I don't care where said road is, what said road is and who is on said road ... I don't trust anyone to always do the right thing. Just ask my previously shattered pelvis how it felt about trusting others to do the right thing, even when it's something as simple as giving way to oncoming traffic when turning.

Perhaps they should start a motoring school called "Good Driving Habits".

If you drove a Fiat Panda you to would feel like you were in a racing car. It's a shame most Kiwis won't get the chance to drive such a fantastic car. In fact, looking at the manifest of new Fiats currently for sale in NZ, it looks unlikely that Kiwis will enjoy any Fiat apart from the 500. Sad really, when Fiat's current range is so suited to our roads and economy.

I can't really imagine anyone talking about a Toyota Hi-Lux, or similar performing such dynamic manoeuvres.

WTF?!

That will be the only time I will EVER read words in praise of Italian drivers ;-)

*faints*

Real shame is that not a lot of people will even know what double declutching and heel and toeing is!! I haven't even driven a manual car for a few years. We're getting more and more like the Americans in that people are less and less likely to be able to "drive stick" as the Americans say. Only one of our three kids can drive a manual car and the other two think it is a quaint and outdated form of driving. They are missing so much of the pleasure of driving

When my mum sat her driving test in the 1950s, the instructor said she was the only woman he'd ever seen double de-clutch properly

Double-declutching? In a car? Maybe those Italians have not figured out how to make syncromesh yet. Last time I double-declutched was ten years ago nursing a broken gearbox back home. It died screaming a few km later.

shay #1: You're right. Never trust people to do the right thing. The whole purpose of defensive driving is that on occasion all of us humans make errors and driving defensively allows you to compensate.

For the same reason you should never drive to the maximum of your, or your car's, ability since you then have no reserves to call on when something does wrong.

Always make allowances for something going wrong with the car, the road surface or some other driver.

It is quite possible that there was no human making those nice gear-changing noises. Some models of both Fiat and Alfa offered the "Selespeed" automatic transmission, which is in fact a manual gearbox and clutch that is totally computer-controlled. (A terrifying prospect in an Italian car.) It will no doubt automatically rev the engine on downchanges, sounding just like a proper heel-and-toe double declutch. For as long as it actually keeps working, of course. With good reason, it is often known as "Sillyspeed".

On many modern cars with electronic throttles, the lag between moving the accelerator pedal and the computer actually obeying your instructions is so long that smooth hill-starts and gear changing are virtually impossible.

Toyota Corollas in particular can make the most experienced driver look and sound like a complete novice, and bring learner drivers to tears. Double-declutching is just totally unthinkable. A stab on the accelerator in an attempt to heel-and-toe back to second gear produces absolutely no reaction at all from the motor, just a crunch as the synchromesh fails to do the job. Upshifts at high revs result in massive over-rev flare and again a crunching, jerky change.

It's a total waste of a nice 6-speed gearbox. I've driven turbos with far less lag.

I have been resisting asking this for days now for fear of being called a woman driver (which of course I am :-p ).

Can someone please explain to me what double declutching and heel and toeing is. I'm one of those ignoramus' that doesn't know what you are talking about. Yes I drive an old clunker manual but have never heard of these terms until now.

And as for the driving in Italian cities? Rome is a very scary place when you are a pedestrian, I wouldn't attempt to drive there. I think that's why I liked the driving in Venice serenaded by a gondalier "driver".

@KT #9, this is where the internet is your friend! I'm an ignoramus too when it comes to these terms, but found a basic explanation on Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_declutching