Motor Cycle News. The newspaper staged a 12-hour car-versus-bike challenge on the M25 to prove how much time and money can be saved by switching from four wheels to two.

The challenge pitted a humble Yamaha YBR125 against an Audi A3 Sportback in a 12-hour endurance race clockwise round the notorious 117-mile London orbital motorway. The winner was the vehicle which covered the most miles in the allotted 12 hours.

No prizes for guessing who won. The car managed 431 miles, while the bike clocked up 544, 26 per cent more. The fastest bike lap was 2hr 15mins, including a fuel stop, while the car could only manage 2hr 31mins.

And on the subject of fuel, the bill for the bike was £29.92. The diesel cost more than double, for substantially fewer miles. Oh, and you can buy eight YBRs for the price of one A3.