Glossary

Airbags - don't leave home without them. Referred to as SRS (Supplementary Restraint System) airbags. This means they work together with seat belts to help protect passengers in the event of a collision. There are various types:

1. Driver and Front Passenger. These usually pop out from the steering wheel and glove box section of the car. They protect predominantly in frontal collisions.
2. Side airbags. Inflate from the side and protect driver and front passenger thorax area in the event of a side impact.
3. Curtain airbags. This comes out from above the door frames generally from front passengers to rear passengers. They protect occupant heads in the event of a side impact.
4. Knee airbags. Protect the knee area in a frontal collision.

ABS - Anti-Lock Braking System - referred to as active safety, ABS prevents your car skidding under hard braking. If you're skidding, you can't steer or control the car. In practice, wheel sensors can tell when the wheels are locked (skidding) and deliver a message to the brakes to tell them to ease off to allow the driver to avoid skid and correct steering. You can often feel this happening - the brake pedal vibrates beneath your foot, it feels a bit like you're driving over ripple strips.

Alloy wheels - Wheels that are made from a variety of metals, not just pressed steel. They are often lighter and almost always look better!

All Wheel Drive - When there is power to both front and rear wheels. Audi has trademarked their version of AWD as ‘Quattro'.

BHP. Brake Horsepower - Another way to describe power output.

Brake assist - Like it reads, brake assist uses sensors to determine when the car may need to help you brake. It literally applies additional brake force on your behalf.

Catalytic converter - Fitted to a cars exhaust, this device helps to reduce the toxicity of emissions produced by a combustion engine. It ‘converts' toxic gases into less-toxic ones.

Child Seat Anchorage Points - Where you affix child seats to the car - usually located on the back of the rear seats or in the boot.

Close ratio gearbox - This means that the top end (high rev point) of, say, second gear is in close alignment with the low end (low rev point, or engaging point) of the third gear. It allows a smooth transition between gears, which allows you to maintain power and speed. You feel less of a lag or drop in power from one gear to the next when the gears are in close ratio to one another.

Clutchless manual - Basically, the cars electronics does the clutchwork for you. You don't need to depress a clutch. This usually happens using the gear lever (push and pull action) or paddles (buttons) on the steering wheel. This allows the driver to select which gear they're driving in, without the need to use a clutch. No bunny hopping.

Cylinders - The cylindrical shape in which pistons move and function. More cylinders generally equates to more power output - and higher fuel usage.

Damper - Aids shock absorption. The damper controls the springs, creating a smooth/soft return to normal position after a bump. Bad damping can significantly impact ride comfort.

Direct injection - A quicker, more efficient way of getting fuel into the engine. Direct injection process removes the step of mixing the fuel with air prior to injection.

Disc brakes - The wheel's disc (a round steel plate in the middle) spins as the wheel spins. The calipers (which have brake pads attached to them) close tight on the disc as you press the brake. This slows and/or stops the vehicle. When brakes (brake pads and discs) are too hot they can lose grip and fail. Discs are often ‘ventilated' (holes drilled in them) to allow better air flow to keep them cooler - providing maximum braking potential. A lot of performance cars have ventilated discs.

ESP. Electronic stability program - There are numerous acronyms to describe each manufacturers ESP. Generally speaking they all operate systems that help maintain control of the car in a crisis situation - sudden braking or swerving. A range of electronic sensors detect when this ‘help' is required and automatically step in to assist the driver. Most typically the ESP kicks in when you take corners too fast.

EBD. Electronic Brake Distribution - The ABS system is further enhanced by Electronic Brake Distribution which adjusts braking pressure front to rear, based on the weight distribution within the vehicle.

Emissions - The harmful gases that are produced by your fosil fuel powered cars. These are measured as the amount CO2 emissions (in grams) produced per kilometer and they vary greatly depending on the type of engine. For example a BMW 320d (2 litre, 4 cyl, auto) produces 160g/km compared to the Ford Falcon XR6 Turbo (4 litre, 6 cyl, turbo manual) which produces 303g/km.

Front-wheel drive - When the car is powered through the front wheels - and the back wheels literally get dragged along.

Green Car - A car that produces low emissions and is better for the environment.

Hybrid system - Where the car uses a combination of power sources to run - ie. petrol or diesel and electric. The Toyota Prius is a well known example.

Kilowatts - A measurement of power. The more kilowatts, the more power - and in car speak this usually means greater speed. 1 kW = 1.341 bhp (brake horsepower).

LED - Light-emitting diodes. Light technology now used in head and tail lights, as seen on Audi, BMW and others. Rather than one big light, it looks like a number of smaller lights.

Low profile tyres - The ‘low' part is determined by the height of the wall of your tyres. Lower profile tyres usually deliver a harder ride - there's less air to swallow the bumps. Not so low profile tyres have more air (between you and the road) and deliver a softer ride. Low profile tyres look nice - slick, sporty, cool...

NVH - It's an all encompassing measurement of noise, vibration and harshness.

Park assist - Assists your parking! Fitted to more and more cars these days, park assist can be invaluable - and a bumper saver. Some systems have sound alone to warn you, others have on screen displays that show you which part of the car you're about to ding. On some cars, the warning noise itself is more annoying than a ding!

Rear Wheel Drive - The car is powered through the rear wheels - and the front wheels are literally pushed along.

RPM - Revolutions Per Minute. How many times is the engine spinning (performing a revolution) per minute. With the press of the accelerator, the RPM increases. Different cars are able to perform and a higher RPM than others - sports cars for example.

Torque - measured in newton metres (Nm), torque is a way of measuring the force with which the engines turns. That force is translated into forward movement. Simply put, torque can be thought of as how hard the car is shoved forward as you put your foot down.

Traction control - Stops or prevents your wheels from loosing traction and spinning. Sensors detect of a cars wheel is though to be spinning too fast and steps in to correct this, by applying the brake or reducing power.

Turbo - A turbo (which is in effect a pump) propels air into an engine with great speed - this allows more fuel to also be pumped and mixed, delivering an intense power burst. This is why turbo powered engines also use more fuel - it facilitates faster, more rapid pumping of air and fuel into the engine.

Tiptronic - Automatic transmission system that allow you to drive in a "clutchless manual" mode.

Understeer - When the cars steering under performs - not quite getting to the steering degree/curve you intended. You want to go hard left and the car only slightly goes left... that's understeer.

Wheelbase - The measurement between the car's front and rear wheels - ie. long-wheel base versus short-wheel base. A longer base equates to a large car/more space. A short wheel base can sometimes make a car more nimble, but can deliver a less flat ride - for example, some short-wheel base 4x4s feel like they tip or sway around corners. This is because of combination of their height and the short wheel base.