This highway running straight to the center of Moscow, the heart of Europe’s largest city, has eight lanes. Moscow has more than 12 million inhabitants, together with over 40 universities, five international airports, and nine long-distance railway stations with more than 2,000 trains every day. The famous Moscow metro with its 262 stations, some of which have spectacular designs, carries more passengers every day than the London tube and the Paris metro together.
These gigantic figures underline the dimensions of Russia’s capital but also pose a dilemma for visitors: why are all the roads regularly congested despite the widespread use of public transport and the very wide roads themselves?
Congestion? Have your flashing light ready!
Back to the eight-lane highway, where there are no gaps in the traffic. The white Tiguan is surrounded, mainly by black SUVs with effectively tinted windows. On the streets of Moscow, it seems to be fashionable not to be recognized. And there is another thing that you notice. As soon as the traffic comes to a halt, removable flashing blue lights appear on some of the cars, which then disappear through the temporary emergency lanes created through the traffic.
Tricks like that are beneath the Tiguan’s dignity. It is well aware that it has already reached the front row, as one of the world’s top 10 bestselling SUVs.
The countless sights to see around the Kremlin are also masterful. Following an hour of crawling through the traffic, the Tiguan has reached its destination. Fortunately, there is no need to operate the clutch thanks to the lightning-swift DSG gearbox. At almost the same time, the sun disappears and we see the thousands of lights of the old city.