Ever wondered if a Land Rover Discovery is a tad overkill for lugging a four-berth caravan to a home counties campsite? Well, a 2018 Disco 5 has successfully lugged a 110-tonne road train across the Australian Outback.

The PR stunt (a way of drawing attention away from its offset rear number plate, perhaps?) saw a 3.0-litre Discovery TD6 tow a truck with seven (count ’em, seven!) trailers for nearly 10 miles along a closed section of the Lasseter Highway.

Although road trains are normally limited to four trailers in the Australian Outback, Land Rover obtained special permission to tow seven trailers as well as the 12-tonne tractor unit. This was retained to operate the hydraulic brakes fitted to the trailers. The road train was also carrying 10-tonnes of ballast.

With 258hp and 443lb ft torque, the Discovery TD6 can legally tow up to 3,500kg on public roads. The car used in the stunt kept its standard eight-speed automatic transmission and four-wheel-drive system and was hooked up to the road train using a factory-fitted tow bar attachment.

“Towing capability has always been an important part of Discovery DNA and the raw weight of the road train tells only half the story here,” said Land Rover product engineer, Quentin Spottiswoode. “Pulling a rig and seven trailers, with the rolling resistance of so many axles to overcome, is a huge achievement. We expected the vehicle to do well but it passed this test with flying colours, hitting 44km/h [27mph] along its 16km [9.9 mile] route.”

The Discovery is available with Advanced Tow Assist technology, which uses the rear camera to take the stress out of reversing trailers. You can even steer the vehicle using the rotary Terrain Response 2 controller on the centre console, while the system provides assistance, calculating steering inputs required to achieve the desired outcome.

Improvements for the 2018 model year include the addition of a 300hp four-cylinder Ingenium petrol engine and a new TFT display cluster in place of conventional dials.

Changes to the UK driving test will prepare new motorists for ‘real life driving’, according to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA).

From 4 December 2017, the so-called ‘show me, tell me’ part of the test will change, with new drivers expected to complete the ‘show me’ test while driving. One question will be asked, which could include how to operate the horn, open the side window or switch on the headlights.

In the new test, the examiner will ask the ‘tell me’ question at the start of the examination, before any driving takes place. Examples include how to check the brake lights, the oil level or tyre tread depth.

“DVSA’s priority is to help you through a lifetime of safe driving,” said chief driving examiner, Lesley Young. “It’s important that learner drivers work with their driving instructor to make sure they can operate the in-car controls safely whilst they’re driving.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lI08tzIfo4c

The DVSA has published two videos showing new drivers how to carry out these basic safety tasks. Simple they might be, but the DVSA has warned that if a candidate loses control of the car while answering the ‘show me’ question, it will result in a serious or dangerous fault. In other words: the candidate fails the test.

The changes to the ‘show me, tell me’ section of the exam are part of a series of updates to the UK driving test, including increasing the length of independent driving to 20 minutes, following directions from a sat-nav and changes to the reversing manoeuvre.

Carly Brookfield, chair of the steering group for national approved driving instructor associations (NASP), is behind the changes, saying: “Whilst in-car, on the road practice with a professional driver trainer is an important part of delivering safer drivers to our busy roads, we also recommend the use of supplementary learning resources such as ‘how-to’ videos from authoritative sources in driver education.”

Further details of the changes to the driving test can be found on the government website, but here are the ‘show me, tell me’ questions in full:

‘Show me’ (one question, during test)

• When it’s safe, show me how you’d wash and clean the rear windscreen.
• When it’s safe, show me how you’d wash and clean the front windscreen.
• When it’s safe, show me how you’d switch on your dipped headlights.
• When it’s safe, show me how you’d set the rear demister.
• When it’s safe, show me how you’d operate the horn.
• When it’s safe, show me how you’d demist the front windscreen.
• When it’s safe, show me how you’d open and close the side window.

‘Tell me’ (one question, before test)

• Tell me how you’d check the brakes are working before starting a journey.
• Tell me where you’d find the car’s recommended tyre pressures and how you’d check each tyre.
• Tell me how you’d make sure your head restraint is correctly adjusted so it provides the best protection.
• Tell me how you’d check the tyre have sufficient tread depth and are in a safe condition.
• Tell me how you’d check the headlights and tail lights are working.
• Tell me how you’d know if there was a problem with your anti-lock braking system.
• Tell me how you’d check the indicators are working.
• Tell me how you’d check the brake lights are working.
• Tell me how you’d check the power steering is working before starting a journey.
• Tell me how you’d switch on the rear fog lights and explain when you’d use them.
• Tell me how you switch your headlights from dipped to main beam and explain how you’d know the main beam is on.
• Open the bonnet and tell me how you’d check the engine has sufficient oil.
• Open the bonnet and tell me how you’d check the engine has sufficient coolant.
• Open the bonnet and tell me how you’d check that you have a safe level of hydraulic brake fluid.

All cars over 40 years old are soon be exempt from the annual MOT roadworthiness test – despite most classic car drivers thinking it’s a bad idea.

More than 2,000 members of the public took part in an official consultation, with more than half stating that they were against the proposals. A total of 1,130 respondents opposed plans to introduce a rolling exemption for vehicles over 40 years old, with many stating that all vehicles travelling on public roads should have an annual test for safety reasons. By comparison, 899 respondents said they thought the proposals were a good idea.

The Government has today announced that it will proceed with the exemption for all vehicles constructed or first registered more than 40 years ago, on a rolling basis. Currently, all cars registered before 1960 are exempt from the MOT test, meaning there are roughly 197,000 vehicles on the road that don’t need to be MOTed.

This change in the law will mean a further 293,000 vehicles (one percent of all cars on the road) won’t need an MOT.

Justifying the decision, the Department for Transport said most cars of this age are usually well maintained and only used occasionally, making it ‘unreasonable’ to require an MOT. It also said the modern MOT was ‘no longer relevant’ to older cars.

“We would like to thank all those who responded to the consultation for their valuable input, and have noted the views expressed,” said roads minister, Jesse Norman MP. “After considering the responses, we have decided to exempt most vehicles over 40 years old from the requirement for annual roadworthiness testing.

“Vehicles that have been substantially changed, regardless of their age, will not be exempt from annual roadworthiness testing.”

Owners of classic cars that fall into the exemption will be able to submit their cars for a voluntary MOT, despite it not being a legal requirement.

Smart will become the world’s first car company to move from an all-combustion engine line-up to a fully-electric range of EVs, company chief Dr Dieter Zetsche announced at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show.

• 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show on MR

The move is a significant one, as although there are pure-electric car companies such as Tesla, no traditional brand has yet fully ditched petrol and diesel engines. In the next few years, Smart will be the first.

“We are planning to move our Smart brand entirely to electric drive in Europe and North America by the end of the decade,” said Dr Zetsche. “The rest of the world will follow shortly after.”

Dr Zetsche went further and called time on all petrol and diesel-engined city cars, saying they have no place in the cities of tomorrow. “There’s clearly no question that the city car of the future will travel electrically and with zero emissions.” Music to the ears of people such as London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who are already accelerating moves to bar diesel and older petrol cars from the UK capital.

Technology will help make the switch more convenient, explained Dr Zetsche. Mercedes-Benz is already considering a wireless charging concept, he revealed – demonstrated by a futuristic Smart show car called vision EQ ForTwo that, thanks to autonomous drive, didn’t just lack a combustion engine, but also did without a steering wheel or pedals.

“This Smart has all it takes for individual and intuitive transport in the city of the future.” The autonomous tech will come in time. But the all-electric range of Smarts is set to become reality far sooner…