DubFreeze 2020

Mar 2, 2020 In: All Blogs News Reviews Shows 0 Comment

Storm Dennis couldn’t keep us from paying our annual pilgrimage to DubFreeze, although it did throw a few obstacles in our way.

We set off early Sunday morning from Sheffield in the T-Cross that we had borrowed from VW. The roads in South Yorkshire were fine, the winds were not too blustery, nor was there much in the way of precipitation.

Flooded Roads

As we neared the County Showground in Staffordshire, and deviated from the main A roads, things started to worsen. We were heading through a small village just past Uttoxeter when the road we were travelling on stopped being a road, and turned into a river. Being in a village that we were unfamiliar with, we decided that we needed to turn around and not try to cross the torrent running across the road.

Despite Storm Dennis’ best efforts, we made it safely to the Showground to meet up with our Chairman, John Renshaw who was already in the hall, quite aptly in his T2 Katastrophenschutz Bus (Disaster Bus). John had reportedly managed to wade through some quite deep waters in his van!

This year, the organiser; Terry ball, had changed things around slightly and moved our stand down onto the lower floor,

VW T-Cross R-Line 1.0TSI 115PS 7-Speed DSG

Feb 23, 2020 In: All Blogs News Reviews Water-Cooled 0 Comment

So this is the T-Cross R-Line, 1 litre petrol, 115 ps, DSG. It’s the first time I have driven a DSG. And I quite like it.

I’m a bit of a fan of small cars. I’ve owned a few Polo’s and Lupo’s over the years, so when the opportunity arose to have a go in VWs smallest SUV, I was a little bit excited.

We currently own a VW Tiguan, so we’re quite familiar with VWs SUV range, but the T-Cross hadn’t been launched when we were car shopping.

VW’s Smallest SUV

The T-Cross is ever so slightly bigger than a VW Polo. Just 55mm longer and 97mm taller. Yet inside, it is more spacious. While we were car shopping, we tried a Polo, but we couldn’t fit our daughter in the backseat in her car seat. She fits in the back of the T-Cross just fine.

VW say that the compact SUV will accommodate up to five adults. They’d have to be a bit skinnier than me though!

The load space is variable and class leading. Thanks to a sliding back seat, capacity can be increased to 455 litres with the seats up… although that doesn’t leave much leg room in the back,

VW Festival at Harewood House 2019

Aug 12, 2019 In: All News Shows 0 Comment

Rain seems to have been a bit of a feature on our show calendar this year, and our visit to VW Festival at Harewood House was no different.

Volksfling 2019

May 27, 2019 In: All News Shows 0 Comment

For the Spring Bank Holiday weekend, we travelled over the Scottish border to Volksfling in Biggar.

We’ve been to this show a few times over the years, but it’s the first time in a long while that we visited the show as a club.

Avoncroft Aircooled 2019

May 19, 2019 In: All News Shows 0 Comment

The rain held off for our second visit to Avoncroft Aircooled, a great show in the grounds of Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings.

Stanford Hall VW Show 2019

May 6, 2019 In: All News Shows 0 Comment

Stanford Hall VW Show has been a long time favourite on our show calendar. The turnout of vehicles in the Concours d’Elegance is amazing, year after year.

Happy 45th Birthday to the Golf

Mar 29, 2019 In: News 0 Comment

The most successful European car, the Golf is celebrating its 45th Birthday.

Best Seller

On 29 March 1974, the Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg officially started production of what would become its best-seller. Back then, nobody at Volkswagen had any idea that the successor to the legendary Beetle would end up selling more than 35 million units all over the world – and still selling to this day. In purely mathematical terms, a new Golf has been ordered somewhere in the world every 41 seconds, every day, without interruption, since the start of production (SOP) 45 years ago. That is an average of around 780,000 vehicles per year.

At the Heart of the Volkswagen Brand

Ralf Brandstätter, Chief Operating Officer of Volkswagen: “The Golf is at the very heart of our brand. It stands for progress and technology like no other car. For example, the Golf made safety technology affordable for millions of people for the first time. Thanks to this, it made its mark on an entire generation.” Brandstätter went on to emphasise: “For seven generations, the Golf has made a contribution to the development of Volkswagen as a brand and as a group – into one of the most

Big Wins for VW at What Car? Awards 2019

Jan 22, 2019 In: News 0 Comment

January 2019 brought the 42^ndannual What Car? Car of the Year Awards, and Volkswagen managed to take home a raft of awards.

Polo Triumphant

The Polo triumphed in the Small Car of the Year category, fending off close competition from the Audi A1 and the Dacia Sandero. The judges commented “The Polo sets the standard for comfort, practicality and refinement in the small car class, while its frugal 1.0-litre petrol engine and strong resale values make it a good long-term buy, and Volkswagen has kept the pricing sensible. There are no weaknesses in its armour.”

T-Roc Success

Along with the Polo’s success, the T-Roc took a win in the Best Small SUV for more than £20,000 category. The judges said: “The T-Roc is a cracking small SUV. Its 1.5-litre petrol engine offers a strong turn of performance, and Design versions come loaded with kit. This is also one of the best-riding cars in this class, and it handles tidily too. That it costs a lot less than some rivals is just an added bonus.” The T-Roc was also named Small Car of the Year by Company Car and Van earlier this month, adding to an already successful 2019 awards collection.

Practical Touran

The awards didn’t stop

AGM Report 2018

Nov 25, 2018 In: News 0 Comment

Well the 2018 AGM has been and gone, if you didn’t make it to Coventry on the day, there’s always next year! All members are welcome, and we try to hold it somewhere of interest for the members.

This year, the club has stayed financially stable gaining a net increase of 50 members over last year.

The Committee has seen some big changes, with the departure of a number of long-standing committee members.

VW Beetle Production at a Dead End

Sep 14, 2018 In: News 0 Comment

Today, the motoring press is alight with news of the production of the VW Beetle reaching a dead end.

It’s a sad day in the VW world, but one that isn’t surprising. Sales figures of the current Beetle are very disappointing. VW report that they have sold less than 1,000 Beetles (including cabriolets) so far this year in the UK*.

Volkswagen’s Pikes Peak Record – 7 minutes 57.148 seconds

Jun 28, 2018 In: Motorsport 0 Comment

History has been made at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Volkswagen have powered to a new all-time record with the I.D. R Pikes Peak racing car.

Romain Dumas defeated a field including cars with conventional drivetrain technology and made history driving the 500-kW (680 PS) I.D. R Pikes Peak. Dumas not only broke the previous record for electric vehicles, but also smashed Sébastien Loeb’s previous record from 2013 – by a massive 16 seconds.

More Downforce Than Weight

May 23, 2018 In: Motorsport 0 Comment

Volkswagen’s first fully-electric racing car has been designed to take on the most famous hill climb in the world; Pikes Peak.

Avoncroft Air-cooled 2018

May 14, 2018 In: Shows 0 Comment

On Sunday 13th May 2018, we popped along to Bromsgrove in rural Worcestershire, to the Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings.

Recall Announced for 2018 Polo for Seat Belt Issues

May 11, 2018 In: News Water-Cooled 0 Comment

Volkswagen has confirmed a technical issue has been identified on the new Polo (model year 2018). There is the possibility that in rare situations (e.g. sudden quick lane changes with five passengers on board) and when the rear center seat and the rear left seat are occupied at the same time, the left seat belt lock could be unintentionally released.

All-Wheel Steering Touareg

May 9, 2018 In: News 0 Comment

The new Touareg will be released onto the market packed with a range of innovations. The new Touareg is the first Volkswagen model available with the Night Vision assist system and the first to include an actively steering rear axle.

Car Hacking Concerns Over Golf GTE Infotainment System

May 1, 2018 In: News 0 Comment

Security researchers at a Dutch cyber-security firm, Computest, have discovered that the in-vehicle infotainment system in the Golf GTE along with other models from the Volkswagen Group has a weakness that can be exploited over WiFi.

The two researchers that discovered the flaw, Daan Keuper and Thijs Alkemade, described how they have successfully tested their findings on a Golf GTE and an Audi A3 Sportback e-tron. They explained how they use the car’s WiFi connection to gain access to the Harman infotainment system via an exposed software component.