they drive a Schnitzer 1er (150k euro but you can't buy one). RPM 911 looked lovely at just half the price of a Singer. Guess they need to cover the AMG GT-R and GT-R Nismo but even so.

On the used side we have buying guides on V12 super cars (from 125k) and the 458 Italia (£800 for an oil change, what do they use?!). For peasants we have a brief guide on M5's and track cars.

Trott gets in an article on each of his 911's in Fast Fleet. Zzzz.

I was going to say, "please no spoilers" for those of us who don't subscribe, but hey you've probably saved me the bother of buying It on Weds.

Agree its far too "exotic heavy", although last months was a change.

Anyway, never mind EVO whats happened to "Car". Have flicked through the past few issues and an absolute bore-fest. At least EVO sticks to its brief of featuring performance cars. Car just doesn't seem to know what it wants to be and for example this month provided a brief four page test of the Porsche 911 Turbo, Audi R8 V10 Plus, Jag F type SVR and Nissan GT-R, with no real description of the drive or rationale for why the Audi won. Its pitiful, when you consider what a good read Car was back in LJK's heyday.....l

[Escort3500]

I'm at the stage now where I look forward to Modern Classics every month now more than Evo.

[lanky28]

not related to evo but anyone remember redline magazine? used to love reading it as a youth

[HotJambalaya]

danp said:

Too much exotica again in this months (March) Evo for me.

you raise a good point. It reminds me of when I was 17 and reading car mags, wishing I'd be able to afford the stuff they were writing about. Get a few quid behind me, start reading evo and realise I still can't afford (or worse even if I had the money buy) most things in it. My last 2 issues are still in their wrapper. I emailed them to cancel my sub, but they also said to go and cancel my dd which is a bit annoying.

[anonymous-user]

Admittedly I only read half way through this thread but I disagree a lot.

I subscribe to 7 magazines and one of them is EVO. People are leaving, which sucks admittedly, but only recently they said they're the only growing print magazine.

I take in car news on YouTube and Jalopnik mainly but think magazines still have their place.