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Ford Fiesta ST in startling track battle against Toyota GT86

On the surface, there's very little that the Ford Fiesta ST and Toyota GT86 (or the Scion FR-S that is sold in the US, or the largely similar Subaru BRZ) share in common. One is a hatchback with power coming from a turbocharged engine routed to the front wheels. The other is a coupe with power coming from a naturally aspirated four-cylinder boxer engine routed to the rear wheels.
Thing is, both of them are reasonably priced performance cars aimed at a similar segment of the automotive marketplace, so a comparison isn't out of the question. It is with all of this in mind that we direct you to the video below, in which the blokes from Evo pit the two manic little machines against one another on a race track. The result? Well, it can be summed up this way: Fast versus fun.
See how the track battle goes down in the video below.

In Jamaica, it's not easy to sell or buy hybrid cars

Jamaica's mellow reputation and Rasta vibe contributes to an international reputation of an island nation that moves at a leisurely pace. And the term "leisurely" certainly applies to the rate of sales of hybrids there. And we thought Mitsubishi i sales in the US have been slow. The country's Toyota dealership is still in the process of explaining hybrid technology to many of its prospective customers, with the widespread perception remains that a standard Toyota Prius needs to be plugged in for electrical charging, the Jamaica Gleaner reports. Because of such slow exposure, Toyota has only sold about 10 hybrids in Jamaica since the Japanese automaker started selling them there in 2010. And we thought Mitsubishi i sales in the US have been slow. Toyota dealers in Jamaica continue to tout hybrid technology that can boost fuel economy by about 30 percent but are going up against the fact that Toyota's hybrids now need to be pre-ordered and aren't kept in stock because of sluggish demand. There's also the fact that Toyota's Japanese operations insist on an approval process that ensures the hybrids sent there can handle Jamaica's road conditions, and it typically takes three to four months for a Prius to get to Jamaica once ordered. Island locales provide a curious dichotomy for advanced-powertrain vehicles. On one hand, the driving distances tend to be relatively small, lengthening the amount of time it takes to pay back the original cost premium. On the flip side, importing fuel to islands makes gas prices skyrocket and can prove costly for the economy in island nations. Late last year, for instance, the government of another Caribbean nation, Barbados, estimated it spends about $250 million a year on gas used for personal vehicles. That's why the government there is pushing for more electric-vehicle adoption, though the number of EVs on the island was in the low double-digits as of mid-2013.

Driving the Audi E-Tron and training like an F1 driver | Autoblog Podcast #597

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder and Senior Producer Chris McGraw. First, they talk about what they love and don't love about living with the Polestar-tuned Volvo XC90 T6. Then, they talk about how much they've enjoyed driving the all-electric Audi E-Tron. McGraw lets us know what it's like to eat and train like a Formula One driver for a month, and then we tell him which Toyota or Lexus SUV he should buy. Autoblog Podcast #597 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown 2020 Volvo XC90 T6 AWD R-Design 2019 Audi E-Tron Training like an Formula One driver Spend McGraw's Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: