You can find our colleagues even beyond the Arctic Circle!

The activities of the MATADOR Group, which is represented in the Czech Republic by the AUFEER GROUP, provide many activities, including driving tests, which take place in various environments. There are also extremes such as driving beyond the Arctic Circle. This year, the tests took place about 12 km northwest of Vidsel at the Arctic Falls test site. The winter driving tests took place at the nearby polygon from 30 th of January 2023 to the 11th of February 2023.

In these winter tests, the EPG department was testing the behaviour and endurance of the vehicles in extreme frosty conditions. There are climate chambers where cars can be “frozen” even to a temperature of -30°C. Immediately after leaving these chambers, they are tested, e.g. the force required to depress the clutch, engage gears, etc.

Furthermore, cars are tested e.g. for hill exits with a gradient of 10 or 20%, with one-half of the car going on dry asphalt with great grip and the other half on snow or ice. The vehicle’s electronics must be able to deal with this situation and brake the spinning wheel on ice so that the vehicle can climb the hill. Another test takes place in similar conditions but on a plane surface. Testing consists of starting with a slipping wheel on ice and suddenly running onto an asphalt surface, where a sudden deceleration occurs. This results in an extreme load on the gearbox and differential.

Other tests are, for example, dusting, when two cars drive around a large circuit at a speed of 90 kilometres close behind each other in powdery snow, where it is observed that the powdery snow can get everywhere. The voltage of the conductors is high. Demanding? Of course, it is difficult to drive the car all day and be alert, and at the same time monitor everything and write down your notes.

In this way, we tested a total of 17 models from Škoda Kodiaq, Karoq and Octavia, but there were also utility models such as Volkswagen T6 or Volkswagen Crafter.