In all-electric mode, the VW Passat GTE moves off almost without a sound. The 1.4 liter gasoline engine remains off and the vehicle is powered by the electric battery alone. In electric mode, the car has a range of 50 kilometers according to VW.The GTE takes around 2.5 hours to charge up fully if you use a public charging station, or over four hours if you plug in to a normal household socket. Apart from fully electric mode, the GTE also offers the Battery Charge Mode. Here the car is powered by the gasoline engine which charges the electric battery at the same time - useful for longer trips, especially on the freeway. That's the theory at least, Drive it! puts the GTE to the test to find out how it fares in practice.

It's proved to be the ultimate bestseller: the Opel Corsa has been on sale for 34 years. In that time, four generations of the Corsa have come and gone, with over 12.4 million vehicles sold. The fifth generation is now on the market. We test out a 1.4 liter gasoline Corsa, boasting 74 kilowatts of power.The car is available both in a sporty 3-door version or the more practical 5-door model for everyday use. Both have an identical length of 4.02 meters. So our car tester wants to know if the cargo space is sufficient in the 5-door version, and decides to climb into the trunk himself. He's 1 meter 80 tall, but finds he's not disappointed.

Introduced in 1948, the 356 was the first car to bear the Porsche name. Before then Ferdinand Porsche had developed vehicles for other brands at the design and engineering firm he'd founded in 1931. But the 356 was actually the brainchild of his son Ferry Porsche.The VW Beetle formed the basis for the 356, which underwent constant improvements during the 17 years it remained in production. We take a 1960 Super 90 convertible out for a spin. It features a 1.6-liter engine which generates 90 horsepower -- more than twice as much as the first 356 models.

Traditionally, the Geneva International Motor Show is the year's first automobile fair in Europe.Dating back to 1905, it's held annually during the first two weeks of March. Last year, it attracted more than 680,000 visitors, making it one of the world's biggest car shows. This year, fair-goers can look forward to over 120 premieres. Approximately 200 exhibitors from 30 different countries are showcasing their latest innovations. Drive it! had a look around.

Last year, Nissan launched the compact Pulsar, a new five-door hatchback.We test the Tekna equipment line with a gasoline-powered engine and an output of 140 kilowatts. This model costs almost 27,000 euros in Germany and offers a range of technological features, including a 360-degree display that helps when backing into a parking place, a lane-departure warning and blind spot warning system. The most basic model of the Pulsar starts at 18,000 euros and targets young car buyers.

This bus has cult status, even though the VW T1 Samba was considered a simple workhorse when it hit the streets.Nowadays, this bus can fetch six-figure sums. In 1946, a makeshift factory parts mover inspired the Dutch VW importer Ben Pon to make a sketch of a transporter based on the Beetle chassis. He showed it to the VW bosses in Wolfsburg, and the VW Bus was born. Johanna Niederer is lucky enough to own a fully restored T1 Samba Bus from 1967. We join her for a ride.

Drive it! examines this year's automotive trends and has a look around the Geneva International Motor Show.Examine it! Geneva International Motor Show 2016Traditionally, the Geneva International Motor Show is the year's first automobile fair in Europe.Dating back to 1905, it's held annually during the first two weeks of March. Last year, it attracted more than 680,000 visitors, making it one of the world's biggest car shows. This year, fair-goers can look forward to over 120 premieres. Approximately 200 exhibitors from 30 different countries are showcasing their latest innovations. Drive it! had a look around.Taste it! Opel Adam RocksOpel has developed a crossover model of the Opel Adam city car series.The three door compact comes with a swing top canvas roof and protective cladding, lending it a robust outdoor-look. It boasts a 1.0 ECOTEC direct-injection turbo-charged engine. The crossover comes in two versions with a 66-kW engine or an 85 kW engine. We take the more powerful version for a spin. It comes with a 6-speed manual transmission. Our car tester is delighted by the car's sporty feel.Test it! Nissan PulsarLast year, Nissan launched the compact Pulsar, a new five-door hatchback.We test the Tekna equipment line with a gasoline-powered engine and an output of 140 kilowatts. This model costs almost 27,000 euros in Germany and offers a range of technological features, including a 360-degree display that helps when backing into a parking place, a lane-departure warning and blind spot warning system. The most basic model of the Pulsar starts at 18,000 euros and targets young car buyers.Vintage: VW T1 Samba BusThis bus has cult status, even though the VW T1 Samba was considered a simple workhorse when it hit the streets.Nowadays, this bus can fetch six-figure sums. In 1946, a makeshift factory parts mover inspired the Dutch VW importer Ben Pon to make a sketch of a transporter based on the Beetle chassis. He showed it to the VW bosses in Wolfsburg, and the VW Bus was born. Johanna Niederer is lucky enough to own a fully restored T1 Samba Bus from 1967. We join her for a ride.

Drive It! presents VW and Porsche models for around town and discovers some very exotic sets of wheels - from yesteryear and today.Present it! VW TiguanVolkswagen is launching the second generation of the Tiguan. Among the highlights is the latest edition of "4MOTION Active Control" for even better traction.The "Snow" mode is said to deliver increased safety and stability both on straight roads and when maneuvering curves. Drive It! put a 2-liter 132 kW version of the all-wheeler with 7-speed dual-clutch transmission through its paces on an ice lake in northern Sweden. Test it! Lada Kalina WagonThe Kalina is intended to give Lada a foothold in the European market. It’s certainly making an impact on the price front. It’s available as a hatchback version for under €7,000 on the German market.Drive It! checks out the wagon edition and examines whether the Kalina at least covers consumers' basic mobility needs, or whether the initial joy over the low purchase price is rapidly replaced by the sober realization that you actually wanted more. We find it’s like driving in the late 1990s.Taste it! Porsche Cayman GTSThere are over 50 Porsche models out there. This time we look at the closed-top, cute little Cayman - specifically, the GTS version. It has 250 kW of output and reaches a top speed in excess of 280 km/h.All GTS models boast excellent handling - thanks in no small part to standard-fitted adaptive damping, and a body lowered by 10 mm. The PASM button on the center console enables the driver to choose between the "Normal” and "Sport” programs. The optional Porsche Torque Vectoring (PTV) further enhances steering and agility around bends.Examine It!: Safety - new crash-test methods for compact carsIn a head-on collision, enormous forces are brought to bear on both passengers and cargo, even at low speeds. Now the German Automobile Club ADAC is trying out new testing methods to see how various passenger cars behave in accidents.Rather than slam two cars into one another head-on, the test car is driven into a moving aluminum block. The damage done to the block can then be analyzed to shed light on how the test vehicle's passive safety features absorb the energy of the impact. Even if state-of-the-art assistance systems help to keep collisions from ever occurring, there is still much room for improvement in terms of passive safety. The tests reveal huge differences between the cars. Vintage: the Rometsch BeeskowThe Rometsch Beeskow was a stroke of design genius. At one time, it was common practice to buy just a driveable chassis from a car maker and then have the body custom-made by a coachbuilder - such as the Friedrich Rometsch Co. which was founded in 1924 in Berlin.Here, after the Second World War, the designer Johannes Beeskow was tinkering with a soon-to-be-junked VW Beetle and came up with a special body fitted to the Beetle chassis. The company head was so impressed that he took it into volume production. Soon, the design was a worldwide hit. Even so, just seven years and 280 hand-made special models later, Beeskow closed up shop. Drive It! tells this very one-of-a-kind story.

Volkswagen is launching the second generation of the Tiguan. Among the highlights is the latest edition of "4MOTION Active Control" for even better traction.The "Snow" mode is said to deliver increased safety and stability both on straight roads and when maneuvering curves. Drive It! put a 2-liter 132 kW version of the all-wheeler with 7-speed dual-clutch transmission through its paces on an ice lake in northern Sweden.

The Kalina is intended to give Lada a foothold in the European market. It’s certainly making an impact on the price front. It’s available as a hatchback version for under €7,000 on the German market.Drive It! checks out the wagon edition and examines whether the Kalina at least covers consumers' basic mobility needs, or whether the initial joy over the low purchase price is rapidly replaced by the sober realization that you actually wanted more. We find it’s like driving in the late 1990s.