keystonedriving

Going back about 20 years, I saw a black Bentley Mulsane Turbo with the registration 'G1 TAR'. It was right next to Lord's Cricket ground which is just round the corner from Abbey Road studios, don't know whether that might be significant. Thing was, it pulled up at the lights next to an oik in a Peugeot 205 gti who had been making a real pest of himself. When the lights changed the Peugeot left rubber on the road but was still looking at the back of the Bentley. A fellow driver trainer has a vRS Fabia, a blue limited edition one, with the registration 'M5 PSL' (as in 'mirror, signal, position, speed, look). Rob.

Had a 2000 Fabia SDi which I used for driving tuition, did 135k in it and passed it on to No. 1 daughter who traded it in on a new Nissan Micra at 210k (some people have no taste!) No major problems with it at any time. Then had a 2004 Polo SDi which I have just traded in at 173k. Again, no major problems. Not quite as well built as the Fabia (made in South Africa) but some of the materials were a tad better. I now have a Roomster 1.4 TDi which has 21k on it (I got it with 14k in January). Nice car to drive, but it seems rather thirsty compared to the previous 2. The Skoda did 53 mpg overall, the Polo 54 mpg overall but I'm struggling to get the Roomster much over 50 mpg. The consumption at a steady 70 mph is about 51 mpg, I was getting near 60 mpg in the others. I'm not sure whether the aerodynamics are that much worse or whether the non-turbo diesel was just a much better engine. I was under the impression that the PD turbos were more economical. Rob.

That's what happens when you lower the suspension to make it look a bit racey....... Rob.

Nobody has mentioned it, but the list is American. As we all know, Americans know nothing about taste or the rest of the world. The comments about the US cars on the list seem pretty much spot on, but they clearly don't understand that people in other countries have different tasts. I would say that some of the cars on the list are not at all bad looking (though some certainly are). Many of the cars shown sold pretty well, too, which suggests that this is something of a minority view. The Roomster may not be the prettiest car in the world but is supremely practical. Isn't that why we bought it? One question, why isn't the Chevrolet Corvette 'Sting-Ray' on the list? Supposed sports cars don't come much uglier than that. Rob.

What does it say on the V5c (registration document) as that should show the official position. Legally, what it says in the handbook is irrelevent, as far as I am aware. It is what is on the DVLA database which counts, that should come from the official vehicle homologation details. Rob.

I have a Garmin 1490T which has Bluetooth. It works fine for me, both as a Satnav and for the phone. There are one or two 'funnies' in the mapping locally (the speed limit in St Mellion is apparently 45mph!?) but that is a different matter. Rob.

Hello, I'm returning to the Skoda fold after 6 years away (but not too far away). I'm a driver trainer based in East Cornwall, and from 2000 to 2004 put 135k on a Fabia SDi teaching people to drive. The car then went to my elder daughter (for free), who used it until she traded it in last year with 210k on the clock. I am ashamed to say that she traded it in on a new Nissan Micra! Some people just don't know any better. I then leased a Polo SDi for 12 months before buying it from the leasing company. It's a good car, but it wasn't quite as well built as the Fabia, if I hadn't had the Skoda first I'd have been knocked out by the build quality. Nevertheless, it now has 172k on the clock, has averaged 54mpg from new but has still cost me £14,500 in fuel during that time. It's starting to show its age a bit, so it is time for a replacement. I now don't do so many learners, much of my business revolves around dealing with people who have been naughty (either speeding or having had collisions) and something a little larger will be an advantage. To that end I am buying an 08 Roomster 3, 1.4TDi. It's going to be a bit of a wrench after 310k with the 1.9 non-turbo, but I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of torque at low revs. Just as soon as we can get the dual controls fitted we'll be on the road. I'd be interested to hear from anybody else using a roomster for driver training. Rob.