road test 
noun
1A test of the performance of a vehicle or engine on the road: our March 1995 road test of this vehicle...
- It's an unusual feeling to get out of a full-sized, heavy-duty crew cab pick-up after a road test and find the old minivan annoyingly cumbersome to park.
- As regular readers will know, I do not believe in writing up road tests on vehicles driven round the block from the local dealership!
- When the time comes every five years or so for these people to buy a new car, they don't trouble themselves with reading road tests, trawling through brochures or comparing prices.
1.1A test of equipment carried out under actual operating conditions.The road tests present a clear-cut demonstration of the possibilities for capacity and economy offered by modern features of locomotive proportioning and design....
- We took the revolutionary BioNav in-car navigation system out for a road test.
verb
1 (road-test) [with object] Test (a vehicle or engine) on the road: Ford is currently road-testing this engine in the Fiesta...
- We may even be road-testing vehicles on similar road conditions for braking power.
- When I'm road-testing a car, I often take it up to Liverpool because it gives me a chance for a long drive.
- They'll also be joined by local personalities who will be road-testing some of the new models at the 2002 show.
1.1Try out (something) under actual operating conditions for review or prior to purchase or release: we road-tested a new laptop computer...
- It was road-tested by a Register editor released into the wilds of Essex - he was quickly directed to a nearby hostelry.
- Anyone buying into the extras finds themselves road-testing a technology that is still in a developmental stage.
- The next day I wrote a couple and road-tested them on her in the evening.