They’re one of the perks of the job. Normally we only get to drive press demonstrators for a few hours, or days if we’re lucky. Just occasionally, though, we get to live with them. Long-term test cars have always been popular with readers because they reflect real life in a way carefully stage-managed launch events or hurried photoshoots never could.
Running a car for months at a time means we get to know it intimately, understanding its every quirk and foible, perhaps unearthing less obvious talents. And we have all the time we need to share those findings with you. We only run long-termers that we think are genuinely interesting to our readers – as long as we get that right, keeping a small long-term fleet can be a really worthwhile exercise.
Even so, you might wonder how truthful we can possibly be about these cars. Are we really going to be critical of a car that’s been loaned to us for six months or so? I think back to something I read years ago about the distinction between journalism and PR: if you’re not saying something they wouldn’t want you to say, it’s the latter.
