Two YouTube videos with recommendations for the cold seasonVolkswagen test and development driver Benjamin Leuchter and Peter Bunke, head trainer at Volkswagen Driving Experience, share tipsFive additional tips on the right way to care for your car
When winter comes around once again, old rules of thumb are dusted off and tips on de-icing, protecting engines and tyres are shared – but many of these are wrong, or misunderstood. Which is why Benjamin Leuchter, racing driver and Volkswagen test and development driver, and the head trainer at Volkswagen Driving Experience, Peter Bunke, are sharing top tips for the cold season.
“From O to E.” Many car drivers in Germany are now aware of this rule. It outlines a recommendation for using winter tyres: winter-proof tyres should be used between October and Easter. But this isn’t law. Rather, car drivers, regardless of the time of year, must have the right tyres as soon as there is snow or ice on the roads. Theoretically, this could be as early as September or as late as May. “Often the problem isn’t that car drivers don’t know what to do,” explained Benjamin Leuchter. “In the busyness of everyday life, some people just bend the rules slightly and, for example, only de-ice enough of the windscreen to see out of instead of removing snow from the car properly. That puts both the driver and other people on the road at risk.” Falling ice can cause damage or injuries, with those on two wheels particularly at risk. Which is why the experts have shared their tips in seven chapters: Before setting off Starting the engine correctlyStarting up correctlyWhile drivingThe right tyresBraking correctly and corneringRoad safety
VIDEO: Watch part 1 of the Golf R winter driving tips here.