Compiled by Tony Ng

Buying a car is already a difficult decision, considering all the payment plans that you have to decide on, the colour of the car you want.

To make things easier for you in the car showroom, here's a glossary of motoring terms that are commonly used in showroom leaflets - and sometimes our car reviews - to help you get past the industry jargon.

We'll begin with the letter A.

To search for a term, just type Ctrl+F and enter the term you want into the search field.

A

AAS (Automobile Association of Singapore)
Motoring association in Singapore which provides roadside assistance services. It is affiliated to the Federation Internationale de'l Automobile (FIA).

Active safety
Features that make driving safer and prevent accidents from happening. These include anti-lock braking system, electronic stability programme, four-wheel drive, parking distance sensors and traction control system [see also passive safety].

Active suspension
A computer-controlled suspension system that uses actuators instead of shock absorbers and conventional springs. The powered actuators place the car's wheels in the best way to deal with handling loads and road disturbances.

Aftermarket
Services and products used in the repair and maintenance of vehicles.

Airbags
A passive safety device designed to create a cushion between the occupants and any hard surface during an impact. Most cars have a driver's airbag in the steering wheel and a passenger's airbag in the dashboard, with the exception of older cars. Continental makes tend to have more airbags, some with up to 10 in a single vehicle. There are curtain airbags that drop down from above the door and side airbags that are placed in the door or the seat, designed to protect occupants from head injuries.

Warning: A rear-facing child seat should never be placed in a passenger seat opposite an operational airbag. The force of the explosion upon inflation of the airbag may seriously injure the child.

Alcantara
Synthetic suede-like material used for trimming, usually for seats or door panels. Found mostly in luxury models.

All-wheel drive
System by which all four wheels of the vehicle are driven by the engine. AWD systems use a centre differential to allow the front and rear wheels to rotate at different speeds. Although AWD is considered by some to be the same as 4WD, AWD systems are superior as they can be used under any road conditions.

Alloy wheels
A type of wheel made from aluminium alloy, usually to improve appearance. Such wheels are lighter than the equivalent steel wheels and are less prone to corrosion.

Anti-lock braking system
A braking system which uses electronic sensors to judge whether the vehicle's skidding or locked up while braking. If they are, the brakes will be pumped repeatedly to help the tyres to gain traction. More importantly, it'll allow the driver to easily control the direction of the vehicle while reducing speed.

A-pillar
Roof support on either side of a car's windscreen.

Aspect ratio
Term used to describe the ratio between the unloaded sidewall height of a tyre divided by its overall width. A tyre with a low aspect ratio would be a shorter, wider tyre than one with a higher ratio. Lower aspect ratios provide better handling but the ride will be substantially harsher.

Automatic gearbox
A gearbox that automatically shifts its own gears according to speed, load and road conditions. Most models allow the drive to also change the gears manually, such as Porsche's patented Tiptronic system that is used by other car marques as well.

Axle ratio
Gear ratio of the differential gearbox. The higher the axle ratio, the faster the engine will rev at a fixed wheel speed. Therefore, a higher ratio will mean a higher torque, less power and vice versa.