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The new Toyota Corolla range has been a huge hit with Irish buyers since its arrival earlier in the year. Sales have been particularly strong for the saloon and the hatch but stylish Touring Sport estate might just be the best looking and most practical of them all.

An incentive to avoid using the mobile phone while at the wheel has clocked up 22 million kilometres of call-free driving.The Toyota Ireland ‘FaceItDown’ app passed the 22 million milestone recently.And as a way of broadening its appeal, participant drivers will now get discounts on parking at Q-Park locations around the country.The Toyota campaign is in association with the Road Safety Authority (RSA). It encourages drivers to put their phones face down while driving.The app translates face-down time into points for rewards – more than 36,000 of which have been redeemed by drivers.Now the carmaker is to reward new and current users by offering double points for all journeys logged between August 13 and August 20.Over the past two years, 49,460 Irish motorists have installed the app on their phoneWhile Q-Park is the latest incentive, others include a free hot drink at Circle K stores or €50 off FBD car insuranceToyota Ireland says: “Research shows that when using a hand-held mobile phone while driving, you’re four times more likely to crash than someone who is not.”The latest news comes as the powerful Transport Committee group of MPs in the UK wants mobile phone use at the wheel to be banned.In other words: no phone conversation of any sort.They say the “evidence shows that using a hands-free device creates the same risks of crashing (as a hand-held device)”.They want all phone use while driving, regardless of sending or receiving data, to be stopped.

A compact SUV manufactured by Skoda had the highest pass rate of any vehicle submitted for a NCT test last year.

In my teens, I remember a lot of men with the title Major, Commander, or Wing Co calling to our hotel to see my father. Often they would be driving Rovers or Jaguars and in addition to their sheepskin car coats they’d have leather driving gloves – often with a crocheted string-back.