The Toughest Place To Get Your Licence
So you thought that the practical driving test that you had for getting your driver’s licence was hard. I know I did. Didn’t help that the cop who put me through my paces when I was a timid wee lass of 17 was built like a brick outhouse (fine for dealing with the local drunk and disorderlies; terrifying for a nervous teenager). However, the most difficult thing I got asked to do was to back around a corner – something that I’d never heard of or seen done so I initially suspected some sort of trap. Also, the small town where I sat my licence was out that back of nowhere, and there were no hills for hill starts, no uncontrolled intersections and, courtesy of the local council planners, no parallel parking in the main street. I practically got my licence out of a cereal packet.
It’s a different story on the other side of the world in Finland. I don’t think that I’d manage to get my driver’s licence even now that mumble-mumble years have gone by and my teenage son is preparing to sit his practical test for the second time (failed the first time for not having parallel parking down pat). Most of us don’t know an awful lot about Finland except that it’s up near the Arctic, borders Sweden, is the home of Nokia and produces rally drivers with names that look like they ought to belong to Tolkien characters. Good rally drivers. And given what you need to do before you get your licence, this isn’t surprising.
2015 Volkswagen Polo 81TSI Comfortline
Small cars divide opinion; are they safe, are they slow with people in them, are they really that economical?
Volkswagen offers drivers a choice of two small cars, being the up! and the Polo. A Wheel Thing trundled around in the Polo 81TSI Comfortline with these questions being asked. And answered.
Powersource.
It’s a miniscule 1.2L engine, turbocharged but with some impressive numbers: 81kW from 4600 through to 5600 revs and 
plateau flat torque from 1400 to 4000 revs. The twist is 175 Nm between those numbers, offering rapid acceleration and flexibility once on song. It’s bolted next to a 7 ratio DSG gearbox and this is the car’s biggest weakest link. I’ll explain further down.
BTCC Proud Proton: Keep Rollin' On The Tarmac
Image Credit: PSP Images
The latest news to come swirling from the dazzling world of the BTCC sees the Welch Motorsport team continuing to use their own engines over the standard TOCA unit. Proton has always been the car of choice for the team, which slots them perfectly into the brief yet determined history of Proton in the British championship. Since their debut into the series in 2002, Proton may not have enjoyed a glittering career, but through their recent resurrection at the hands of the Welch Motorsport Crew the Malaysian manufacturer lives on.
SUV: What Is It?
SUV: Sport Utility Vehicle. Toyota can take the charm or the blame for giving Planet Earth this, thanks to the RAV4. It didn’t take long for other manufacturers to join the queue, even the luxury brands. Nowadays, if you don’t offer a SUV or three, your sales force will take a hit.
But what is a SUV? The way I see it, in simple terms, it’s a crossover between a station wagon and a four wheel drive, with the origin sometimes a sedan style vehicle that became a wagon. The RAV4, the car some call the original SUV (although the Americans will claim it was the Cherokee in 1984 that started the trend), was and remains a wagon in shape, sitting on a raised body style.
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