Up close and personal with Rainer Zietlow - an adventurer with a passion

Most people may not know who Rainer Zietlow (RZ) is but he is the man who has just set a new road rally world record by driving the Volkswagen Touareg TDI Clean Diesel SUV from Melbourne, Australia to St. Petersburg, Russia in just 17 days and 18 hours. And mind you, this isn't the first record Rainer has set.

The adventurer and off-road driver was present at the Volkswagen TDI media event. To learn more about his adventures with the Volkswagen Touareg TDI, we had a quick chat with Rainer. The 42 year-old Volkswagen fan tells us just what he thinks of the SUV, starting with the drive at the start of his expedition.

SGCM: What was the longest you have driven on this Touareg without any breaks or stops?

RZ: I did 16 hours straight once but it's really not healthy. Theoretically, we should switch drivers every 5 hours but I always end up driving for 8 hours.

SGCM: For the period of 17 days and 18 hours, you went through different road and weather conditions. Were there any problems with the Touareg, other than the leak caused by a screw, that made you feel like it couldn't handle the situation?

RZ: Not at all. We went through a lot of mud and rain when we were in Laos and I thought if the big trucks could do it, then the Touareg could too. We also went to the desert when we were in Kazakhstan and the Touareg was great. With so much torque available from the SUV, it could handle all the sand easily.

SGCM: So why Volkswagen? Why not, say, the BMW X5 or the Porsche Cayenne?

RZ: I've been using Volkswagen cars since 2005 when we set the previous record. They support me and I support them too. Since I travel without any spare parts or mechanics and engineers, I only trust Volkswagen as it's a very reliable brand. In fact, it's the only brand that I know can do such an expedition without having any problems!

SGCM: When will your next record be and will it be with the Touareg again?

RZ: There are a lot of different people out there who have set a lot of different records with cars and it's not easy to beat their records. But yes, so long as Volkswagen continues to support me, I'll definitely work on the next one. And yes, it'll definitely be with a Touareg!