TMW - The 2014 Coupe/Roadster award goes to..............

COUPE/ROADSTER - the midlife crisis car, well, not for me, I cant get in or out of them.

JAGUAR F-TYPE - the rebirth of the brand continues apace, the XF breathed life into a dying brand, the XJ boosted that further, along with upgraded XK and now the F-Type, this is undoubtably the best looking Jaguar, and the best Jag Sports car since the E and D Types, will it win though.

TOYOTA GT86/SUBARU BRZ - The twin brothers, are actually triplets as the SCION brand in the US sells a version of this car, it has received frequent updates and upgrades and price cuts, its now the best value coupe you can get, and with the Boxer engines from Subaru, they go and sound awesome too.

MAZDA MX-5 - The latest version, at long last, has been released, if only to the motoring press, but the pictures are as close as you can get at the moment, the front looks like an elephant has sat on it, but the MX-5 will sell, because it has pedigree and history, and with a new race series as well, the car will be extremely popular.

CHEVROLET CAMARO - Not a car that you can find on the UK shores very often, but the Camaro, is stunning, we get to see it more frequently on the TV shows Hawaii Five-O and NCIS-LA, where they are utilised every episode, the low slung, V8 burble, just oozes US muscle, and deserves to be here, more so than the Corvette.

AUDI TT - The TT was a master stroke for AUDI, what appeared as a random concept, that they took the risk on, and didnt change it at all for the actual production car, and the rest, as they say, is history, a number of TT based concepts have appeared recently with AUDI stating they want to expand the TT range, the TT four door looks stunning.

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This segment is what we call, the playtime cars sector, they are mainly for people that have some spare cash, or a single person, 2nd car etc, most of these cars are sporty by nature and aggressive in their styling, all to draw attention to themselves, the first of these, the Jaguar F-Type, has achieved two things, it has given Jaguar a huge boost in net traffic, all drawing attention to the new range of cars, it has also, killed off the awesome XK, so it has already had both side of the coin.

The F-Type is an all Aluminium coupe and convertible, they have the looks spot on, and with V6 and V8 engines along with a new All Wheel Drive set up coming in the new year, it has a model for all tastes and choices, as is the case with the majority of the vehicles in this class, getting in and out is a but of a struggle, especially if you are of the more rotund than the rest.

The Toyota GT86 and Subaru BRZ are both the same yet different, the Toyota appeals to a different buyer than the Subaru, which is seen as more driver focused all out slugger of a car like the Impreza WRX/STi. 

The Toyota has a more older range of buyers, even though engines are shared, the Subaru for me, is the one to go for, the Boxer engined car in the blue with rather large spoiler, seems to blow the GT86 out of the water, which, considering they are the same thing, shows how, advertising, marketting and perceived brand awareness can make a car better or worse, we wont however mention the Scion version, which is another badge engineered version of the same car.

When an Icon of motoring gets changed, it garners a lot of interest, the MGf did when it was launched, as did the new DS range, the same for the Mazda MX-5 Miata, the car that has been here for decades, been upgraded year after year, and now with the KODO - Soul of motion and Skyactive technology, the new MX-5 is a vast jump forward and will become yet another iconic model for the Japanese brand.

A left field one here, the Chevy Camaro, not something you would find frequently on European shores, but it is a car that is as well known for its TV spots as it is for its out and out grunt and power, the Camaro, has a starring role in numerous films and TV shows since it was first launched, it has been in Hawaii Five-O, NCIS-LA, Pretty Woman and hundreds more, the latest version is by far and way the best looking one, and is an evolution of the previous gen car, the huge 6.2 litre V8 has all the grunt and growl you will ever need, shame then it wont be selling in vast numbers here, the US brands seem to be vastly more expensive and i have no idea why.

And lastly, we have the other iconic car in this sector, the AUDI TT, now onto its third generation, the TT has been a huge hit for AUDI, what originally was launched as a concept car, which created a huge buzz, it was decided to put it into production exacly as it was shown, and as they say the rest is history, today, however, AUDI wants to expand the TT family, and has launched a number of concepts based off of the TT, the quattro, a look back at the famous quattro rally car of the 80's, and this year at Paris, a four door TT, which really is a stunning looking car, could AUDI do it again, and launch it as is, I hope so, it would be a natural competitor for the CLS and A7 as well as the CC from VW.

THE MOTORING WORLD COUPE/ROADSTER OF THE YEAR.....

Goes to............ 

An easy choice, here, the Jag has it all, stunning looks, great performance, lightweight, aluminium construction, a range of engines to cover most requirements, AWD, auto and manual gearboxes, the Jag is a car that will attract buyers from other brands, and hopefully, as long as Jaguar keeps the pricing under control, could end up leading the sector in sales.

Jon Mower

TMW