Volkswagen Driving Experience: get the most out of your car's safety

The Volkswagen Driving Experience offers courses to improve our safety behind the wheel. Learning to use driver-assistance systems is one of the keys to this training.

The Volkswagen Driving Experience is a driving school founded in 2003 that offers courses to improve the driving techniques of all kinds of drivers. The Volkswagen training covers all kinds of exercises, from safe driving, off-road or sports driving exercises to practice sessions for learning to use the driver-assistance systems of their cars. After trying one of their courses (Race Tour), we explain all the keys to the Volkswagen Driving Experience and why it is a course we should all take:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxiEdgyCXuo&t=4s

Luis Moya and Andy Soucek: instructors with the greatest competition experience

The Volkswagen courses have highly qualified instructors. Few driving courses have the backing of two great motorsport figures such as Luis Moya (former co-driver of Carlos Sainz in the World Rally Championship) or Andy Soucek (former test driver in Formula 1 with Virgin Racing), who in this case act as brand ambassadors.

“Our goal over these 15 years has been to give drivers the resources to avoid risky situations. This training method allows us to teach students driving techniques in a safe environment such as a circuit, where they can put into practice the theory taught in class. We are fully convinced that this type of course is very beneficial, both for novice drivers with little experience and for expert drivers who need to correct bad habits behind the wheel,” explains Luis Moya, ambassador of Volkswagen.

The former Galician co-driver is in charge of showing us the importance road safety holds for us. To do so, he gives us a series of tips, which we see below in the following videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2wMlwx-qHM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8g0p2S2fo8U

What driving courses can I take with the Volkswagen Driving Experience?

Race Tour

This course gave rise to the driving school in its early days. In this training you will mainly learn how the new driver-assistance technologies that modern cars incorporate work and how to get the most out of them to increase our safety behind the wheel. Cars are changing, and so is the way we drive them, so it is very important to adapt to this new era of driving. The tests carried out include the following:

• Track session with the Volkswagen Golf GTI and Golf R: the aim here is to learn the ideal racing line on a circuit, as well as how to manage a car’s inertia when driving at high speeds.

• Evasive manoeuvre with the Volkswagen Golf R: a very useful exercise for testing a car’s ABS in situations where a collision risk exists.

• Moose test: an instructor shows us the dangers of driving without paying attention to the road and how the ESC (electronic stability control) can save our lives when the rear end loses grip at high speed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrrRzJCnrL8&feature=youtu.be

• “Micky Mouse” test: a timed lap of a tight, twisting track aimed at improving the driver’s agility in slow corners.

• Off-road tests: a run off the asphalt to test assistance systems such as hill start assist and hill descent control (a system that autonomously regulates braking on a slope).

• Traffic Jam Assist test

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZu_P8sphYU

R School and R Junior School

These courses focus on various safe driving techniques. The R School is aimed at a public with more years of licence than the Junior School, a course designed specifically for young people with less than two years of licence; drivers in this age group represent a risk group due to their limited experience behind the wheel. In the R Junior School, the training focuses not only on safe driving techniques but also on raising awareness of the dangers of using a phone or consuming alcohol and drugs while driving.

These are some of the contents covered in this training:

• Driving position
• Use of the brakes
• Vision and anticipation
• Effects of alcohol and drugs when driving (practical exercise with simulator)

4Motion School

As its name suggests, this is a course in which the main stars are the off-road vehicles of Volkswagen (Touareg, Tiguan and T-Roc). The aim of the course is to get the most out of the 4Motion traction system of these vehicles, as well as other safety systems (hill climb and hill descent assist) when we leave the asphalt. This course is offered in two different formats: dirt or ice and snow.

Who can take the Volkswagen courses and how much do they cost?

The Volkswagen Driving Experience courses are open to everyone, both brand customers and non-customers, although if you are a customer you can take the course at a lower price. Below are the current prices for the different courses:

– Race Tour: free. Check dates and available places at your dealership or enter the draw for a place held on the website.

– R Junior School: €120 for customers, €150 for non-customers

– R Intensive School: €190 for customers, €250 for non-customers

– 4Motion Ice and Snow School: €160 for customers, €210 for non-customers

– 4Motion Off Road School: €160 for customers, €210 for non-customers

Volkswagen Experience 2018 course calendar

The next Volkswagen Driving Experience event will be at the Cheste Circuit, where the R School will be held on 28 June and the Race Tour on the 29th. After the summer break, the programme will return with the 4Motion School in the Sierra de Madrid on 20 and 21 October. Later, the driving school will visit Montmeló with the Race Tour on 28 and 29 November and with the R School on 1 December.

How do I sign up for the courses?

To take part in the R School or the 4Motion School, you can book your place through the Volkswagen Driving Experience website.