Hi, I'm Michael Brockman, editor at large at Motor Trend magazine.
You know, cars have been my life.
I work on them, I race them, and I write about them for a living.
But to write about them, I have to test drive them first.
Now, you don't have to be a race car driver to complete a test drive evaluation, so you
just sit back and relax and learn how you can do much of what we do at Motor Trend magazine.
You don't need expensive test equipment or even a test track to test drive a car.
You simply need to use your eyes, your ears, all your senses while driving on normal, everyday
public roads.
If you pay attention, the car will tell you what you need to know.
Automotive design is pretty subjective.
You either like the way a car looks or you don't.
But with an automotive loan or lease, you might be in that car for a very long period
of time.
So, I suggest you love the way your car looks.
Before you even drive a car, you want to know if it's well made.
The secret of good design is in the details.
Do what we call a walk around.
Do head and tail lamps, mirrors, door handles, and air dams fit into an overall look or do
they look like afterthoughts?
Check fit and finish.
Do the seams line up?
Do doors open and close easily?
Do they close with a solid sound?
The door handle should be easy to operate and the door should open wide enough to make
getting in and out very easy.
The biggest news in cars today isn't aerodynamics, fuel economy, or even blazing speed.
It's safety.
The only problem is that you as an individual can't safely test safety.
But car companies can and do.
Today, all cars must meet tough federal safety standards.
Still, it's a good idea to ask questions about particular safety features.
In 1996, practically any new car you care to name has at least one airbag.
But what about the front seat passenger?
Believe it or not, some new cars still don't have dual airbags.
So make sure the car you're test driving does.
And make sure you always wear your seatbelt.
You can bet every race car driver does.
Airbags help protect you in severe front end collisions.
But what happens if somebody hits you from the side?
That's why today's cars have side guard door beams built right in.
They help reduce the risk of injury and side collisions.
Do you have children?
Then you should consider a car with a built in rear child safety seat.
They're really convenient and they're easy to use.
You'll want your car to do more than protect you and your passengers.
How about if it protects itself against theft and tampering?
A built in car alarm will do the trick.
Plus your auto insurance company will probably give you a discount to boot.
When I test drive a car, this is my office and I want to know where everything is.
A well designed interior requires good ergonomics.
And that means that you're comfortable behind a wheel.
That also means that controls and switches are easy to operate and reach so you don't
have to stretch and search while driving.
For starters, can you see the gauges?
Are they large enough to be read easily?
How about the steering column?
If it adjusts you're going to feel more at home.
Be aware of little things like turn signals, horns, lights, speed control and wiper switches.
All this may sound trivial, but if controls are easy to use, it'll make driving safer
and more fun at the same time.
The shifter should fall readily to hand, whether it's an automatic, a manual or a dual mode
system like AutoStick.
Oh yeah, that part's coming up soon.
Be sure to check your sight lines all the way around.
The better you can see, the safer you'll be.
Good seating should be firm, but not hard.
It's simply amazing how many otherwise well designed cars have seats that just aren't
comfortable.
Nowadays, seats move more than just forward and back.
Look for six way and even eight way adjustments.
Up, down, bolster, lumbar, you name it because the more comfortable you are, the more you're
going to enjoy driving, especially over long distances.
Whether you're 6'5 or you're 5'6, your shoulder belt should be across your chest, not on your
neck.
That's why more and more automakers are making adjustable seat belt anchors in their cars.
You want roominess in a sedan, so don't let a car's looks fool you.
A car that looks big on the outside may be less than spacious on the inside.
Now, manufacturers use sophisticated instruments to measure interior volume.
I suggest you use your arms, your legs, your hips, and don't forget to use your head too.
Now, here's a quick way to do a check of what we call the comfort index.
First, adjust the front seat the way you like it.
Then, play identical twin in the back seat.
Got room?
Feel cramped?
Forget cubic feet.
Can you see your feet?
This is what's called usable space.
Looking at a sport coupe, thin rear seat roominess probably isn't a major priority.
Still, it's nice to occasionally carry a friend or a duffle bag.
That's why split folding rear seat is good to have.
Now, with a sedan, you'll want a trunk that's both deep, wide, and cut low to reduce the
amount of lifting you'll have to do when loading and unloading.
Three last things before beginning that test drive.
First, make sure you're wearing your seatbelt.
Second, check out the climate control system.
It should be powerful with well-placed vents so you can quickly heat or cool the entire
interior.
It's delivering air to every passenger, including the back seat passengers.
The best systems feature automatic temperature control, which make things really easy year
round.
Side mirrors should be heated to minimize the effects of fog, frost, and ice on rearward
visibility.
Some windshields and rear windows feature solar-controlled glass that helps keep interiors
cooler by reducing the effects of the sun's ultraviolet and infrared energy.
Try to remember which features are standard, optional, or simply not available.
Third is the sound system.
Like the climate control, it should have enough range to cover highs and lows to accommodate
taste from hot rock to very cool jazz.
After you've learned the sound system, you'll also want to know how easy it is to operate
while you're moving.
You'll want to test it while you're driving, road noise and all.
Okay, we're finally ready to hit the road.
After you've turned the key, stop and listen to the engine for a minute.
In fact, keep listening as you continue to drive.
You'll hear for road noise, wind noise, and tire noise.
That's the sound of the car and the road talking to you.
Some people like a car to be as quiet as possible, while others like the sound of all-out performance.
Regardless, if you listen, you'll learn a lot.
Speaking of all-out performance, people expect to find it under the hood, where advanced
engine technology is becoming more and more mainstream, with multi-valve overhead cam
electronically fuel-injected engines becoming the rule rather than the exception.
But performance technology is reaching beyond the engine to embrace items like the transmission
as well.
Some cars, like certain exotic Porsches and the Acura NSX-T, are offering dual-mode transmissions
that give the driver the choice of either conventional automatic shifting or clutchless
manual shifting.
The good news is that these types of transmissions will be appearing in more and more affordable
cars, like the new Eagle Vision TSI, the first sedan to have a dual-mode transmission, and
they call it AutoStick.
So how do you test a transmission like AutoStick?
First, find an interesting, fun-to-drive road, one with twists and turns and maybe even a
hill or two thrown in for good measure.
Leave the transmission in automatic mode.
Let the transmission shift when the computer tells it to.
A seamless four-speed automatic transmission for those times when you don't want to be
concerned about shifting gears.
Now for the fun part.
Let's drive the road in manual mode.
Just shift down one position from drive to AutoStick.
Put your foot into the accelerator, watch the tach as the RPMs increase, then flick
your wrist to the right to upshift.
Heading for a hill or a tight turn?
Flick your wrist to the left and feel the transmission downshift on command.
Then continue to power up the hill or through the turn.
At no time did my left foot touch the clutch pedal.
That's because with AutoStick there is no clutch pedal.
Now let's check out the handling.
A lot of factors contribute to a car's ability to handle curves gracefully and to take bumps
in stride.
Some cars handle well but ride poorly.
Others just the opposite.
To achieve that happy medium, engineers have to start with a rigid chassis, then design
a compliant suspension and tweak it to achieve balance and harmony.
A car that has both is stable and sure-footed even when you push it hard.
When a car is good, problems are minimized.
When a car is not so good, you'll know it quickly.
Some of today's advanced cars include sophisticated four-wheel, fully independent suspensions
that soak up the bumps and slice through the curves.
Some suspensions also include gas pressurized struts as well as front and rear stabilizer
bars.
A rigid chassis and good suspension can't stand alone.
You must have precise steering and proper brakes to complete the package.
Steering and braking are equally important and form the basis of what automotive editors
and engineers call active safety.
You might call it accident avoidance.
Obviously steering characteristics vary from car to car, but you should expect it to respond
to your input.
Some cars now feature speed-sensitive variable-assist steering, which gives you more road feel at
highway speeds and less effort at lower speeds.
So steering is important, but so is braking.
In most cases, smooth, steady pressure to the brake pedal will ensure short, straight
stops.
But in an emergency, you can now have anti-lock brake systems, or ABS, to assist you.
In a panic stop, you'll feel a pulsing or a shutter in the brake pedal.
That's okay.
It's only the action of the computer preventing the wheels from locking up.
Keep your foot on the brake and steer around if something's in your path.
You don't advise panic stops and test drives.
Well believe it or not, we've just completed a test drive evaluation, all done without
the use of a racetrack or sophisticated test equipment.
Now there's a lot of good product out there, so to find the vehicle that's right for you,
here's all you have to remember.
Safety of design and assembly, safety features, ergonomics, roominess, and performance technology
like ride, steering, handling, and braking.
Now I know that sounds like a lot, but it's really simple if you pay attention and use
all your senses.
Now just ask yourself, how does this car make me feel, and how does it compare to the other
cars that I'm interested in?
Now you know what you have to do.