Top Gear Magazine/UK/December 1995

Top Gear Magazine #27
Supermini? We judge the new Fiesta and all its rivals in a ten car tiny tots test
Issue No.	27
Price	£2.70
Cover date	December 1995
Page count	258
Editor	Kevin Blick
Publisher	BBC Worldwide
Prev issue	Issue 26 (November 1995)
Next issue	Issue 28 (January 1996)

The twenty-seventh issue of Top Gear Magazine/UK was released for the cover date of December 1995. Published by BBC Worldwide, the issue contained 258 pages and was edited by the magazine's first editor-in-chief, Kevin Blick.

Cover

Issue #27 of Top Gear Magazine's cover‎‎ prominently featured the Ford Fiesta, Renault Clio, SEAT Ibiza, with a dark, gritty background, which is revealed to be an airship hangar inside the magazine's index pages. The cover photograph was taken by an unknown photographer.

Contents

As was the case with many earlier issues of Top Gear Magazine, Issue #27 featured an index page gimmick; in this instance, it was oriented around the prefix "Super", as the main story was centred around superminis. The road test index for instance was renamed to "Superb".

Supertests

• First steers: Yeehar, we go to North Carolina to test the good 'ol BMW Z3. Plus other hot stuff; Volvo 850R, Clio Williams III, Honda NSX-R, oh, and the Honda Civic and a few sad bikes.
• Fiesta fights gang of nine: If Ford thinks its new Fiesta is so hard, let's see how it handles itself in a scrap with nine of its top supermini competitors. Is it simply the best? Your referee is Mr. Angus Frazer.
• New Mercedes E-Class: It's lighter, costs less to own, is 85 per cent recyclable and looks radically different, but is it still a proper Merc? Three-pointed star-lover Quentin Willson gets into the new E.
• Medicine men: We've been making lots of new friends in our long-term Westfield SPa. Electricians, mechanics and RAC men - they've all cured the car after one of its nervous breakdowns.
• Too big for their boots?: In an attempt to make a few bob, Zac uses the flimsy excuse of testing the new Citroen Xantia and Renault Laguna Estates to cart a load of jumble to an Essex car boot sale.

Supercharged

• Cuban down-at-heels: How the motorists in this crazy communist Caribbean island manage to keep on the road including the ever-popular 'bleeding the brakes with a shampoo cocktail' trick.
• Did you steal my Fangio? - Another strange story from the Caribbean. The kidnap of ace racer Juan Manuel Fangio.
• Motors in the movies: How did that BMW Z3 manage to land a starring role in the new Bond film? Is there a car casting couch and how do they get on it? Here's the deal with product placement.
• Auction men: How to go about buying a secondhand car at auction. Veteran ringmaster Quentin Willson shows our auction virgin the ropes. After two attempts, they drive home in style.

Supersport

• Rallye de Catalunya: With Colin McRae in a strong position in this year's World Rally Championships, we go behind the scenes at the penultimate and most controversial rally of this season.
• RAC Rally preview: With Colin McRae in a strong position... oh, we've just done that. This is the final rally of the season, previewed by our Tony Mason, the man who knows his RAC from his elbow.
• Lend us your 916, Foggy: Fancy having a go on Carl Fogarty's World Superbike Championship-winning Ducati 916? So did we, but we were too scared so we got a mad freelancer to do it instead.
• Caterham scholar: Remember David Sorrell, the lucky git who won a place in the Top Gear Caterham Sports Scholarship in our March competition? Well, here's how he got on this season.
• Start monkey: We're not going to tell you what this means, so you'll just have to turn to page 141 to find out. It's nothing to do with apes, but has a lot to with motorsport. No further clues.

Superlative

• First gear: Nudes, nudes, nudes from our naked boys behind the news deak. Not a pretty sight.
• Headroom: This would be full of nudes too, if Nik had his way. Sadly, he doesn't. It's a bit mad though.
• Columns: Robert Gifford, Parliamentary advisory geezer for transport safety, joins the boys.
• Write turns: Jeremy gets his hands slapped for his dismissal of the Vectra and other invective.
• Drivers club: Race school, Scalextric, beer and boings.
• Leftovers: Airships, Bond babes and other inflatables.

Soup

• Used car buyers' guide: Latest CAP prices.
• Used car of the month: Saab 9000.
• Used news: and JD Power.
• Quentin Willson's pick: A dissection of 25 used cars including five Land Rovers.
• New car buyers' guide: New metal in depth.
• New cars by price: Compare the cost of a new car with the size of your wallet.
• Minitests: Bite-sized tests of important new cars.
• Directory of manufacturers: Makers and their contact numbers.