That was the claim which...

That was the claim which had the company’s rivals quaking at the beginning of the Eighties. Not only was it a bold statement to make, it was also true. Back then, VWs were blessed with reliability second only to Mercedes.

Fast forward 25 years, and things could not be more different. One VW executive privately admitted to us that “quality... is the biggest single issue currently facing VW”, and carried on to describe how the firm’s build standards had slipped, suggesting it was facing tough choices about its future.

Slow sales of the new Golf haven’t helped, and although things are picking up, it’s the new Polo exclusively revealed in our Top Story which is charged with turning things around. Has VW got it right? Write in to tell me what you think.

WHILE we are on the subject of turning the tide, can Ford’s new Galaxy really stop the decline of the market sector it helped to create? To find out, we pitched the full-sized, seven-seater MPV against the Renault Grand Espace and Chrysler Grand Voyager. How did it fare? Read our group test from Page 50.

LET’S hear it for the residents of Stonecot Hill in Sutton! With their livelihoods under threat from overzealous parking attendants, local businessmen and women have created a system to protect their customers – who were being driven from the area. Their innovative fight against the local authorities is all too rare.