Doesn't sound very extreme to me. In The Netherlands there are two separate tests. The theory is 40 theory/insight questions, of which you are allowed 5 mistake and 25 danger recognition tests of which you are allowed 12 mistakes. In the danger recognition you are shown a picture shot from the drivers seat that shows the speedometer and some situation, you have 3 options, keep on, foot off gas, brake. You get 8 seconds for each question and it costs 30 euros.

The practical test is something I think around 50% of people fail after an average of around 35 1-hour lessons. It costs around 200 euro I think. You can expect to spend between 1500 and 2000 euro's on a license.