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Just eight of the original 16 contenders remain, but which will come out on top? In part 2 of evo Car of the Year 2020, we tackle the finest roads of the Scottish Borders for the final reckoning... www.buyacar.co.uk 0:00 Intro 1:00 The final eight 4:30 McLaren 765LT 5:24 Porsche 911 Turbo S 7:41 Lamborghini Huracán Evo RWD 8:25 Ferrari F8 Tributo 10:16 Day two 11:04 Toyota GR Yaris 12:51 Honda Civic Type R 13:23 Porsche Cayman GTS 14:17 BMW M2 CS 18:51 Day three - the final reckoning Visit www.evo.co.uk for the latest performance car news and reviews.
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0:27
It's day one of part two of E-Cote
0:30
I love this part of the test because it's where everything starts to come together
0:35
We've got a very good idea of how all the cars performed on track. We've whittled it down to our favourite eight of those 16
1:04
and it's quite a change of pace because obviously we're driving on the road so you're looking for different qualities in the cars
1:09
and possibly more of their character comes out rather than just their outright performance
1:19
We've whittled the 16 down to our final eight. It's a great group, I have to say, this year
1:24
The nice thing is, yes, we've got all the big hitters with Ferrari and McLaren and Porsche and the Lamborghini
1:33
We've also got the hot hatches here, so we've got the Yaris and we've got the Civic, and then there's cars in the middle as well
1:39
so they came in the M2 CS, so it's a really broad spectrum
1:47
There's a real spectacle to it. Just driving from the hotel this morning, heading up here
1:51
you've got the sun coming up and the spray and the clouds and amazing scenery and that to me that's a big part of what ECOAT is about because it's just this
2:01
gathering of of quite disparate but all really exciting cars so yeah very much looking forward
2:07
to the next few days. I missed out in Wales so I didn't get to go to the track I've driven hardly
2:17
any of these cars so all I've driven in the past is the Ferrari F8 which I loved and the Civic Type
2:24
which is fantastic, I guess, the benchmark, hot hatch. But everything else is new to me
2:31
Yeah, the road's always a lot different. Track is very binary, you're steering hard and braking hard
2:38
and you're expecting the grip to do all the work. The road is much different. It's more subtle, more nuanced
2:48
Yeah, it's a different challenge driving on the road, I think because you get different sensations and the surfaces are changing
2:56
and cambers and bumps and crests and all the things that you don't get on a racetrack
3:04
This is sort of the real world. This is to see whether these cars can do it on the road
3:08
which is where the majority of people will drive them. So it's going to be an interesting week. Again, trying not to pre-empt which ones are going to shine
3:16
but I drove up in the Ferrari yesterday and already that feels like it's going to be one of the cars that's up there
3:22
because it does everything so well. Yeah, it's going to be interesting with something like the 765LT on these roads
3:32
It's shot on track. It's whether McLaren's sort of DNA of being a really good, fluid road car comes to the fore
3:48
This M2 CS on track was hilarious, but of course you can't drive it in any way, shape or form like that on the road
3:57
So you're looking for different things from that car. I was very, very fond of the M2, M2 CS
4:03
just because that's very much my kind of car almost. The M2 CS just seems to be perfectly proportioned for UK roads
4:12
and that's getting a lot of attention from us at the moment, and people grabbing the keys and taking it off
4:16
So, yeah, it's proven to fall into place as we expected it to do
4:20
sort of on the first day out on the road. And I'm sure everything will change again later on this afternoon
4:35
So I've just had my first drive on the road in the 765 Longtail
4:41
And that's quite an experience in itself. So I'm just trying to digest that at the moment
4:45
it's not as intimidating as you think it might be not if you're just driving it normally
4:51
it's loud it's pretty harsh both in terms of noise and also the vibration of the engine but
4:59
the ride as well at low speed is obviously pretty firm as you'd expect get smooths out and gets
5:04
really good as the speed rise which is the sort of classic style of the mclaren proactive chassis
5:10
control but yeah it's it's it's a quite a physical experience at low speed
5:16
yeah standout cars i think probably the the most memorable drive i've had so far is in the 911 turbo
5:29
had a good sort of 20 minute run and being out here there's no other traffic apart from us so
5:35
you can you can just get into a rhythm and get to know the road and and stretch the performance
5:40
for the cars a little bit, and it was wet and dry, which is perfect conditions for the turbo
5:45
so it really came into its own then. I think you do find, compared to the track..
5:50
There's a Lamborghini going off in the background. I think, compared to the track, you realise how little of their full performance
5:56
you actually can use on the road, which is frustrating at times
6:00
but actually, it's just all part of the experience of these cars. 911 turbo is always intriguing it's funny people only care about gt3s and gt2s and rs's
6:15
but the turbo's been so good for so long uh i hear it was fantastic on track which doesn't
6:20
surprise me because the 991 was as well so yeah i'm sure that'll be a spaceship and if it rains
6:26
911 turbos tend to do pretty well I'm yet to really drive the Porsches today
6:33
I drove the Cayman here this morning that was great but I don't think I'm ever going to make peace
6:38
with the long gear ratios we're just waiting for the Yaris to arrive
6:43
now that's the one that I just really want to get in on this road is the Yaris so hopefully that should be here any moment now
6:49
and we can crack on with that we've all been drawn to the mid-engine supercars
6:56
So we've been talking about the differences between those. The Lamborghini has surprised, I think, quite a few people
7:04
The engine is just fantastic. But then you've got the chassis of the Ferrari
7:10
The Ferrari sounds so much quieter after you jump out of the Lambo
7:15
It's not just because it's paint jobs, it's a bit more demure
7:20
And then you've got the McLaren, which is the sort of stealthiest one, but also almost the angriest looking of the lot
7:25
Yeah, it's been interesting comparing all three of those. It's probably too early to think of favourites or cars that are leading yet
7:50
A few of us are quite bowled over by the Lamborghini, not just because of its extrovert character of how it looks
7:57
but its V10 engine is a masterpiece. It's a real work of art and really addictive, particularly up here
8:02
You can just hear it echoing around the forest. And everybody seems to be really charmed by the Lamborghini
8:13
I think the sort of sonic warfare that that is unleashing on Scotland
8:17
is capturing quite a lot of hearts. It would be really interesting to see how it compares with the Ferrari
8:37
because the Ferrari is not really any slower. I mean, it's also extremely powerful
8:45
But they go about their tasks in a very different way. The Har Hatch is definitely still have a chance, yes
8:58
One of the fantastic things, obviously, on the road, you can't really use all the performance of a supercar
9:04
So it's a very levelling factor, I suppose, in that. And I'm sure at some point, because it's Scotland, we'll get some rain
9:12
And that's also something that they all have to deal with, and trying to put 700 brake horsepower down
9:18
suddenly doesn't seem quite such a good idea sometimes. we're at the end of day one now
9:30
on the edge of Kilda Forest it's been a bit of an eye opener for us with some of the cars
9:34
mentioned earlier the Lamborghini is really coming into our affections and the Yaris GR4 has arrived this afternoon
9:41
this homologation special is right on the money for us it's the right specification, four wheel drive
9:46
wonderful turbocharged engine which you wouldn't expect It's got real character and the whole car looks like a ball of energy
9:53
so we're looking forward to getting more time in that tomorrow. And also things like the Ferrari and the Civic Type R on the road
10:03
really sort of coming to the fore again and exciting people. The Civic Type R particularly, it's only, Honda say, a mid-life facelift
10:10
but there's so much they've done to that car that to get more time to get under the skin of it is going to be imperative tomorrow
10:20
MUSIC PLAYS
10:50
Scotland or well hopefully sunny it looks like the weather might be coming in a bit but we had
10:54
such a good day yesterday that we can't begrudge the weather a bit of bit of rain if it wants to
10:58
and the Yaris is now here I drove a little bit yesterday afternoon when it turned up
11:04
the GR Yaris has there been a more easily awaited car than this one
11:14
I'm almost a little bit worried that that sense of anticipation might overhype the car
11:24
It's very fast, it's faster than I thought it would be. It has just over 250 brake horsepower and it is a small car, sure, but the way it rips
11:33
through the gears, the gearing is really well judged as well, the way it just blasts through
11:38
the gears is really exhilarating. It feels easily able to keep up with any of the cars
11:45
here, even the supercars. It's a hilarious little thing. I mean, it's cartoonish in its proportions, particularly
11:55
if you follow it down the road and just see there's a massive rear track on it. And it
12:00
kind of drives like it looks. So it's just mega short wheelbase and lots of grip, but
12:07
It's really sort of tough. It feels like a sort of homologation special to that extent
12:12
in terms of the gear shifts and the really punchy engines. So it's nice to have that in the mix
12:20
and sort of ducking and diving with all the supercars now as well. I've stilled myself and had a go in the McLaren
12:28
and it has absolutely sublime steering. So that's now bubbled up to the top of my list as well
12:35
along with just about everything else. so it's going to be quite tricky to pick out what is actually the best car here
12:42
because there's a lot of different cars but they're all very good at what they're trying to do
12:45
so you've got the Civic which is a very good hot hatch Surprises for me, Civic Type Bar I think
12:58
I was never falling in love with that car everyone's raved about it and I've always sort of admired it
13:04
but from a distance somehow. But I really like whatever they've done to this one
13:08
It feels more fluid, just as precise, a bit more playful at the rear
13:13
The engine seems to have a bit more top end to it. I just think it's great fun
13:28
I joined the group a little bit later this morning, so I had a really nice run-up on my own in the Cayman
13:33
which I think I'd overlooked probably because there's so many extreme shapes and noises
13:39
and they're just more full-on cars that the more rounded, familiar car
13:44
you tend to kind of put to the background. But it's so good, which is really annoying
13:48
because then it throws another consideration, I think, when you get used to that really shouty Lamborghini
13:56
or absolute rocket ship turbo and then you get in the Cayman
14:00
and it just does everything so well and it gives you so many options
14:03
and you can drive it smoothly or drive it aggressively. It's a real reminder how good the car is
14:09
and why it generally does so well in these tests. I had an amazing drive in the BMW, the M2 CS
14:29
There's a fantastic piece of road down in the valley down there, and that's just a lovely car that again like I say you don't have to be driving it
14:37
super quickly just flows and it feels rear-wheel drive and the gearboxes seems to be getting better
14:44
and better as well it's a distinctly BMW gearbox I think anybody that has felt the BMW manual
14:50
gearbox over the last 30 years you could be blindfolded sit in the car and you didn't really
14:55
know what it was. Well it's Wednesday afternoon now and we're working our way westwards
15:11
We come to one of our favourite roads in border country Unfortunately the cafe we normally go to is shut today for obvious reasons but the road is as good as ever
15:24
The afternoon of day two, in the Scottish part of Evo Car of the Year
15:29
or Mook Coaty as it was sometimes christened, and we've moved locations
15:34
so we're now next to a couple of rather beautiful locks. And one of the things I love about Evo Car of the Year
15:40
is the fact we do roam around a bit and sometimes the best drives are actually the ones between locations
15:49
I've been speaking to the other judges and I think everyone's moving in roughly the same sort of direction
15:55
I think there are some that are dropping a few red herrings here and there
16:00
but I think most people, probably the second half of their order
16:04
is beginning to take shape. I think everyone as a whole actually is struggling with that top four
16:13
So this year I think the major theme amongst all the judges, including myself, is confusion
16:20
Because normally we have one or two cars that really stand out, and this year we really don't
16:26
They're all really good, and the more you drive, the less clarity you feel
16:31
because each one you jump in is just a reminder of how good that particular car is
16:40
I don't know whether I should give too much away at the moment, but I think the Porsches are struggling
16:46
I think the Yaris is really impressing people, as is the Civic. The Lambo remains really strong
16:52
The McLaren is just ballistic, and I think that will be right up there
16:56
the scoring system for evo is the sensible thing to do in a way would be to just simply
17:04
rank everything so from you know first place down to eighth place but you can end up with
17:11
ties and all sorts of things and it's it's feels slightly wrong sometimes because actually two cars
17:16
you think i simply can't separate them so what we tend to do is give every car score out of 100
17:24
if it's something gets below 70 75 probably shouldn't have been here in the first place
17:32
that's not going to happen this year anything above 90 has to be kind of really the best of the best
17:39
so we're at the end of day two it's getting dark it's getting a bit cold
17:46
but I started the day thinking I'd be much clearer on how the cars sat but the more I've
17:55
driven them the more not confused but it's very very very hard to decide between certainly the
18:03
Lamborghini the Ferrari and the McLaren they're all trying to do the same thing but they all do it
18:07
in totally different ways so I think you have more instant fun saying the Lamborghini but it's not as
18:15
polished and quick a car as the McLaren and the Ferrari sits somewhere in between so every time
18:22
I've driven them it's just mixed all that up so I need to have a think about it probably have an
18:26
argument with Jethro because he loves the Lamborghini and I'm I do love it but perhaps
18:32
not as much as a couple of the others before the end of the day we've got one more drive
18:38
back to the hotel have a few beers have a chat probably have a row but it's all part of the
18:44
process and tomorrow it tees us up for one final drive in all the cars and we'll come to our
18:50
conclusions. It's the final day today and we have to make a decision on our ECO-T car of the year
19:05
It's going to be so tight that these cars are so competitive and so tightly matched on everything
19:11
every time we drive something you think this is in with the shout and we've been saying that over
19:15
the last three or four days and it the fact that we're still saying that on the final day highlights how how competitive it is this year i think a few of us have got an order of cars we'd
19:25
like to see in the top three or we think of top three contenders but how we make those into a
19:30
first second and third is going to be really tough last night we tried to get some uniformity with the
19:38
judges as to a top four so that we could concentrate on the right cars to mop up the
19:44
last of the photography this morning. And it did work. So we've got a top four. We just
19:52
don't necessarily have the order of that top four, but it's Yaris, Lamborghini, M2 and
19:59
McLaren. I think looking at the scores that the judges have given, or the nominations
20:06
I should say. The Lamborghini is the weakest and I suspect that might be our fourth place
20:11
car so it really is between the other three. I couldn't call it at the moment
20:25
Yeah, the Cayman, on its own, it would have been, you know, it's a five-star car. It's
20:31
a proper, really well-sorted bit of kit but it just, against the opposition here
20:36
The steering doesn't feel quite so sharp. The handling is a little bit soft-edged at times
20:44
when you want it to be a bit sharp. But then again, I drove it here this morning
20:48
and the road flows really nicely, nicely surfaced, and it's fantastic and it grips so well
20:55
as we've discovered in the past, on a wet circuit. It's phenomenal. The reason that I think the Turbo S was at the bottom
21:05
probably it suffers from the fact that it's such a good all-rounder in a way
21:10
You know, it's still fabulous and you still get into it every time and be shocked by just how agile the front end was
21:17
but it has gained in weight over the years and that really tells, I think, on some of these roads
21:23
just doesn't quite have the alacrity of some of the other lighter cars, perhaps
21:30
the civic that's an injustice right there i mean that should have been further up as far as i was
21:41
concerned i think that's a fabulous car it's uh all the control weightings are brilliant i think
21:46
perhaps it's a car that maybe subconsciously you'd find it hard to own or it's sort of it's
21:53
almost so good that when you get out of it you don't remember sort of it doesn't have any standout
21:59
qualities as to why it's so good so perhaps that's the reason i don't know i love the civic
22:04
so i find that one harder to judge ferrari yeah um it's almost too bright the response is too bright and the brakes again
22:25
they're a little bit oversensitive, I think. I'm not sure whether they've tweaked the pads
22:30
between the two halves of the test, but it just feels it's very hard to modulate
22:35
just the step-in braking, just that little... These are all the nuances that come out on the road
22:41
that you probably don't realise are important when you're on the track
22:48
What I look for in these cars is that you as the driver The whole point to me you as the driver can make a difference to what the car does so you feel like an integral part of how it gets down the road and the M2 the ultimate version of that
23:00
It's such a front-engine, rear-wheel drive car, always feels on the edge of oversteer
23:05
but really well-poised, lovely control. so we've made it to the end of ecoti and we've we have a finishing order um and the top three is
23:28
the lambagini hurricane evo rear-wheel drive the mclaren 765 lt and bmw's m2 cs so yeah for a top
23:36
three i think you know any one of them could have won but i'm quite pleased that the m2 got it
23:41
so overall i think m2 is definitely a worthy winner i love it i think it's fantastic i wish
23:49
that I was able to place it ahead of the McLaren. I couldn't quite bring myself to do it
23:53
I wanted to. I wanted the cheap car to win. It's still like 75 grand
23:57
But, yeah, McLaren's a spaceship. M2CS is fantastic, and 2020 was a great year
24:03
So pretty fair result all round. So that's it. We're done. Three days driving, top three decided, which is good news
24:15
I'm surprised, actually, that the McLaren didn't win, not just because I had it on the top of my list
24:21
but just from the conversations that we had last night. In terms of the scoring, it's one of the closest we've had
24:30
for 21, 22 years we've been doing Icote. The top two were separated by a point
24:36
and it was so close from there on down. Third, fourth, fifth were all really close
24:40
They all could have made the podium. The Lamborghini was a big surprise in this test
24:48
We've driven them lots before, the Hurricanes, and they've never quite really been the driver's cars we've hoped for
24:53
They're frustrated with their steering, hasn't quite had that feel that we're after. The ride hasn't quite been great to get the performance out of it
25:00
but with this latest rear-wheel drive version, they've really sourced it. It's like a completely new car rather than just an evolution
25:10
And it so nearly came second, and to be honest, I think it would have been in with a chance of winning if it had an individual mode where you could tailor settings like exhaust, damping and steering and so forth to your own preferences
25:23
They do that on some of their other cars. If only they did it with that car, because I think if they did, it would be getting on pretty close to perfection
25:31
And I really think it would have been in with a chance with winning this year. Still, as it is, it's a remarkable car
25:37
And I think perhaps more than anything else, it's a true supercar. It just has that theatre, it has that incredible want-one aura about it
25:55
In second place is McLaren 765LT, another fantastic product from the team down at Woking
26:01
And this third LT car from them is just spectacular. It looks like a track car, and on track it was amazing, as you've seen
26:09
but on the road it just comes to you and it just gives you so much confidence
26:14
It's got wonderful steering, the best steering here, the best steering we've driven in a road car for a long, long time
26:25
And the carbon tub is stunning, but it's so drivable as well
26:30
In the wet it's got a fantastic traction control system, but even when you turn that off, as we found out down at Anglesey
26:37
it moves around and it's not spiky it's just a fabulous, fabulous thing
26:43
Our Evo car of the year for 2020
26:52
is the BMW M2 CS personally I'm absolutely delighted at that because I think it's a great car
26:59
I didn't put it top of my list, I put it at second but I think the secret of its success
27:04
was that everyone loved it who drove it And then the winner, which was also my winner, which is something of a rarity, I think, in the Evo car of the year, the BMW M2 CS, which is just a fabulous car in so many respects
27:23
It has that thing of being brilliant at all speeds. Still stunningly quick
27:30
It's got such a smooth engine, but it's also got a fabulous manual gear shift
27:34
It's, again, like I was saying at the beginning, it's even more sort of basic
27:39
If you're drawing up the idea of almost the perfect car, you've got a multi-cylinder engine at the front, power going to the rear wheels
27:49
slip diff, manual gearbox. What more do you need? The normal answer would be you'll take the winner home, the M2 CS
28:01
But actually, this is what we've all been saying. We'd be happy with any of these cars
28:05
And if we knew anyone who bought one of these off the back of Ecoti
28:09
you'd sort of admire them and also be jealous of which one they have, whether it was the 911 Turbo or the M2 CS
28:16
I voted for the Yaris Top as my favourite car. I think that's just spectacular
28:20
It's a car we've been asking manufacturers to build. Toyota went out and built it, and they've hit the nail on the head
28:25
That was wonderful. So if I could take one car home, I'd like to take that one home
28:29
but if you gave me the keys to any of them, I'd be more than happy. Ego-wise, you'd want to smoke around in a McLaren
28:37
but in reality, I'd be very, very happy in a Toyota. Which one I'd take home? I'd take home the M2CS
28:45
It's my winner, it's the winner overall, and that's one of the things, I think, when it comes down to judging
28:50
when you're trying to separate all these cars, it's, right, you've got the choice of all these keys in front of you
28:55
which one are you going to take? And, yeah, for me, it would be the winner
28:59
It would be the BMW. I would take home, obviously I can afford all of them
29:07
and I've decided that I would buy probably a 15-year-old Renault Clio trophy
29:13
which is what I have waiting for me at home. But otherwise I'd take the McLaren, please
29:18
I had great drives in all of them. They've all got plenty going for them
29:24
I am going to drive home in the M2, because that's what I'm delivering back to the office
29:29
So, yeah, couldn't get better really, could it? Fresh air and driving, boys
30:04
It's hard work, you know. It looks easy
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