Driving Test Success All Tests Ultimate 2012

Until now, the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) has published both the questions and the answers to the theory tests for users of cars, motorcycles, lorries and buses. From next year however, that all stops.

The reasoning, according to the DSA, is that it'll stop candidates memorising the answers parrot-fashion and, instead, will encourage them to understand the tests and how they apply to real driving. The new Focus Multimedia Driving Test software reflects these changes.

Of the 10 products in the company's 2012 range, Driving Test Success Ultimate is the most comprehensive and includes not just the Theory and Hazard Perception tests but also 50 video tutorials to demonstrate every manoeuvre in the test. More discs include a 3D driving simulator, another for learning road signs, a third that covers basic car maintenance, a pair of magnetic L plates and even a D1 driving licence application form. Of course, this doesn't guarantee a pass: learning to drive is an expensive business and the result is far from a foregone conclusion. According to the Department of Transport, 35 per cent of applicants failed the old theory test in 2009/10, and that was probably easier than the new one.

After installing the main DVD (a huge 8.5GB, and it still needs the disc in the drive to run afterwards) the menu shows all three tests. The excellent Show Me Tell Me video section that deals with car basics (changing the oil, clearing the windscreen, locating the car's controls) and the Road Sign tests which, while dull, covered the ground well.

Throughout, the video quality was good and we particularly liked the Driving Test section, which places the learner in the car with a ‘real' student and instructor. The Advice Centre is packed with hints and tips for new drivers, though it could do with a makeover.

An included maintenance DVD had useful basic information but was hard to navigate, Learn Your Road Signs was detailed but looked like it was designed a very long time ago, and the Practical 3D Driving Simulator is a cross between video-style instruction and a full blown driving game. It was very old-fashioned but actually rather fun, and it re-enforced the lessons learned by doing a lot of nitpicking.

Learner drivers can use the software and track their progress through the various modules, back-tracking to re-take or revise specific sections where necessary. It can also be used by instructors to teach groups of pupils, and presumably just shared among friends using the same PC.

We felt that despite the 2012 changes, the interface was old and tired, but that aside, the content was first-class and, for the money, is a good investment to go with some driving lessons.