Ok, so who ate or the sarnies?!
But anyways, many thanks to Stafford Audi for hosting this, apart from the hiccup of not allowing the under 25s to drive, which was rectified later in the day, the day went by pretty smoothly, most of us got to drive the cars we wanted I think? Their workshop is very clean and big, and the whole dealership was much larger than I had imagined.
The S1 was the one I was most interested in, the weight, power level and Haldex 4wd meant it was the spiritual successor to the original 8L S3! So what happens next is a bit mind blowing, it's the on,y manual car there, and it's a hoot! It's not as fast as the rest of the cars available on paper, but out on the road, this thing is amazing! It's just a better car, out the box, than the original S3 in each and every way! It felt quicker, more planted, had better steering and a dirty front end! I don't mind admitting I WANT one!, that's how good I felt it was!
I also had drives in the SQ5 and S8, and was a passenger in the RS4 and RS7.
Passenger rides in the RS4 and RS7, the RS4 I've driven in the past already, a very capable machine, goes really well and makes amazing exhaust noises, due to it being an n/a V8! The RS7 is on totally different level though I terms of performance! I don't think it can out handle an RS4, but in a straight line, it just a hot rod! Effortless performance from that turbocharged 4.0 V8, it's an amazing machine!
A drive in the SQ5, you sit very high up in this one, so you don't expect it to be a rocket ship, but once on the move, this is a very smooth machine, it has great mid range torque, you wouldn't know it's a diesel under the bonnet, so refined it is. It doesn't even sound like a diesel, but it did have an on board engine sound synthesiser, which may have added to the effect? An impressive machine all the same, but not something I'd buy personally.
The S8, the biggest car there, and you'd think it's going to be quick, but NOT that quick, as it's an S car, and not an RS, right? Wrong, it's simply amazing! This thing is even quicker on the move than an RS6/7, and it does it eerily in total silence, it so laid back, you don't know where it gets it's power from? I did a standing start with launch control in this car, and all I can say is WOW, totally blown away, how does it even do it?
To cap it off, it was a great day out, and it was good to catch up with the ASN members, new and old! A great experience, and a great gauge for future events for bot Audi and us enthusiasts!
I mustn't forget to thank our very own Sandra for arranging it all, the hard work she's put in and even sorting out the under 25s issue on the day!
