Volkswagen T-Cross

[Inkriql]

From Villa La Angostura (Neuquén) - “Mom, why do so many new cars go there?” I hear a girl asking at a crossroads in Villa La Angostura. He is watching us go by caravan at six T-Cross that Volkswagen Argentina brought to Neuquén, for the press to drive for two days. I smile I would like to answer that we are a privileged group, which acts as the ideal consumer: we can try a product in detail and free before buying it.

My designated companion gives me the flyer between Bariloche Airport and the Villa. I accommodate mirrors, I scan the important commands at full speed and I advance the seat a lot, as my chiropractic recommended, so as not to have my arms and neck in tension. I'm going to give this urban SUV some air and curves of the mythical Route 40. And myself, a couple of days out of the AlterEdu routine.

The changing forecast of the mountains indicates rain and some snow ... in November! This was one of the best seasons for skiing in the area, although no one has planned a colossal collapse, which cut Route 40 and isolated La Angostura during the best days for tourism. The road is already clear, but when we go through kilometer 2,094, we get to see the road employees, climbed with climbing equipment, sewing the imposing stone wall with mesh.

My road companion is the journalist Patricia Osuna Gutiérrez, of the newspaper La Nación. Pato was born in Colombia, but he takes and primes mate like the Argentine that he is, with more than twenty years of residence in our country. I reject several bitter people because of the winding road and because, close to arriving, it rains a long time. Between the slowdown and the tireless talk - necessary to enter into confidence - I lost the guide of the caravan, who was traveling in an Amarok V6. I continued long at a crossroads and got lost. Behind me, all the journalists who followed me were also lost. I'm just a substitute for C.C., I hope you forgive me.

Already rerouted, we cross a cypress tree of the Cordillera and follow a wet footprint to the place where we will have lunch. “El Santuario” is one of the few well-preserved houses that remain among those built by Alejandro Bustillo in the 1940s. It even has the original furniture of the first owners, an Italian count and his wife Gainza Paz. It has 11 rooms, an added playroom and even a tambo, which respects the typical robust picturesque style, which is the hallmark of the Bustillo brothers.

Only two days have passed since the presidential elections and the political conversation is there, in full bloom. The general manager of VW Argentina, Martín Massimino, is in the header. As a host, he does not want to ruin anyone's food, so he is optimistic and reminds us that “Argentina is very easy both in retraction and reactivation dynamics” and that perhaps some measures will ensure that Argentines continue to buy cars, as a safeguard of value before inflation. However, after dessert, some of the period weather revives when the guide that shows us the house remembers the expropriations that Perón made in this area of Patagonia. But we all forget politics when the guide throws a piece of information that we will always remember: the famous monster “Nahuelito”, by Nahuel Huapi, was actually a row of native otters chasing a female in heat on the surface of the lake.

After a break, the rainy night grabs us in a bar where the attraction is the band of a singer with a hat, who shares the microphone in one of the choruses. An hour later, I discover that it was Martín Zorreguieta, the brother of the Queen Máxima de Holanda, who has one of the best restaurants in La Angostura. Too late to tell him that he had interviewed a good part of his family in 1999 for Ámbito Financiero, the newspaper that I remember with love because he taught me the journalism of Writing and gave me a husband.

This trip was planned in winter, to enjoy the benefits of Cerro Bayo, the ski center of the Villa, flirtatious and familiar. But the collapse did not allow it. We also went there, where the T-Cross and Amarok V6 were still on display. There is a lot of snow on the summit, but instead of skiing, they invite us on a snowshoe hike at level 1400, going up to the side of Las Provinciales. It is a splendid day that makes journalists and locals happy, coming from a difficult season. After lunch, some of us continue with the risky sports and throw ourselves on tubbing slides. I loose laughter of childish joy and nerves as I did years ago. Losing control - when you're not behind the wheel - can be a revitalizing experience.

The T-Cross is the safest automotive premiere in its segment, with five LatinNCAP stars, so I relax. I remember that spring snow can be treacherous, melting as fast as it arrives. We do the last test drive of the day towards the Cardinal Samoré Pass, looking for the Rincon Arm, along a narrow road of cane colihue, which sounds the parking sensors. The crossing by wet gravel and traces of ash does not scare me. I know that it does not even reach the ankles to the mud of black earth that I know well, in the Salado Basin. Now we add a Chilean colleague on board and the conversation about Latin American politics and food prevails.

At this point I must confess: I am not an SUV girl. I like big men; The cars, compact. In addition, my suburban life, ecological awareness and my small family do not require me anymore. But I must recognize that on the route these SUVs flaunt all their advantages, with a good driving position and a lot of legroom in the back seat. Only in some mountain sections I would like to feel a little extra power. But that's what C.C. here.