What you will find here
How a car is tested here
The same five steps are followed every time, which is what makes one review comparable with another. None of it is complicated, and you can repeat all of it yourself at any showroom that will give you the time.
01
The route comes first
Every car is driven on the same four surfaces: a stretch of corniche with traffic lights and pedestrians crossing, a motorway run at national speed held for at least twenty minutes, a rough service road with broken edges and joints, and a multi-storey car park with a tight ramp and narrow bays. Driving different cars on different roads produces opinions; driving them on the same roads produces comparisons.
02
The car stands in the sun
Before the cooling is judged, the car is left in open sun for at least three hours, which is what happens to a car outside an office or a shopping centre. Then the cabin temperature is noted, the system is set to maximum, and vent temperatures are recorded at intervals, both while moving and while stationary in traffic with the sun on the bonnet.
03
The seat is set properly, then endured
The seat and steering column are adjusted from scratch as they would be for a long journey, and the settings are written down. The drive then continues long enough for the seat to reveal itself, which is rarely less than ninety minutes. How easily you can stand up straight on getting out is noted, because it is a more honest measure than any impression formed while seated.
04
The view out is checked twice
Visibility is assessed once into low sun in the hour before sunset, and once after dark. A walker crosses in front of the stationary car so that the front pillar blind spot can be timed. Mirrors are set by the outward method, screens are checked for brightness and reflection at night, and the reversing view is tested in a tight bay with a wall behind.
05
The notes are written on the spot
Before the key is handed back, the checklist is completed in the car, in plain sentences rather than scores. The notes are read again two days later, when enthusiasm has faded, and only then is anything published. Where the second reading contradicts the first impression, the second reading wins, because it is the one that survives the smell of new leather.
You are welcome to use this method yourself, and to disagree with any conclusion reached by it. If you drive a car described here and find something different, say so by telephone or through the form; corrections are published without argument, because the only thing this site has to offer is being trustworthy.
Calm reviews from Sharjah
Take the long way home
If you are about to spend a serious sum on a car, or you already have one that has stopped being pleasant in the heat, a conversation costs nothing. Call, describe how and where you drive, and you will get an honest answer even if that answer is that you do not need any help at all.