Driving the German autobahn in a

helloskyharbour

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2004
Location
New Jersey
TDI
2004 Jetta GL auto
75hp Opel Corsa. I came back home and our auto TDI Jetta feels VERY quick now. I've never had to floor a car so much in my life! Here is a suggestion, if you ever get the chance to drive the autobahn, do not cheap out on the rental car. I travel a lot for work and my default is "whatever is cheapest" but the autobahn is a driving experience, not to be passed up like that. I wish I had tried for anything diesel (this was a 1.2 litre gaser) or of course more specifically a VW!

Otherwise, it was a very interesting experience. A few things I really noticed was that people NEVER pass on the right, and almost always stay right (although people will inevitably pull out in front of you trying to get passed a car going 80km/h, when they are going 120km/h and you are going 160km/h).

If you are going in the left lane even passing other cars, you need to keep a very good eye behind you for cars approaching you so quickly you bearly have time to move over - this is almost always a BMW or Audi :D If these guys are worried about fuel prices, their speed does not show it!

The speed limits change often and quickly so it is not like you are just flooring it WOT going 200 KMH the whole time. Also these roads are rarely like driving in Nevada on I-80 - more like lots of twists and turns to keep you on your feet.

I saw a lot of very cool cars. My favorite of course is the 4motion TDI Golf. Lots of very interesting VWs. Lupo is a tiny little thing likea Ford Fiesta. Polo for me, very hard to tell the difference between it and a Golf (slightly smaller?). Very few Jettas (which I think they call a Bora). All sorts of VW van type vehicles like the "Transporter" and "California".

Street signs are cool and for the most part contain very few words but very self explanatory. The only one I could not figure out is the picture of a car with a line through it:confused: (this was on on/off ramps, not entering a pedestrian zone!).

Also had the chance to drive a Benz E220 wagon diesel, this was my parents' rental vehicle. Nice car and could move on the autobahn with no problem.

Entering Switzerland, which is not an EU country, they did not want to see our passports, just wanted our money ;) Gotta love that country.
 

TDIMeister

Phd of TDIClub Enthusiast, Moderator at Large
Joined
May 1, 1999
Location
Canada
TDI
TDI
Ahh, yes, the German road trip. Heading to Heidelberg and Munich this weekend from further north. Curious what kind of car I will get for a rental this time... last time was a BMW 5-series. :cool:
 

kafer65

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 19, 2007
Location
TN
TDI
Early '06 Jetta 5M
I learned to drive in Germany. We had an old Opel Cadette 1.1 or 1.2L very tired little car but I liked it alot. The German's still understand that the left lane is the overtaking lane not the passive aggressive lane. You'll get killed trying that over there. Even the SmartCars will run you over. The nice thing is that the autobahn has plenty of lane room for the higher speeds but many folks still only drive maybe 120km/hr. The differential between the many and the fast guys with Porsches, Mercs and BMW is a bit stressful. Great cars to see. I agree! Hoping to go back next year and maybe visit the Autostadt if I can.
 
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