As temperatures fall and you swap the sombreros for the snow hats and barefoot for boots, take a moment to think about your car and whether it’s ready for winter. 

Of course you could get out on your driveway in the rain and check it all yourself – or you could simply pop it in to your local Volkswagen Retailer where a trained technician will give it a thorough Winter Check for just £25*.  Not only does that £25 buy you peace of mind that your car is ready for those chilly mornings and icy roads, it also includes a Winter Car Care Kit worth £20. 

The Winter Check begins with an Express Visual Health Check to highlight any obvious or potential problems.  It then includes an oil and washer fluid check and free top up, battery and alternator check, as well as free fitting of any bulbs or wiper blades required when purchased at the Retailer.

Once any required work is complete, you’ll then drive away with a complimentary Volkswagen Winter Car Care Kit with screenwash, de-icer, cockpit care, ice scraper and cleaning cloth, as well as a £20 voucher towards your next battery, fitted before 31 March 2014. 

The Winter Check is available at participating* Volkswagen Retailers until 31 March 2014.  And even if you decide not to give your car a Winter Check, Volkswagen has plenty of handy hints and tips on keeping your car in top condition over the season, including a video which can be found here www.volkswagen.co.uk/owners/winter-check/winter-driving-tips.

Volkswagen has also launched its cold weather wheel and tyre programme which offers a wide range of wheels for driving in colder conditions.  It doesn’t need to be snowing for them to be effective: cold weather tyres are designed to work when the temperature drops to seven degrees centigrade and below.  The tread design and compound formulation are better than those on standard fit tyres at these temperatures, so they improve grip, traction, handling and braking.  The Met office states that average temperatures between October and March are generally below seven degrees, so it makes sense to fit cold weather tyres. 

Also handy to have in the car are Snow Socks, a cheap but effective traction solution which fit around tyres and improve grip.  They are only for use on snow and icy roads and should be removed before driving onto treated/cleared roads to avoid premature wear. 

For more sustained driving in snow, snow chains, also available from Volkswagen Retailers, are ideal – and are in fact a legal requirement in certain countries during the winter season.  It is a good idea to practice fitting them before having to apply them in poor weather conditions, and your local Volkswagen Retailer will be able to assist you with this.

For more tips or details on all winter accessories, please visit www.volkswagen.co.ukor your nearest Volkswagen Retailer.

* at participating Retailers – call 0800 333666 to confirm availability.

Side-wind compensation gives our electromechanical power-assisted steering (EPS) extra comfort and safety. This feature helps when you are driving in a continuous side wind or on a severe camber. If the EPS control unit registers continuous countersteering, the power-assisted steering adjusts itself automatically and compensates. The fact that you no longer have to actively countersteer takes the strain away and makes driving easier and more comfortable.

Article source: www.volkswagen.co.uk

Emissions from diesel engines cannot be treated with the three-way catalytic converter because they operate with excess air. The use of a lambda control system to measure the amount of oxygen in the exhaust system is ruled out for technical reasons. So an oxidising catalytic converter is used to reduce hydrocarbons (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO) to carbon dioxide (CO2). It is, however, not suitable for converting nitrogen oxides.

Article source: www.volkswagen.co.uk

The Bi-Xenon headlight is a special version of the xenon headlight and allows a single headlight to generate both high and low beam. When low beam is selected, the light beam is partially shielded by a moving shutter. To switch to high beam, an electromagnet moves the shutter out of the light beam's path.

Article source: www.volkswagen.co.uk