You’d think it’s just about rocking up at a showroom, signing a few forms and off you go, right? That’s what a test drive is about… mostly. But there’s a bit more to it than that, if we may make so bold. Okay these test driving life hacks won’t turn you into our cover star Daniel Ricciardo, but you might just come close.
1. Dress to impress
Nobody is saying you should come in your racing suit with a helmet, but you should at least wear comfy, sensible shoes. This means flip-flops are out as are formal leather shoes. They’re fine-ish if you’re familiar with a car, but in an unfamiliar one, not so much. Wearing flexible shoes will allow you to feel the pedals better and can play a part in influencing what you think about a car’s throttle/brake feel.
2. Take a seat
We can’t stress how important a good seating position is in evaluating a car’s merits (or demerits, even). Sit such that your knees are slightly bent even when depressing the brake pedal fully, adjust the steering wheel so that your elbows are at a slightly-less-than-90-degree angle, and grip it at the three- and nine o’clock positions. Why is this important? Sitting well will allow you to best feel the car, if it has a confident demeanour, if it has accurate steering and so on.
3. Easy does it
It’s understandable if you’re intimidated by an unfamiliar car. In fact, we get that way too. To alleviate that, take a quick walk around the car to judge how long/wide it is and take note of any potential obstacles you might encounter on the way out, such as heavy traffic or a narrow exit. Conversely, don’t be too eager to test its full capabilities straight out the gate. Take a little time to figure out how powerful its engine is, how it handles around corners and most importantly, how well it stops.
