Phill Tromans
Freelance contributor
Phill Tromans has been a journalist since 2001, spending five years as a newspaper reporter before switching to motoring in 2005. He’s now a freelancer, lending his expertise to a range of titles.
During his career, Phill has covered a wide spectrum of automotive topics, starting with a three-rear stint at Fleet News before moving to the Middle East. There he spent six years in various roles at Car Middle East, Auto Middle East, Evo Middle East and crankandpiston.
Returning to the UK in 2014, he embarked on his first freelance stint before joining Auto Trader’s road test team in 2016, where he spent three years reviewing the latest cars on the market both in writing and on video.
From there, he moved to the ill-fated Drivetribe project as production editor, and then after a second freelance stint joined Cazoo for a year as content editor. After joining Caffeine & Machine as managing editor – a role prematurely ended by redundancy – he returned to freelancing, working for the likes of Honest John, heycar, Car Throttle and more.
What advice would you give to car buyers?
Understand exactly how you’ll be using your car, and what your priorities are. You don’t want to buy a car with your heart only for your head to realise a few months later that it doesn’t fit your lifestyle. Also, don’t forget to factor in the running costs of a car – you may find a great deal to purchase it, but you’ll have to fuel, maintain and insure it, too, which can add a massive lump to your outgoings.
What was your first car?
A 1996 Ford Escort Freedom with a 1.4-litre engine that could just about pull the skin off a rice pudding. I put some 17-inch alloys and lowering springs on it, which didn’t make it go any faster, but it looked cool. Sort of. I would later sell the wheels for more than I got for the car.
What cars do you currently own?
As I write this, I’ve just had to wave a teary goodbye to my 2002 BMW 330d Touring which succumbed to rust after more than 200,000 miles. The family car is a Skoda Enyaq 85x Sportline, which is a cracker and costs peanuts to run thanks to our EV-specific electricity tariff. I may or may not put these savings back into another old BMW.
