(My best experience during this test was when Friar in his Panzer could see me in my T34 and I could see him - us all being at 12 o'clock - and we just confirmed all that stuff over TS ... and then I hit him with a 76mm APHE shell - in the face!)
Can I switch sides please?
In the end, and in short, I think the real thing out of all this: Whilst in VR, driving the tank from either driver or commander position, make sure you have the turret control off.
Just to see stuff that may be hidden.
There is something similar going on with TIR, although not that serious: On externals (f2) I could not use TIR to look around when I was in control of the turret. Pressing T where the gun automatically rotates back to 12 position, I could look around just fine.
In the end, when in VR, do not be surprised when my PIII is being you completely unseen and dinging your paint with its puny gun! Be prepared to be blindly deafened!