The brief
The Sharan, a big family MPV that carries weight, had developed a clear clunk over rough roads, the handling had gone vague on motorway runs, and the inside edges of the front tyres were starting to feather. That's the front geometry no longer being held where it should be.
The front subframe is the cradle that carries the engine and the front suspension, and it bolts to the body through rubber bushings that locate it precisely. When those bushings sag and the rubber starts parting from its sleeve, the subframe can shift under load. That movement is the clunk over bumps, the vague feel as the steering geometry wanders, and uneven tyre wear because the wheels aren't sitting at the angles they're set to.
The diagnosis
A pry-test on the front confirmed it: the subframe bushings on one side were deflecting visibly and the rubber had started separating from the inner sleeve. The bushings on the other side were still within service spec.
So this was a one-side bushing replacement, with a four-wheel alignment after to reset the geometry, since dropping the subframe moves everything and it all has to come back to spec.
The work
The engine was supported, the front subframe dropped enough to reach the bush seats, and the failed bushings pressed out. Fresh VAG-spec bushings were pressed in to the correct depth, the subframe bolted back up with new bolts torqued to spec, and the car rolled onto the alignment rig for a four-wheel set-up.
A road test confirmed the clunk was gone and the steering had firmed back up.
The outcome
Clunk gone, motorway handling tightened up, and the alignment back in spec, so the front tyres will wear evenly again.
The Sharan went home tracking properly. Subframe bushings carry the whole front end, and once they start letting go the handling drifts and the tyres pay for it, so pressing in fresh ones and resetting the alignment put it all back where it should be.