SERVICES
Reverse Parking
No matter what you drive, be it automatic or manual, you will need to be able to reverse park on the road. The video enables you to see from an aerial view exactly how the car reacts when you steer in a specific direction. I hope you enjoy.
Automatic Driving Lessons
The learning curve of learning to drive is considerably shorter in an automatic compared to a manual.
Since I qualified as an Approved Driving Instructor I have taught well over 2000 people, mostly in a manual car.
There are many people who do find learning in a manual to be much harder. also with the move to electric cars in the future it makes a lot of sense to consider an automatic.
At X L Auto you have a choice. I can teach either in an automatic or in a manual.
Manual driving lessons
The current advantage of having a licence to drive a manual car is that your licence also covers driving automatic.
If you only pass a driving test in an automatic, you are only legally entitled to drive an automatic.
At xl auto you have the choice of learning in both manual and automatic. If you start in a manual but find it challenging, you have the option to change to automatic. Your instructor will not change, only the lesson price.
Motorway Driving
As a fully qualified Approved Driving Instructor your lessons will include Motorway Driving covering joining and leaving motorways as well as safe methods for overtaking
Lesson Pricing
As of 1st October 2025 driving lesson prices for new clients are as follows:
Manual 1 hour £35, 2 hours £68, 10 hours £320
Automatic 1 hour £38, 2 hours £74, 10 hours £350
10 hour blocks need to be prepaid.
I will keep existing clients on their old price until 1/3/2026
MANOEUVRES
Manoeuvres covered are Left and Right Forward Parking, Left and Right Reverse Parking and Left Reverse Park on the Road (Parallel Park)
Left Forward Park
Left Reverse Park
Right Forward Park
Right Reverse Park
Left Reverse Park On The Road (Parallel Park)
It is very useful to have a good knowledge of the area in which you will be doing a driving test. To help in this regard I will be uploading a number of videos of variable length. The content will be for both Lee On The Solent and Portsmouth.
LEE ON THE SOLENT TEST CENTRE VIDEOS
Sample Route 1 Lee On The Solent
Sample Route 2 Lee On The Solent
Sample Route 3 Lee On The Solent
Similar to Portsmouth, Lee On The Solent has a few junctions which at first glance look challenging. The following videos cover some of these junctions.
Lee On The Solent Doubles Roundabout 2nd Exit then 1st Exit
Peel Common Roundabout 3rd Exit To Fareham
Peel Common Roundabout 3rd Exit To Gosport
Peel Common Roundabout 3rd Exit To Lee On The Solent
PORTSMOUTH TEST CENTRE VIDEOS
Portsmouth Sample Route One
Each Portsmouth Test Route incorporates at least one or more of the major junctions in the Portsmouth Test Area.
The sample route shown in the following video includes the Cosham Roundabout, the Pall Corporation Traffic Lights and the Skew Road crossroads. I have edited the video in order to only show the many junctions, cutting out long sections of roads.
Portsmouth Test Centre has several multilane roundabouts and knowledge of these roundabouts can be very useful. The following videos concern two of the major Fareham Roundabouts. Quay Street Roundabout and Station Roundabout.
Fareham Station Roundabout Turning Left To Southampton
Fareham Station Roundabout Turning Right To Town Centre
Fareham Station Roundabout Going Ahead To Town Centre
Fareham Station Roundabout Going To Portsmouth 3rd Exit
Fareham Station Roundabout to Portsmouth 1st Exit
Approach To Quay Street Roundabout Going Ahead At Lights
Approach To Quay Street Roundabout Going Left At Lights
Staying in Fareham the following videos concern the Delme Roundabout which is the largest roundabout in the Portsmouth Test Area with six entrances and exits. However the roundabout is actually very easy to negotiate being only two lanes. This makes lane changing relatively easy when you practise proper observation.
One major area where mistakes are made is not knowing in which lane to approach the roundabout. This is important to try to avoid unnecessary lane changing on the roundabout.
Delme Portchester To Fareham Going Ahead 2nd Exit
Delme Fareham To Portchester Going Ahead 3rd Exit
More Videos Coming Soon
FARLINGTON SERVICES ROUNDABOUT
One of the largest roundabouts in the Portsmouth Test Area. Multilaned and traffic light controlled. The following video was taken at night.
Farlington Services Roundabout going right towards Southsea
On the Farlington Services Roundabout there are two lanes for turning right. The default lane is the left of the two right turning lanes. The following video shows how to approach the roundabout and where to position on the roundabout.
Bedhampton Roundabout
The Bedhampton Roundabout is another of the larger roundabouts in the Portsmouth Test Centre area. Oftentimes people get into the wrong lane as they are going round. The aerial view of the roundabout provides an insight into the scale of the junction. We start off fast then slow things down in order that you can assess the scale of the roundabout.
The following video is a short one explaining how the roundabout should be treated.
Bedhampton Roundabout going ahead towards Cosham
Heading towards Cosham you will be going ahead at the Bedhampton Roundabout. The following video shows how it should be handled.
COSHAM ROUNDABOUT
Possibly the worst designed roundabout in the Portsmouth Test Area is the Cosham Roundabout which is a multi lane roundabout where knowledge of which lane to approach in is really important as this varies depending on your direction of travel.
A further complication is a short bus lane that starts a short distance from the roundabout and terminates just before a pedestrian crossing. The pedestrian crossings of which there are two, are also far too close to the roundabout and this causes a tail back on to the roundabout when the pedestrian crossings are in use.
Cosham Roundabouts Going North Towards Waterlooville
Cosham Roundabout Going South Towards Portsmouth
Cosham Roundabout Going Right Towards Paulsgrove
Havant Asda Roundabout turning left towards Purbrook
The Havant Asda Roundabout comes up in a couple of test routes. The following video covers turning left towards Purbrook.
Havant Asda Roundabout turning right towards Havant
The Havant Asda Roundabout comes up in a couple of test routes. The following video covers turning right towards Havant.
Hilsea Roundabout turning right towards Cosham
One of the major junctions in the Portsmouth Test area is the Hilsea Roundabout. The first of four videos covers coming off the A27 at the Port Solent exit and taking the third exit off the Hisea Roundabout towards Cosham.
Hilsea Roundabout turning right towards Fareham
This second Hilsea video covers turning right taking the third exit off the Hilsea Roundabout towards Fareham.
Hilsea Roundabout turning left on to the A27 towards London
This third Hilsea video covers turning left taking the first exit towards London.
Hilsea Roundabout turning left towards Cosham
The final Hilsea video covers heading back towards the Portsmouth Test Centre turning left, 1st exit, towards Cosham.
Pall Corporation Traffic Lights
Some Portsmouth routes require you to turn right at the Pall Corporation Traffic Lights towards Fareham. It is very important to ensure that you are in the correct lane. There are two lanes that can be used for turning right, the default lane is the left of the two lanes.
Skew Road Crossroad Turning Right
Skew Road is a tricky road. Very narrow so positioning is extremely important coupled with moderate speed. Turning right at the top of Skew Road onto Portsdown Hill Road is not easy. It does require a fairly high standard of control and observation.
Boarhunt Roundabout Over the M27 Going Towards Gosport
This roundabout over the M27 comes up in several tests. It is generally a very busy junction and should be approached with caution. Correct positioning is really important.
Boarhunt Roundabout On Way Back To Test Centre
Several test routes involve the Boarhunt Roundabout over the M27. The following video concerns heading away from Fareham on the way back to the Portsmouth Test Centre or heading towards Southwick.
Delme Roundabout Taking The 5th Exit Heading North
The Delme Roundabout features in several test routes. One of the routes involves approaching the Delme Roundabout from the direction of Portchester to Fareham. The following video covers turning right taking the 5th exit.
Experimental
Having recently acquired a drone, it is my intention to video several of the major junctions in the Portsmouth test area. The following videos are just tests.
Experiment 2
Experimental 3
Talk to me
In addition to providing driving tuition I can also suggest sources of information to help you improve your knowledge as regards driving.