Phil Royle

There’s something very special about rear wheel drive cars. They offer a driving purity front and four wheel drive cars can’t. As FWD and 4WD cars struggle to cope with steering and drivetrain influences, a RWD car isn’t pulled from the front, it’s pushed from behind, leaving the front axle to do as nature intended, steer.

Welcome to the first 4x4, off (& on) road, green lane special of www.roadmagazine.co.uk – this month, binning the tempting track tarmac, or ace A-road asphalt, in favour of nice bit of green lane by-way action.

Following the success of the first Japanese special in 2010, we offer you part two – featuring the full story on the iconic 2011 Nissan GT-R, brilliant four-door 2011 WRX STi and road trips in the pocket rocket Mazda 3 MPS and outstanding Subaru Legacy Outback.

Luxury and prestige is the name of the game this month. Road staff snapper, Neil Denham flies down to the French Riviera, to test drive a £90,000 Audi A8 4.2-litre V8, and luxuriate in a five-star hotel, owned by Bernie Ecclestone. Nice work, if you can get it!

Road Magazine starts 2011 with a track and race theme... following the UK’s catalyst to the motoring industry, Autosport International at the NEC in Brum. We’ve got two of the most exciting cars from the show in full detail...to drool over, and they are both British.

This issue features classic road trips to the Scottish glens in the new All-Wheel-Drive Impreza 2.0D RX, the brand new Mitsubish Lancer Juro tested in the Lincolnshire Wolds and an epic long distance haul to Cornwall, on one tank of fuel, in the phenomenal VW Golf BlueMotion.

Road takes a trip to sunny California, to warm up from the depths of Winter here... and enjoys the first ever, exciting, fast and furious Global Tuner GP Time Attack at Laguna Seca, organised and run by Road's first lady, Ashley Van Dyke.

Welcome to the first in a series of German car specials of ROAD. Whether it's their Teutonic efficiency, phenomenal reliability or sheer engineering superiority over most marques, German cars stand out from the masses.