Volkswagen has been developing the Volkswagen Driving Experience in Spain since 2003. Now that it celebrates 20 years of activity in our country and that more than 33,000 people have gone through this driving school, we attend one of its courses and we tell you what is lived and experienced in them.
It is known that 90% of drivers who buy a new current car,
whatever the segment, as a general rule, are not able to take advantage of even
50% of the capabilities of their car.
Either because his driving is calm and calm, because he has never (fortunately) had to face having to carry out an emergency maneuver, or in the case of SUV drivers because the closest thing to the field that his car has trodden on has been the road of access to a family member's summer estate, the truth is that the potential of current cars, which is very high, tends to remain captive.
From experience in sales networks to programs open to drivers
For years, brand-driving schools have been common in our country. Although some such as BMW and Mercedes have ceased their activity in Spain, others such as Audi, Porsche, or Volkswagen continue to operate, and new schools such as the Hyundai Driving Experience have even arrived, which this year 2023 made a stop in our country for the first time.
But the one that concerns us today is curious because it does not depend on a Premium brand, as is usual in this type of activity, but on Volkswagen. And it is even more curious to know how this activity began 20 years ago.
The Volkswagen Driving Experience was born as a training program aimed at the commercial network, which at the beginning of this century, with the arrival of advanced electronics in cars, needed the training to be able to explain all the characteristics of cars that were increasingly technologically advanced.
The experience was so successful that Volkswagen decided to extend the event to the brand's customers, with the aim of letting them get to know and try first-hand the latest technologies and security systems that are equipped with the most recent models in its range.
Today it offers courses on asphalt, dirt, and snow and is aimed at both the most experienced drivers and those young people who have just received their driving licenses. The objective is always the same: to reduce traffic accidents.
“Volkswagen Driving Experience is a strategic program that reflects our commitment to road safety. We believe that training is one of the best tools to achieve a reduction in the accident rate and advance towards the zero accidents objective”, explained Laura Ros, general director of Volkswagen Spain who accompanied us on the first day of the Volkswagen Driving Experience that was held at the beginning of June at the Jarama Circuit.
Program 2023: courses and experiences
R Ice Experience and 4 Motion Ice and Snow
He is undoubtedly one of the stars of the VDE since the program includes experiences in snow, such as the R Ice Experience in Sweden and the 4 Motion Ice and Snow, which was held in Andorra last March.
One-to-One School
The One-to-One school means accessing a private and exclusive class with a driver from the Volkswagen Driving School, it is a 100% personalized driving experience for each client. It takes place every Saturday in Madrid and Barcelona on demand.
Meet&Drive with Luis Moya
In addition to enjoying a 2-hour personal driving lesson accompanied by a professional driver, attendees will be able to meet the two-time World Rally Champion, Luis Moya, during an exclusive private lunch. Yeah, he's still talking just as fast.
School ID.
The ID School. Volkswagen serves so that students can
discover the keys to driving behind an electric car. It begins with a
theoretical module, in which they will learn the advantages of an electric car
and in which all doubts regarding charging, autonomy, and mobility will be
clarified while, in the dynamic tests, they will learn to get the most out of
it. party to driving an electric car.
R School and GTI School
The R School and the GTI School are aimed at those who want to learn or improve their driving technique. To do this, Volkswagen offers two levels of training depending on the experience of the driver.
The GTI School is aimed at people with up to two years of card. It consists of theoretical training, which emphasizes the placement of hands behind the wheel, the importance of sight, and the danger posed by distractions, alcohol, and drugs.
The R School is designed for more experienced drivers who want to go a step further and learn new techniques that allow them to react more safely to adverse situations. To do this, during the course, they will delve into the importance of the line and the parts of a curve or the weights and inertia of the vehicle, concepts that they will be able to put into practice on the track by combining dynamic tests with slippery surfaces, preparation exercises for the curve, competition in parallel to learn to control the intensity of the braking or how to do the main lines.
What could we try at the Volkswagen Driving Experience 2023?
We are divided into different groups of attendees, some start with some activities, others with others, and throughout the day different rotations are carried out until ensuring that all students go through all the scheduled activities.
- Off-road school: we start with the part in which the brand's SUVs, mainly Tiguan and Touareg but also the small T-Rocs, dare to do what no customer usually does with them: cross axles, descend slopes leaving all the maneuvering in the hands of the assistant for the descent of slopes, the ascent of slopes to test the capacity of the 4Motion system, fording rivers, crossing axles or steep slopes.
No one in their right mind puts their private car on this type of terrain for leisure, but it is surprising how far the little Tiguan can give off the asphalt or the capacity that the Touareg offers off the asphalt with its elaborate suspensions.
- Driving assistants: in this module, you can test some of the driving assistants that are standard or optional on models in the Volkswagen range. We were able to test the automatic parking system and the adaptive cruise control with automatic braking and starting, the latter element that is true causes some nervousness at first, but once you have verified that it works perfectly, it is much easier to use later actual traffic.
- Mini race with the Polo GTIs: one of the fun moments of the day was competing against the clock with two Polo GTIs, arranged in two symmetrical and very winding circuits, trying to brake as hard as possible before a line of cones. If you dropped the cones you were disqualified.
- Electric ID test: Volkswagen's range of electric models also has its place in the Volkswagen Driving Experience, and it is logical that this is the case because the driving experience of an electric vehicle is quite different from that of a conventional car.
The main course, riding on the track with the Golf R:
without a doubt, the star moment of the day was going around the always
challenging Circuito del Jarama aboard the Golf R. Accompanied by the
experienced monitors of the school, we were able to see how the Golf R (and
also the T-Roc R) are capable of offering very high performance on the track.
Undoubtedly, activities such as the Volkswagen Driving Experience, which is open to customers and non-customers of the brand (customers have lower prices), are very useful for anyone who wants to improve their driving and are good for society as a whole. .'
I am a firm advocate that everyone, sooner or later, should
go through a driving course of this type at least once in their life, since
many things are learned there that are not normally put on the road in normal
use. In practice, and many of them such as learning to brake, to trace, to
react to an obstacle, can save our lives.
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