VW 2011 Free Drive in Halifax

I drove a variety of vehicles today. My thoughts on the cars:

2011 VW Jetta 2.5 (Gas)

Nice car. Excellent speed through the turns and good braking providing the vehicle has 4-wheel DISC brakes. The 2.5L engine puts power down efficiently and I had no problems keeping the car where I wanted to go. I should say that almost every car had leather and every option available, including a GPS (not that you'd need it on the track).

2011 VW Golf 2.5 (Gas)

Similar driving experience to the Jetta. A bit more room inside and although a smaller car, I could not tell the difference between the Golf and the Jetta, since they had the same engine and transmission.

2011 VW Tiguan AWD (Gas)

I noticed right away the difference in this vehicle, due to the all wheel drive (90% front, 10% rear, as needed). It sapped the power from the engine and gave a more gradual response to acceleration. The handling characteristics of the larger vehicle was very good. It didn't lumber through turns and the tight curvy areas of the track. The braking was good and although heavier than all the other vehicles, it stopped quick enough for me.

2011 GTI (Turbo)

A hot hatch with really big tires and a loud dual-exhaust. People lined up 10 deep to drive it. My favorite was the 2-door which came very well appointed inside. The seats were extra supportive in the lateral and lumbar. The suspension was super-tight and the braking was superior to all of the vehicles. The turn-in speed was very good, but what surprised me was how similar the 2011 Golf TDI drove in comparison to this car. While the GTI had 220 bhp and about 180 ft-pounds of torque, the Golf TDI had about 160 bhp and 240 ft-pounds of torque. As my friend Jason from Atlantic Motor Sports said: "It's the horsepower that sells and the torque that propels". And indeed he was so right.

My driving faults were fairly large. I tended to hammer the gas and let off during the tight turns. I later on learned through instruction from Jason that I was to "Keep the gas STEADY and use that steering wheel". Such helpful advice indeed. My last run was my best in the GTI, and I hope I didn't scare anyone who was co-piloting with me. I am fairly sure that my quickest lap would have been the slowest lap of any of the driving instructors.

I have one big fault though. I really enjoyed drifting through the corners. Jason chastised me for doing this and I have to admit, I drive like Jeremy Clarkson most of the time on that track. ALL gas. HAMMER down lads. When you allow such grip to loose the tires you are really LOSING SPEED. It's not a drift contest but a track event. Nobody was timed though.

In spite of the loud music blaring at the event coupled with dubious strangers, I think it was a wonderful event. And by dubious I mean the people who were talking behind me about how marvelous their gas mileage was in the VW Golf and Jetta TDI's. I mean come on folks, clearly these people are planted amongst the crowd to generate enthusiasm about the brand.

Instead it made me lament the fact that I no longer drove an all-wheel-drive Subaru anymore. I no longer had any driving excitement day to day. I longed for the manual transmission, after remembering myself cursing it in gridlock I fondly think about the times I had total control of my car. Apparently VW will be putting the in-cockpit video of me driving in a few days. I'll see if I want to put that up. I'm not that very good of a track driver. (Although I like to think I am). My racing lines need major refinement.

Thanks VW for the lovely afternoon of tire shredding.