[N8ENS]

Funnily enough, I was thinking to myself only the other week how uneventful Touareg ownership has been for the last six months (nothing to post about!) when - mere days later - the Workshop Running Gear Fault and ESP light flashed up on the dashboard. Dropped into Lakeside VW yesterday who diagnosed a G85 Steering Angle Sensor Fault. ?90 for the first hours diagnostic quoted when I booked it in and a further ?270 quoted during the afternoon for the part and labour (part would have to be ordered in for delivery today). As it was staying at the dealership overnight I decided to join the 21st century and had the Apple iPod connection fitted as well (?103).

Picked the car up this afternoon (washed and ready) and the all-in bill was ?438 in the end (?25 under expectation). Service was efficient and courteous, problem fully fixed. In light of growing despair at the (government driven) increased cost of car ownership, the whole experience was really quite gratifying.

Even impressed with the iPod connection (had mine wired into the cubby box on the top of the dashboard rather than the glovebox as its a bit nearer). I know people have critiscised the VW kit for being a bit basic but a). its a very neat install (although they've given me much more lead length than I need) and

. its very easy to use (CD 1 is playlist 1, CD 2 is playlist 2 etc. and CD 6 is the whole library) with a very good sound quality and tracks can be scanned backwards / forwards on the steering wheel whilst there is also a scan / mix option. It doesn't display track names but hey, I can live with that!