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Table of Contents
72 Our long-term Volkswagen Golf VR6 arrived to a fanfare of expectation, but left under a cloud
5 AGENDA
Gillies vents his spleen over the
cynical way British Aerospace and the
Government have handled the sale of Rover
6 NEWS
More details of Ford’s sub-Fiesta
baby; cheap(er) BMW and Mercedes
ragtops; Renault’s radical Argos roadster
18 ORACLE
The Volkswagen Group is in an
unseemly mess, bolstered only by its
humblest member. Kacher reports on Skoda
22 IN BRITAIN
Last year was a bit low on automotive
highlights, but Feast has sifted out
some interesting trends from the figures
31 ZX Estate: ballon d’essai sees light of day
26 NEWCOMERS
Vauxhall Omega Up to the task p26
Citroën ZX Estate Worthy tool p31
Audi Avant RS2 Rapid Porsche wagon p36
Ford Probe 16V Capriciously gutless p41
Ford Fiesta A bit different, a bit dearer p45
Nissan Sunny Better; won’t come here p46
Mitsubishi Mirage Asti Coltish fun p51
52 SIR!
Is this a letter I see before me? The
Rover sale moves one reader to
verse. Other topics are drink-driving,
racism, vans, bikes and sound systems
59 SOAP BOX
Reader Glenn Brooks castigates the
misinformation-mongers who trumpet
the political correctness of diesel engines
63 FRONTLINE
A Mercedes fails to woo Setright,
Bulgin plays games on motorways,
Bishop frets about the starving millions, and
Bremner ruminates on his Rover days
72 LONG-TERM TEST: THANK
GOODNESS EVERYTHING IN
LIFE ISN’T AS UNRELIABLE AS
OUR VOLKSWAGEN
Or as disappointing. Paul Horrell had
endless trouble with our Golf VR6
80 THIS IS NOT THE ANSWER
Although it apes the Beetle, VW’s
Concept 1 still manages to look
futuristic. But Bremner isn’t impressed
84 THE BEETLE – LIVE IN MEXICO
The Beetle never died – it just
emigrated to Mexico. Georg Kacher
on a coleopterous tour of taco-land
90 TRANS-EUROPE EXPRESS
An exhilarated Colin Goodwin tears
across Europe at breakneck speed in
Ferrari’s 456GT – one of the finest front-
engined grand tourers ever made
96 ASTON MARTIN VANTAGE v
FERRARI 456GT
Fraser pits the 456GT against a car
whose name alone would suggest that it is
even more muscular, even more expensive
104 ROVER: THE SELL-OFF
We interview BMW’s Bernd
Pischetsrieder and Rover’s John
Towers, and analyse the deal’s implications
108 ROVER: THE FUTURE
The sell-off may be controversial,
but it will spawn some exciting
cars. We preview Rover’s 1999 line-up
114 TEACHING BMW
After several decades of rear-wheel
drive, BMW has unveiled a hatch so
equipped. Is such apparent intransigence
justified, or is Rover’s route the way to go?
118 SETRIGHT’S YEAR
No fewer than 70 cars have
presented themselves for
inspection by the erudite one in the past
twelvemonth; very few escape intact
122 GIANT TEST
As the antidote is identified, a stampede
arises to hurl it. Here, Vauxhall’s
Calibra and VW’s Corrado are challenged
by Ford’s Probe and Toyota’s Celica
132 A CAR STREET NAMED DESIRE
The A118 begins in Stratford and
finishes in Romford, but is known only
as the Romford Road. James Ruppert travels
its six car-infested miles, and finds autopia
140 INSIDE LINE
The Formula One circus is about to
start another tour. Nigel Roebuck
tells you which teams will win, which teams
to watch, and which are the clowns
144 KEBCRAWLER
The best time to buy a ragtops is
when it’s too cold to think about
driving one. And this month Alex
joins the hot frosty forecourts
157 THE GOOD, THE BAD AND
THE UGLY
Fiat has upped its prices, and
Jaguar has unveiled another budget-priced
XJ6. As for the rest, we tell it like it is
166 LONG-TERMERS
A round-up of our septet: Citroën
ZX, Ford Maverick, Renault Twingo,
Vauxhall Calibra, Volvo 850 Estate, BMW
R1100 RS bike, race-prepared Porsche 944
168 LOST IN AMERICA
The birth of a son has caused
Jamie Kitman to free-associate on
the themes of people and cars. One has
just usurped the other in his affections