Air-conditioning and climate control

Our air conditioning and climate control systems¹ ensure your journey is comfortable - whatever the weather outside.

Air conditioning and climate control systems keep a constant, ideal temperature inside your car, ensuring you stay cool and comfortable at all times.

The air conditioning system complements the heating and ventilation system in your car. It includes a cooling system, heating, humidity controller and blower unit and works just like the heat pump in a refrigerator. In simple terms, the air is directed through an evaporator, where it loses its heat to the refrigerant. The cooled and dried air is then blown into the cabin of your car. A compressor cools the refrigerant down to the required temperature.

For more information watch our air conditioning video

Environmentally friendly - no CFCs

All air conditioning systems in our cars are environmentally friendly and do not use refrigerants containing CFCs. Some, such as the one in the Golf, feature an externally regulated compressor with an evaporator temperature which can be regulated between 2 and 12 ?C. This ensures the air is not dehumidified any more than is necessary, reducing the amount of energy required, and therefore fuel consumption. A constant, ideal temperature in your car helps your concentration and reactions stay sharp, and also means your passengers enjoy a more pleasant journey. We offer both a semi-automatic 'Climatic' air conditioning system and 'Climatronic' automatic air conditioning in our cars.

Manual air conditioning

Manual air conditioning produces a pleasant, consistent temperature throughout your journey. It's extremely user-friendly, and achieves your required cabin temperature quickly and efficiently. You can decide the air distribution and blower speed you want and set it manually.

Climatronic automatic air conditioning

Climatronic regulates the temperature of the cabin based on the chosen temperature setting, adjusting the blower speed and operating the air distribution flaps automatically to ensure a pleasant interior climate in all conditions, with minimal draught as the air flows through the passenger compartment. The Climatronic system's electronic control monitors all the key factors, such as the position of the sun, the intensity of its rays and the outside temperature, and adds more or less cool air accordingly. Climatronic also includes a pushbutton defrost function to clear fogged or iced-up windscreens. This directs the full airflow onto the inside of the glass at the highest blower and heat output settings. If the outside temperature is above 0?C, the cooling system cuts in as well to dry the air before it is heated.

2-zone electronic air conditioning

The 2-zone system air conditioning system allows you to adjust the relevant climate settings to your desired areas within the car whilst travelling. 

3-zone "Pure Air Climatronic"

The 3-zone "Pure Air Climatronic" automatically ensures clean air and healthy air conditioning in the interior of the vehicle. An air quality sensor and an anti-allergenic filter keep the air quality at a constantly high level and prevent the intrusion of harmful substances, including fungal spores and allergens. Using the 3-zone climate control and the selectable climate profiles, all the passengers can choose their own individual feel-good climate settings. The "Gentle" climate profile is specifically designed to meet the needs of sensitive people and small children. Thanks to sun and humidity sensors, the optimum air conditioning and healthy air humidity is achieved, depending on the intensity and direction of the direct sunlight. This means that misted windows are also a thing of the past.

4-zone electronic air conditioning 

The 4-zone climate control is currently only available in the Touareg, and sets new standards for passenger comfort whilst travelling. The system offers 4-way control of the air conditioning system, meaning that passengers in the rear seats can tailor the temperature, blower intensity and direction of the air to their needs. This functionality can be controlled from the infotainment system.