Engine drag torque control prevents your wheels locking on slippery surfaces if you take your foot off the accelerator suddenly or shift down a gear fast. The braking effect of the engine can cause the driven wheels to skid when they temporarily lose traction. In such situations, engine drag torque control maintains directional stability and boosts safety. The system's control unit receives information from the wheel-speed sensors and the engine control unit or transmission control unit via the CAN data bus. If it detects wheel slip, it sends a signal to the engine control unit to increase engine torque, until the driven wheels are turning at a rate appropriate to the car's speed. This keeps your car steerable and maintains directional stability.

Article source: www.volkswagen.co.uk

The electronic stabilisation programme uses a sensor to measure the lateral acceleration acting on the car in order to calculate its actual position. The lateral acceleration sensor is located in the same housing as the rotation (Yaw) rate sensor (duo-sensor). Lateral acceleration acts on a car sideways to the direction of travel. It is noticeable as a centrifugal force moving a car to the outside of a curve when cornering, for example.

Article source: www.volkswagen.co.uk

Crumple zones are part of the tough safety shell of our cars, helping to protect you and your passengers in the event of an accident

Our cars are designed and engineered with a range of safety features to help protect you and your passengers in any eventuality.

All our cars are built with a tough safety shell. We 'test-drive' our designs through accurate, computer-simulated accidents to make sure the safety shell stays intact when you need it to.

To further enhance your safety, we include crumple zones at the front and rear of the shell. Crumple zones are designed to absorb impact energy during a collision so that most of the energy is dissipated across these zones, and not in your passenger compartment. The strong outer shell comes with front and rear crumple zones that help to absorb the impact of a crash, increasing the safety of occupants.

Article source: www.volkswagen.co.uk

In this edition, discover how it feels to be a rally champion, behind the wheel of the Polo WRC. We head to Oslo to put another winner through its paces – the e-up! The first emission-free car in series production from Volkswagen. And, closer to home, four kids and a shopping trolley show us why we don’t need to be on a rally track to benefit from all-wheel drive.

Also, as the weather gears up to do its worst, we share our top tips for surviving whatever winter throws your way.

And, for survival of a different kind, we travel to South Africa, to see how they’re putting nature conservation into action – from inside a shark cage.