Mega drive

A very good day. Awoke to a calm, clear morning at our hotel in Darlington. Straight after breakfast we had a press briefing about the car we were there to try: Audi's new A3 Sportback e-tron, a petrol-electric plug-in hybrid. Then we set off on a three-hour test route.

What a route. It took us over Weardale in County Durham and into Cumbria. It was on fabulous driving roads through wonderful high moorland scenery. It was a demanding route for the car and an eye feast of dramatic landscape.

It was one of the very best driving routes I have been on this year, and happily it was here in our own country. I shared the trip with a good chum who is an excellent fast, safe driver. It's a good-to-drive car with decent eco credentials.

Our destination was the Baltic Centre in Gateshead, next to the Millenium Bridge, where the cars were lined up on the riverside at the end of our test route. It is an interesting art centre with fabulous views across the city. A farewell lunch, and then we headed to Newcastle airport to fly home. Landed at a dark, dank, wet Heathrow just in time for rush-hour M25 traffic. Ah well, it was just a mild sting in the tail of an otherwise excellent day.