Good motoringThe magazine for members of GEM Motoring Assist Winter 2016 a luxuryWIN two-night break for two at Hartwell House. See p14 WINTERS OF YESTERYEAR SNOW ALERT! WE TAKE A LOOK BACK AT HOW BLASTS FROM THE PAST BROUGHT BRITAIN TO A STANDSTILL A cushioned ride Scottish castles Road tests On hovercraft patrol with the How to be your own VW Touran, SsangYong Tivoli, Finnish Border Guard laird for the night Seat Ateca, Kia Niro One call is all it took to sort my Home Insurance 1 YEAR’S FREE HOME EMERGENCY COVER* (worth £14.50 pa) QUOTE GEM16 Enjoy great premiums and personal service PLUS 1 year’s Free Home Emergency Cover GEM has partnered with Shield Total Insurance to bring you competitive premiums and a Optional Family Legal Cover wide choice of cover options, including: UpU tot £100,000£100 000 legal cover against ✔ Up to £1 million buildings cover disputes on the sale & purchase of your ✔ Up to £150,000 contents cover home, personal ✔ All policies on a New for Old basis injury or disputes with neighbours. Just £17.50 pa ✔ Cover for garages and outbuildings on your land ✔ Optional Key Protection from £11 pa Make More Of Your Membership Call now and quote GEM16 01277 243 010 *Offer closes 31/12/16. Terms & Conditions apply: Customer must purchase a household insurance policy with Shield Total Insurance. One free Home Emergency cover per policy. You must be a UK resident. Free Home Emergency cover is available for 1 year only and is non-refundable. Cancelling your household insurance policy mid-term will automatically discontinue Home Emergency cover. Home Emergency cover is provided by ARAG plc and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, Firm No. 452369. Cover will not be included automatically in your following years renewal. Shield Total Insurance arranges Household Insurance on behalf of GEM members. Shield Total Insurance is a trading name of Vantage Insurance Services Limited (”VISL”). VISL is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. VISL is registered in England No.3441136. Registered Office: 5th floor, 41 Eastcheap, London EC3M 1DT. Details of our next member driving CONTENTS day can be found on WINTER 2016 page 18 FEATURES 11 Driving test: will new tweaks ensure the test is fit for purpose? Paul Caddick has been gauging some professional opinions. 20 A cushioned ride: If you thought the hovercraft’s days were over, think again. Perhaps those happy holiday rides across the Channel are gone for good, but the hovercraft continues to be a very flexible and fast patrol and rescue vehicle. There have been few updates to the driving test since it was first introduced. 24 Winters of our discontent: remember the So, is the 2016 version fit for purpose? snow of 2010? Or 1981? Or 1963? Or 1947? 11 Paul Caddick investigates. Perhaps where you live it’s always going to be cold and snowy? Join us as we look back on winters past. 29 Highway hazards: it’s cold and snowy on this stretch of motorway. Take a look at the picture and see just how many hazards you can spot. Share it with friends, then turn the page to see what we came up with. REGULARS 6 Your GEM: all the latest discounts and benefits that go with membership. In this edition, there’s a special offer for holiday cottages in early summer 2017. It’s great to know that hovercraft are still in regular use across the world. We 8 Letters: feedback on some of the items we spent a day on Baltic coastal patrol with published in the Autumn edition. 20 members of Finland’s Border Guard. 16 GEM Charity update: updates on some of the projects funded by the GEM Road Safety Charity... with your generous help. 45 On the Road: tests of the VW Touran, Kia Niro, Seat Alteca, SsangYong Tivoli, Volvo What are your memories of S90, Citroën C3 and VW Up! And is the winters past? Good Motoring Nissan Qashqai a good second-hand buy? editor James Luckhurst looks back 24 at some years of extreme weather. 64 Motoring Christmas gifts: what would you like Santa to slip into your stocking this year? Let us help with some inspired gift ideas at all different price ranges. 66 Member interview: James Pitkin, a vicar from Hampshire COVER It may seldom snow like this in most of the UK, but in this edition we look back at some of our worst winters... www.motoringassist.com 3 Chief Executive’s letter The best possible service for you in 2017 A warm welcome to our Winter edition. I’m believe passionately in the positive effects not quite sure what happened to the last three a road safety initiative like this can achieve, months, but it feels like little more than five and we hope to remain a key part of Project minutes since I was penning my very first EDWARD in future years. welcome as Chief Executive. The truth, of course, is that we have been busy with our Among our plans for 2017 is an initiative planning and development to ensure that to raise the safety profile of driving in the GEM Motoring Assist continues to offer you emergency services. We are pleased to and your family the very best have collaborated with the Police possible breakdown recovery Foundation and the Stationery Office service. We will continue to on a brand new, online version of represent all GEM members Roadcraft, the highly respected in our shared commitment to Most manual for advanced driving. We will reducing death and serious also be taking steps to ensure that as injury on the roads. “important many people as possible learn from of all, we our ‘Blue Light Aware’ video which We have a number of ideas has already done so much to boost which will help raise the profile ask you to understanding of how best to assist an of road safety during 2017, and remain loyal emergency driver. we do hope you will support us to GEM and in our work. But first of all, let So how do you support us? You can me congratulate the organisers our values... tell your friends about our work, you of Project EDWARD, in which can share our news stories, videos and we played a big part. Whilst a tweets, and you might let others take European Day Without A Road a look at your copy of Good Motoring Death was highly unlikely to when you have finished reading it. be achievable, it did represent a Perhaps most important of all, we target, giving meaning and direction to road ask you to remain loyal to GEM and to our safety work. The event gave us all something original values of driving with care, courtesy to aim for, and we could consolidate” and and concentration. combine our efforts much more effectively with something to work towards. We believe May I wish you and your family a wonderful that the day delivered fantastic results in Christmas, with a safe, prosperous and terms of revitalising collaboration and peaceful 2017. participation, as well as sharing simple road safety messages far and wide. We also Paula Williams Don’t miss our competition, with a fabulous two-night break at luxury Hartwell House in Buckinghamshire. Details on p14. GOOD MOTORING is the magazine GOOD MOTORING is the property of for problems arising from advertisements for members of GEM Motoring Assist. GEM Motoring Assist. All rights reserved. with GOOD MOTORING. In the first instance, Editor: James Luckhurst The views expressed in this magazine do complaints and correspondence relating to Road Test Editor: David Motton not necessarily reflect the views of GEM advertisements should be directed to the Art Director: Kate Wormleighton Motoring Assist. GEM does not accept any advertiser concerned. Should you not reach Proofreader: Roger Rushton responsibility for errors or omissions. GOOD a satisfactory conclusion within a reasonable ([email protected]) MOTORING is distributed quarterly via Royal period of time, please contact us by post or Mail to members of GEM Motoring Assist email. Advertising enquiries: David Breary, worldwide. For questions and comments Write to: GOOD MOTORING, GEM Motoring Creative Publishing Services relating to GEM membership, Good Motoring Assist, Station Road, Forest Row, East Sussex, [email protected] subscriptions and editorial, contact GEM RH18 5EN Motoring Assist. Telephone: 01342 825676 GOOD Motoring is published by Email: [email protected] GEM Motoring Assist. Complaints policy: We hope you never Please note: magazine enquiries only to this © GEM Motoring Assist 2016 experience any problems relating to the email address contents of GOOD MOTORING. GEM Motoring Assist can accept no responsibility www.motoringassist.com 4 www.motoringassist.com WE HOLD PRICE DOWN AFTER THE POUND CRASHES IN VALUE! Lowest Price Big Screen SUPERFAST QUAD CORE Smart Tablet Processor * Shop beating Christmas value just £99.95! All computers and tablets are imported meaning they cost more. We are holding the price of this PORTFOLIO Loaded with tablet made by one of the leading TOP APPS tablet factories - BUT ONLY FOR and Ready to Go! CHRISTMAS! PRICES MUST RISE – SO BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, ORDER NOW AND BEAT ANY PRICE RISE! All4, Amazon Kindle All loaded with the latest technology so you and so many more! can go online and enjoy CATCH-UP TV and MOVIES, LISTEN TO MUSIC , FM RADIO, PLAY GAMES as well as SEE AND TALK TO FRIENDS FOR FREE WORLDWIDE, view websites, shop online, SKYPE FRIENDS visit social media sites, send and receive email & RELATIVES AT AND MUCH MORE! CHRISTMAS. FEATURE PACKED! Loaded with essential apps DON’T MISS YOUR FAVOURITE Easily download all the apps you want Apps shown are for illustrative purposes only PROGRAMMES - DOWNLOAD & SAVE Big 10.1" Touch screen display 1024 x 600 BEYOND SMART Up to 40GB capacity (with optional storage card) rom browsing the web and allows you to download apps and media TO WATCH ON BUSES, Browse the web with ease.