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Car guides: WLTP, fuel types, towing and driving licence

One spec per guide, taken apart properly. How the test figure is produced, where it quietly lies to you once it gets cold, and what the registration document actually commits you to.

No calculator decides for you and no guide here crowns a winner. The numbers and the sources are on the table; the judgement stays yours.

17
guides
with dates
sources
none
buying advice

All models Calculators

EV & charging 04

WLTP range, charging speed as the battery fills (the charge curve) and winter range: the three numbers on which EVs really differ in daily use.

  1. Public charging: the terms around charge card, AC and DC 4 min read Charge card, kWh tariff, start fee, AC versus DC, the difference between charger power and what the car draws. The terms around public charging explained, without tariff comparison or advice.
  2. WLTP range versus winter range: calculating with a margin 2 min read An EV rarely reaches its WLTP range in winter. How much margin owners report, which factors determine the drop, and how to calculate with a working margin instead of the brochure figure.
  3. Which electric car in 2026? How to read the specs and ratings 2 min read No 'best choice'. A concrete way to weigh EVs on range, consumption and ratings, with the figures and sources alongside.
  4. Fast charging in practice: why 10-80% says more than the peak-power figure 2 min read An EV with 250 kW peak does not charge faster than one with 150 kW if the charge curve drops off earlier. How to read 10-80% time, charge curve and temperature instead of the peak figure.

Fuel & consumption 04

The WLTP figure is a lab result, not a promise. Here is how far it drifts for petrol, diesel, plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and LPG, plus the utility factor — how much of the official test the car runs on battery — that quietly decides what a plug-in hybrid really drinks.

  1. WLTP versus real-world consumption: why the figures diverge 2 min read What the WLTP figure does and does not say, which margin to calculate with for petrol, diesel and EV, and where the real-world figures per model are.
  2. Hybrid, plug-in or full-electric: which numbers set the difference 2 min read Full hybrid, plug-in hybrid and EV differ on a handful of concrete numbers: electric range, WLTP fuel use, charging time and the utility factor. How you read them.
  3. PHEV consumption and the utility factor: why 1.2 l/100km is not your consumption 2 min read How the WLTP consumption figure of a plug-in hybrid is derived, what the utility factor is, and how to work out a more realistic figure yourself.
  4. LPG in 2026: the figures at a glance 2 min read What LPG costs per 100 km against petrol, how CO2 emissions compare, and which points of attention a bi-fuel installation brings. Do the maths yourself.

Towing & licence 02

Braked, unbraked and combined maximum weight (gross train mass): three numbers on your registration document that decide what a category-B licence is actually allowed to pull. Get one wrong and the trailer is illegal, not just heavy.

  1. Towing weight versus driving licence B and BE: what the figures mean 4 min read Whether you may tow a trailer or caravan depends on driving licence category and a few mass figures on the registration certificate. Which numbers set the limit, explained without advice.
  2. Towing weight: what the figures on the registration certificate mean 2 min read Braked, unbraked, maximum combination mass: which numbers on the registration certificate determine your towing weight, and why the factory brochure sometimes states a different figure.

Reading specs & ratings 06

Every autoseeker score traces back to a dated source, with no gut feeling and no sponsor behind it. This is how the numbers are built, what boot litres and resale value (residual value) really tell you, and why an archive page is a reference and never a sales funnel.

  1. Estate versus SUV: which specifications actually differ 4 min read An estate and an SUV from the same brand often share the platform. Which spec fields systematically diverge, which barely do, and how to read that side by side per trim. No advice.
  2. Reference models: what our archive pages are and are not 4 min read Discontinued models get a spec reference page from us, not a sales or used-car funnel. What such an archive page does show, what is deliberately missing and why.
  3. Boot and luggage space: how to read VDA litres 4 min read A boot of 480 litres VDA is not the same as 480 litres to the roof. Which measuring method sits behind the figure, why models compare poorly with each other, and what we do and do not show.
  4. Bijtelling as a concept: what it is and what we deliberately do not calculate 4 min read Bijtelling is a tax figure with a reference date and exceptions. What the concept covers, which numbers go into it, and why we do not run a personal bijtelling calculation.
  5. Reading residual value: why we often show 'n/a' for value retention 2 min read Residual value is a forecast with a large margin of error. Which factors go into it, why a percentage without a reference date and source says little, and when we deliberately show 'n/a'.
  6. How to read our reliability score 2 min read Which sources sit under the reliability score, why it sometimes reads n/a instead of a number, and how to weigh the score against the other categories.