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Road trips


yeha
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Due to lockdown frustrations, midlife crisis, bucket list ticking and the reality that my Arosa won't last forever, I've decided that it's going to Nordcapp in the middle of 2022. Over the channel at Dover and up through Norway returning via Sweden.

I was wondering if anyone has had a go at similar long distance travel in a small car. I was thinking that the back seats will be coming out and a roof box may be required. I also have a LWB T5 but the Arosa can do 60+ mpg so it's a no-brainer for the distance.

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Yeah, only suggestions are noise cancelling headphones, a small lower back cushion and a full neck support. It's the side to side motion that'll get you on a long trip. Even the gti isn't a real GT car truth be told. You need a low revving engine and a long wheelbase for max comfort.

You could remove the ARB for more comfort...

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I've driven many times from Frankfurt to Reading in the Lupo. That distance is not a problem at all. We also took the Lupo on a 2 week holiday trip to Norway, with the dog sitting on one back seat and the other one folded down for luggage space. Enough for 2 people and sort of still having use of the rear view mirror. And we went skiing in Switzerland, same interior configuration and a roof rack for skis. 

That one was a 1.0 50hp Lupo, and it was surprisingly comfortable. The Polo 9N I had afterwards and the husband's 13reg Fabia caused more back-ache on the way to Germany.

As soon as it is at all possible, I'm going to drive to Germany in the Gti. Partly for some unrestricted Autobahn, but mostly to visit my parents...

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Reading to Sheffield and back in one day in my standard SDI and I'm completely broken. May not have cost me much in fuel (£25ish), but i don't want to get in it again for a week! And that's on soft 'S spec' suspension and higher profile tyres than a gti. I must be made of soft stuff. 😳

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Ok, I admit the last time I drove the Lupo from Reading to Frankfurt was 10 years ago, so maybe I'd feel different now that I'm old and fat. One Christmas, we did the Reading to Frankfurt run with 3 adults, their luggage, plus the Swiss mountain dog and the Husky dog, all packed in the Polo, as all flights out of Heathrow were cancelled for several days because of fog, so the husband and one of his workmates couldn't fly to Germany as initially planned. That was not fun, but 1 or 2 people on a road trip in an Arosa, I can't see why not...

(I've also driven that route in my dad's T4 a couple of times and I'm not sure if that's any more comfortable.)

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That must have been funny to see... I bet the rear suspension was bottoming out on the bumps! When i fill up a lupo with adults, it's always hitting the bump stops at the back.

I did Aachen for the christmas market one year in the mk4 which was much more comfortable. Still a quite tiring drive in one go. I suspect it's so much more comfortable in a Bentley...

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It was all fun and games until the Husky dog had enough of his personal space being invaded constantly and started a riot somewhere just after Brussels...

They didn't lie in the advert though, that Polo was tough. I transported 30 square meters worth of solid oak flooring from B&Q in it and yeah, the suspension bottomed out then.

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15 hours ago, bernd said:

It was all fun and games until the Husky dog had enough of his personal space being invaded constantly and started a riot somewhere just after Brussels...

They didn't lie in the advert though, that Polo was tough. I transported 30 square meters worth of solid oak flooring from B&Q in it and yeah, the suspension bottomed out then.

Great story! Yeah, the Brussels to Germany bit feels like you're near the end of the trip, but it's always at least another 3-5h...

I challenge anyone to beat a full pallet of used bricks, carefully arranged all around the inside of a mk4 golf. About 3/4 ton! All 4 wheels bottomed out. And for 115miles. Just looked like the car had been lowered from outside. Extra extra long stopping distance...

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  • 1 year later...

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