My A3 1.4COD went in for its first oil service yesterday (£159 all in) and before I had the courtesy car the salesman who sold me my TT and A3 asked if I'd like ti try out a few demo models! The answer was of course yes before asking the question which models? Unfortunately the new R8 is not out yet (he goes over to Munich for training in a few weeks) so I'll have to wait until later in the year for that.
A3 eTron
First up was the A3 eTron which had intrigued me for some time. But I was underwhelmed. It was fully charged and showed 24 miles on the gauge. It was eery pulling away silently with only electric power but once reaching normal speeds the tyre and wind noise took over and to be honest it wasn't much quieter than my 1.4COD. I could also feel the extra weight over the front wheels. Within no time at all it was down to a 9 mile range but after some braking on Haldon Hill it increased to 10 miles! And can you believe that Audi seemed to have forgotten to find somewhere to store the cables - they are left to fly around in the boot. So an interesting car but not one I would even consider (but then I don't need a car to beat the London Congestion Charge). Only a restricted number of Audi dealers have them and my dealer has 25 to sell and so far has shifted 13. But at £35K (less the £5K Govt Grant which Audi no doubt added on to the price) it seems a tad too expensive!
RS3
Next was the RS3 and what a car! From the moment I pressed the start button and the exhaust barked into life it was an exhilarating experience. The acceleration is vicious and quite amazing. I haven't driven a car with such instant power at any speed for a long time. It felt totally secure and planted irrespective of the speed I was travelling. And my wife loved it - she said the noise was intoxicating. It was a really special experience but at £50K I'd have to sell the TT, the A3 and add a chunk of money. A dream methinks.
TT Ultra Manual
Lastly we had a TT Coupe but manual and diesel - not my ideal combination. But it was very impressive - quiet with fantastic torque. But on the model we had I pressed the Nav Button and up came the message - "navigation is not fitted to this car" - a reminder forever that you made a mistake not specifying the Virtual Cockpit! And apparently it cannot be retrofitted unlike the A3/S3 with the SD card system. But there was nothing that made me want to swap my Mark 2 for it.
To round off a good day my wife hit a kerb on the way home so I'm now finding a solution to a damaged wheel. Oh well these things happen and it's only money.
A3 eTron
First up was the A3 eTron which had intrigued me for some time. But I was underwhelmed. It was fully charged and showed 24 miles on the gauge. It was eery pulling away silently with only electric power but once reaching normal speeds the tyre and wind noise took over and to be honest it wasn't much quieter than my 1.4COD. I could also feel the extra weight over the front wheels. Within no time at all it was down to a 9 mile range but after some braking on Haldon Hill it increased to 10 miles! And can you believe that Audi seemed to have forgotten to find somewhere to store the cables - they are left to fly around in the boot. So an interesting car but not one I would even consider (but then I don't need a car to beat the London Congestion Charge). Only a restricted number of Audi dealers have them and my dealer has 25 to sell and so far has shifted 13. But at £35K (less the £5K Govt Grant which Audi no doubt added on to the price) it seems a tad too expensive!
RS3
Next was the RS3 and what a car! From the moment I pressed the start button and the exhaust barked into life it was an exhilarating experience. The acceleration is vicious and quite amazing. I haven't driven a car with such instant power at any speed for a long time. It felt totally secure and planted irrespective of the speed I was travelling. And my wife loved it - she said the noise was intoxicating. It was a really special experience but at £50K I'd have to sell the TT, the A3 and add a chunk of money. A dream methinks.
TT Ultra Manual
Lastly we had a TT Coupe but manual and diesel - not my ideal combination. But it was very impressive - quiet with fantastic torque. But on the model we had I pressed the Nav Button and up came the message - "navigation is not fitted to this car" - a reminder forever that you made a mistake not specifying the Virtual Cockpit! And apparently it cannot be retrofitted unlike the A3/S3 with the SD card system. But there was nothing that made me want to swap my Mark 2 for it.
To round off a good day my wife hit a kerb on the way home so I'm now finding a solution to a damaged wheel. Oh well these things happen and it's only money.
