Someone's got to drive all these cars. Motoring Editor Michael McAleer looks back on his year at the wheel
Having test driven over 70 new models or variants in the last 12 months, it's always hard to quickly categorise or even recall the intricate nuances or downright annoyances of each. But given a few hours with a list and a few back issues and the memories, for good or ill, start to flood back.
Obviously the ultra-sporty or ultra-expensive always come to mind.
A trip to northern Italy to witness first-hand the benefits of Bridgestone's Formula One efforts and how it trickles down into the road-going tyre programme also meant we could pop over to the dusty Italian town of Maranello, home to the prancing horse and a Mecca for motorsport fans. The high-pitched whine of the Enzo - like a swarm of bees caught in a tin bucket - still rings in our ears.
Then there was our visit to Rolls Royce and time spent behind the wheel of its new Phantom, winding around picturesque country lanes, sailing down the motorway. There's nothing quite like its massive presence on the road, the serene roar of the 6.8-litre V12 engine that can speed you from 0-62mph in a mere 5.7 seconds. But more memorably, it's the absolute feeling of class, of heritage and tradition, from the tasteful interior design to the thick shag-pile carpet. No matter how republican your leanings, even Gerry Adams would feel regal travelling in a Phantom.
Back home, we've made it our business to put all the test cars through their paces on a wide variety of roads and clocked up an average of 400-500 miles in each. Even after all this time behind the wheel of over 50 cars, several cars have stood out from the pack this year.
Again, the sports models immediately come to mind as the cars we didn't want to part with. First and foremost it was a week spent in the company of a 911 Carrera. We actually took time off work to drive this car.
We were also delighted to witness a face-off in the roadster category between BMW's Z4 and our long-time favourite the Porsche Boxster S, holder the roadster crown. It's a hard call but BMW may just have managed to pip Porsche, if for no other reason than price.
Yet the most telling test is often not on the road, nor on the track. It's in the mind on a dark damp Monday morning when you drag yourself from the bed, and pulling the front door behind you face into the rain for that walk to the car. You're far more likely to get a warm welcome at the luxury end of the market. Both Jaguar and Audi launched new flagship models this year. The Audi has more retro design and the most amazing diesel engine we've driven all year. It's the sort of refinement that has you questioning the German honesty. Did they really put a diesel engine in their?
As a true petrolhead it's only this year with the likes of the BMW 530d, the Honda Accord diesel (due here in February) and most of all, the Audi A8 4-litre diesel, that we have been really won over. With the A8 and Accord, its virtually hard to tell petrol from diesel,
The big talking point in the executive market was the arrival of the new BMW 5-series. Its predecessor was judged by many to be one of the best cars around, though the arrival in 2002 of the new E-Class saw BMW loose its mid-exec crown. The revolution was short-lived for the new 5-series is very much back on the throne.
Again the growth of the off-road market continued unabated. At the start of the year we had a fabulous time throwing Volvo's XC90 around the frozen Baltic Sea and admiring its mix of luxury and off-road performance. However, despite the growing number of off-roaders to arrive this year, it was the real workhorses that most impressed, with the Toyota Landcruiser proving to us why it's still the vehicle of choice in the harshest climes of the Middle East.
At the luxury end, BMW's dominance with its X5 was challenged by the arrival of the VW Touareg and its blood brother, the Porsche Cayenne. It's Porsche's first foray in the off-road market and for all the controversy over design, we are particularly fond of its look, not to mention it's raw power. However, for our money the X5 remains the model of choice.
As for the more mainstream fare, the big news here was the arrival of the Toyota Avensis, recently voted Semperit Irish car of the year. However, Toyota did offer us the Toyota Prius; finally a hybrid offering proper family motoring and at a competitive price.
The new Megane Scenic hit the roads, but continues to suffer from the Megane range's seeming lack of va-va-voom in the engine department.More promising is their luxury MPV the Espace, the big daddy of them all. However, for overall value we remain a fan of the Opel Zafira, thanks to its ultra-flexible seating.
To the small car market, and we were forced to reconsider as the year ended. The Daihatsu Charade was our star in the early days, great price for a basic package, but all competitors were blown out of the water by the new Fiat Panda, a worthy winner of the European Car of the Year.
As technology advances in leaps and bounds, both in terms of safety and speed, perhaps the greatest innovation we noted this year was the new DSG gearbox from Audi, which features in the 3.2-litre version of the TT roadster and makes other tiptronic or multitronic systems seem slow and jerky.
In layman's terms it's effectively two gearboxes inside a single casing that allows the system's "brain" to select two gears at once. Audi claims a changeover time of 0.2 seconds. But there's more. In Sports mode the gears are held above 3,500 rpm so that, if you drop below this range, it changes down for you, keeping you in the potent revs and keeping the engine singing the high notes.
And finally, to the worst car we've driven this year. This title falls to a model that's only recently arrived here and requires no exercise in memory recall: the Tata Safari. The Indian entrant to the SUV market is about 20 years behind its competitors.
So what will we be looking for from Santa? Well, Ford's new GT wouldn't go amiss. But maybe a Phantom for those cold Monday mornings.