A test drive is the driving of an automobile to assess its drivability, or roadworthiness, and general operating state. A person who tests vehicles for a living, either for an automobile company, automotive media for review purposes, or a motorsports team, is called a test driver.
The first test drives of a new production vehicle are made by mainstream automobile magazines and other third parties (not customers) for evaluation for the first time. Test drives are also usually allowed by vehicle traders or manufacturers to enable prospective customers to determine the suitability of the vehicle to their driving style. Test drives can also be taken before vehicle repairs to assist in diagnosis or after repair works to ensure that the vehicle has been fully restored.
In a broader sense, "test drive" can be used to refer to the testing of anything, such as a computer program, an idea or process, a pair of shoes, etc.
Famous quotes containing the words test and/or drive:
“Just as we need to encourage women to test life’s many options, we need to acknowledge real limits of energy and resources. It would be pointless and cruel to prescribe role combination for every woman at each moment of her life. Life has its seasons. There are moments when a woman ought to invest emotionally in many different roles, and other moments when she may need to conserve her psychological energies.”
—Faye J. Crosby (20th century)
“Many people I know in Los Angeles believe that the Sixties ended abruptly on August 9, 1969, ended at the exact moment when word of the murders on Cielo Drive traveled like brushfire through the community, and in a sense this is true. The tension broke that day. The paranoia was fulfilled.”
—Joan Didion (b. 1935)