Showing blog posts for Long Term Test

Long Term Test: Continental Tyres - Fitted

By John Slavin
Freelance Contributing Writer
15 October 2010

Continental WinterContact TS800
Last winter was awful, with ungritted streets, ice, snow, and potholes growing all over the place, and that was just in towns. Where I live, way out in the dales, if you didn’t have a 4x4, you didn’t have a chance.

In fact, during the snowy period, there was a 12 mile stretch of very twisty road I had to use daily which went unsalted for over 2 weeks. It brings home the fact that driving in winter can be very, very dangerous, no matter what car you drive.

So what can the average road user do to stay safe? Well tyre manufacturers make rubber specifically for the colder months, and in temperatures under 7c they are said to provide better traction and braking than ‘normal’ tyres, as well as offering a tread pattern more suited to dispersing water, slush and snow. As a matter of fact, some EU countries have made winter tyres a legal requirement, such is the benefit they provide.

So today, courtesy of Continental UK, I had a set of 4 WinterContact TS800 tyres wrapped around the wheels of my humble Citroen Saxo VTR (185/55 R14). The staff at North Road Kwik-Fit, Darlington, were courteous enough to fit me in without an appointment to have the tyres fitted.

So far I have covered very little distance with the tyres, but traction is good out of junctions, despite a damp road surface. It’s not really cold enough to provide a clear indication of their winter performance just yet, but once the weather starts to worsen you can expect regular updates on how the tyres are performing, so stay tuned!



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Renault Clio 182 Trophy Long Term Test: August 2010

By David Jones
Contributing Writer
23 August 2010

The remains of the Reims-Gueux pit straight
It’s December 2007 and my pristine, 12,000-mile Clio 182 Trophy bursts into life and edges slowly out of the garage for the last time before being driven away into the winter darkness by its new owner. Looking back, almost three years down the line, this was a mistake.

Trophy number 452 and I hadn’t been paired for long – just a handful of months, in fact – but in that time we’d covered nearly 10,000 miles together. From getting lost in the streets of a French town whilst looking for the remains of the illusive Reims-Gueux circuit or chasing down two Audi RS4s through the Fuchsröhre, many of these miles I will never forget.

Fast-forward to July 2010 and I will confess now to being a bit of a serial car changer. Yet another one of my cars, this time an Alfa Romeo 156 2.5 V6, succumbs to the same destiny as those that went before it. It had started to feel as if I were single-handedly paying for BP’s clean-up operation in the Gulf of Mexico, such was this engine’s thirst. This meant I needed a new car.

I’ve always told myself there are literally hundreds of different and exciting cars out there and so I’d never have the same one twice, but I’m sorry (or should that be pleased?) to say I’ve completely ignored that and broken my own rule. I’ve bought another Clio Trophy.


From one Clio...

...to another exactly the same!

So, it was with a smile and chuckle that I collected a small red vehicle from a part of the country in which everyone speaks with an accent remarkably similar to that of Postman Pat and began the long journey back home to Essex.

When I got there, it struck me as being rather odd too, to be honest, because it’s as if it’s never been away. Naturally, all 500 UK-bound Trophys left the Dieppe factory with exactly the same specification, but number 207 really is a carbon copy of that car I sold back in 2007, save for a couple of minor bits to sort. The mileages are within a couple of hundred clicks of each other and I’m pleased to say the new car is just as immaculate as the last. They even smell the same, although I imagine the ball pool-esque cheap plastic odor is something that afflicts almost all small French cars!

I’m sorry (or should that be pleased?) to say I’ve completely broken my own rule. I’ve bought another Clio Trophy.


My aim with this car is to break the habit of a lifetime and actually not sell it, for I truly believe that, in the vein of the revered Peugeot 205 GTI, this car will comfortably sit in the pile marked ‘all-time greats’. For that reason, I am determined to make every little detail on the car just as it would have been when it left the factory in 2005…


Capsicum Red paint looks great


Usual Clio interior spiced up with Recaro seats


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