i was looking at the air intake on my VRs and I have noticed that the way it is designed hot air could be drawn in from the engine bay.maybe there is a part missing?

anyway looking at the intake going from the filter box the air comes from a plastic plenum across the top of the radiator with two openings (front and rear) at the opposite end to the filter box. the rear most opening looks larger than the front.

can someone else have a look at theirs and let me know how it is set up,

 

 

 

 

Your air intake is exactly the same as mine, the rear/engine side opening being to allow excessive water to escape rather than just relying on the drain valve just prior to the air intake going into the air filter box housing.

Have you noticed the indented section on the right of the front of the housing, looks very removable with a dremmil but, wouldn't be wise in a wet climate such as the UK. Check some of the Mk7 Golf forums, I have seen in the past some guys on thier removing this indent to get more fresh/colder air into the air filter box.