New issue out now: are Britain’s best selling cars any good?

Surely being a bestseller perpetuates bestseller status. How else can you explain the Vauxhall Corsa being near the top of the sale charts in the UK for decades, despite wild fluctuations in quality from one model generation to another? 

Well, this got us thinking; are the cars we can’t get enough of actually any, y’know, good? 

First job: break them down into chart toppers from the most popular categories. Second job: test them. Not on sweeping mountain roads with postcard views, or at a racetrack, but in the real-life situations these cars were made for... albeit blown out of all proportion. Because nobody wants to see us actually parking a VW Golf, they want to see two grown men in romper suits fighting over parking spaces at Tesco. That’s common sense. 

The verdict? By and large, we Brits aren’t as stupid as recent global events would lead you to believe. To find out why, grab a copy of this month’s all-new Top Gear magazine.

You can order the October 2021 issue direct to your door by clicking these very words. Or perhaps you’d prefer to download it straight to your phone or tablet? You can do that by clicking here if you’re an Apple user and here for Android users.

Plus, try a Top Gear mag subscription today and UK-based readers can receive their first five issues for just £5. You’ll receive subscriber-exclusive collectable covers delivered direct to your door every month and even after your trial has finished, you’ll save 32 per cent on the in-store price, paying only £21.50 every six issues. Oh, and there’s free delivery to boot - click these blue words to take advantage. 

If you live outside the UK you can still save 25 per cent by clicking here.

It’s not just bestsellers that we’ve been testing this month, of course. We’ve also had a go in the Czinger 21C – a 3D printed $2m hypercar – and Morgan’s brilliantly barmy Dakar-inspired CX-T. Plus we’ve got the full lowdown on the Ferrari 296 GTB. Oh, and the final word for Suzi Perry’s brilliant profile on Valentino Rossi, who’ll be hanging up his leathers at the end of this season.

Enjoy the issue.