Love motoring, love this (Auto Express)

Member Name:

Product:	Auto Express
Date:	31/10/01 (70 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Information, Photos, Plenty of features

Disadvantages: Price increases, Not long enough, Thats about it

I am a car fanatic. Dont know why - no one else in my family is - but I love them. I got into my love of cars thanks to car magazines basically. As I couldn't drive this was the easy way to know about cars and what they are like. Soon I was boring my Mum, annoying my brother and advising - although probably boring him to death - my Dad on what car to buy. The first magazine I liked was Carweek. I really liked it but it soon folded. I then collected monthly mag Complete Car - does anyone remember this or Carweek because I'd like to know. But they joined Autocar, so I stopped buying it. Then there was Auto Express. I started buying this way back in 1998 and haven't missed an issue - dont start saying I'm sad but I dont really collect anything.

Over the years the magazine has progressed - as has the price - and now to me its way above any other car magazine on sale at the moment. If you have never bought the magazine and are interested by now I'll telling what your missing, you so called motor fan.

THE FIRST LOOK PAGES

These pages are at the beginnig and are my favourite. By reading these pages I then know what cars there are around the world and what is going to hit our shores in the next few months or years. From all over the world there are photographers willing to give their pictures of new unseen and exclusive cars to the magazine - of course for money. The best part of these pages is to see what weird and wonderful cars manufacturers have up their sleeve like the new MINI Clubman and Nissan Micra mm.e - by the way I really like that Nissan, does anyone agree. You can also be the amatuer photographer. you can don your camouflage clothes and hide among the twigs and leaves to catch the latest models. This may sound sound odd but they do pay money - I can almost here you searching for your camera already. I have seen several new cars before their release - I've seen the Jaguar X-Type in Coven
try last summer and I have seen the Lotus Elise not long before its launch at the British Motor Show last year - but I didn't have a camera - DOH!

FIRST DRIVES

If you are in the market for a new car then look no further than the First Drive pages. Here Auto Expresse's devoted news team drive the latest cars like the new MINI and the new Mercades SL - they get all the perks - although they never forget to tell us about them too. When they do they tell us in depth about the product and aren't afraid to criticise. Even with the new and 'superior' MINI they slated its complicated controls and the fact it is ergonomically poor. At the end of each written piece they sum the car up overall by giving it their verdict. Under that are several bullet points which denote some key features like launch, prices and launch. The only thing it is missing is a rating out of 5 stars like What Car? magazine.

GROUP TEST

If you aren't sure about what to buy but you've decided what kind of car you want then read this part of the magazine. The group test is a good way of dipicting the best from the rest by putting each one through some close tests. Along with the expert photographs there is plenty of writing building on what the first drive would have had. At the end there are the specifications - all the figures and equipment which is very important to a potential buyer. By putting these here you can do a direct comparison with the other cars in the test. Then there is the all important test verdict. Which car is the best and why? Auto Express need to get this right because it can affect the way a car will sell. Luckily, they always seem to get it right.

USED TESTS

Of course not everyone can afford a new car so they look to a used car and because the choice is so wide it can be hard to choose. However, Auto Express have covered this too. Towards the back of the magazine there is a test to
see what is the best used car. This time style, drive and price aren't as important because it focuses on reliability, equipment, value and durability. If you want a used car then look no further.

MOTORSPORT

Although I love cars, I also love motorsport so these pages are great for me as are for the millions of sport fans out there. Here there is in-depth coverage of the latest Grand Prix giving good description of the race, the result, the standings and other bits of news the TV programme failed to pick up. Although the F1 championship is the most important part of motorsport Auto Express covers most other forms of motorsport like Touring cars, the American CART series, rallying and sports car racing. Although I personally try to get as much motorsport information as possible Auto Express is always a good source of info.

PRICE

If I had to have one major critiscism of Auto Express it would be the price. Although £1.50 isn't really much, the annoying thing is that it keeps changing. It wasn't that long ago that it was priced at £1.35, then it rose to £1.40 and then just a couple of weeks ago I went to my local supermarket to find I didn't have enough money beacuse it had risen again by 10p.

OVERALL

I have read a lot of many different magazines but Auto Express is my favourite. Its very accurate in its information and gives me some very decent input into the cars we'll be driving in the future. No other car magazine comes close - but do you agree?

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