We were lucky enough for the salesman to let us take a 500 out for about 1.5hrs on our own, but we arranged that beforehand.
We tried other cars out, from other manufacturers, but all those salesmen insisted on coming with us. In fact, one of them refused to let my OH sit in the passenger seat while I was driving, even though she was the one paying for it! Needless to say, we didn't go for that car. We were suprised by how confused salesmen were about who the customer was. They came across as if we should consider ourselves privilaged to even set foot in one of their cars, and told me where to drive when I was testing it too. To all car salesmen out there, I would just like to say... not the way to sell a car!
Hopefully, your test-drive in a 500 will allow you to go anywhere you choose, in which case, I suggest...
- Up a steep hill (to see if it gets to the top!)
- Along a high-speed road (i.e. dual carriageway or motorway, to find out what it's like taking it on holiday)
- Twisty roads (to experience the cornering ability)
- Bumpy roads (e.g. potholes, speed-bumps, to see if it's bone-shaking)
- Emergency stop (just to make sure it can)
I guess to do a "proper" road-test, you ought to drive it up a tree, just to make sure the air-bags work properly.
Also, if they give you a start 'n' stop to test drive, and say "you can turn off the start 'n' stop bit to make it like a Pop", be sure to try it with the start 'n' stop bit on as well. We were looking at buying an upgraded Pop, so turned it off, and then later realised that it would be cheaper to buy a start 'n' stop with options we want, so had to go back with to the dealer with a sheepish grin.