NeXt Gen....
Good points/ bad points:
inside is nice, step up to a modern sleek look, is it better than the previous 8V.....I would have to say the materials are not as good, but the design is a step forward.
Outside the car, work of art....although I do prefer the s-line and above styling with the air vents on the bonnet...albiet fake ones!!!....the sides have beautiful angles in sun light, and the rear could have been better in my opinion...but overall the design is a step up for sure.......the reflections for the driver though really p$%s me off....why that silly shape was cut into the dash is beyond me...its like looking through a 50 pence coin!!!...silly shape that I can only assume is for the HUD...but if you have not got HUD then just leave the top of the dash smooth....makes me wonder if they ever went out and tested this car!!!
Driving the car is a much more relaxing, long journeys become shorter, wind noise at 70mph is quiet, even with 19" rims, so the smaller based rims should be even better, it`s also not bad at 105mph (so I am told!)...... gearbox on the manual is good, clutch peddle needs a workout, I guess all new cars need to be bedded in.....the only thing I found with the car is the safety systems do not really give me much faith in trusting them, for sure they work as they should, but this is level3 Auto driving....and these systems whilst useful, do not convince me that I am safe.....for the first 200 miles in this car I let the car more or less drive itself, on the motorway in did!...this made long journeys feel much more chilled...but after a few more 100 miles I started to `drive` the car myself....and this is where you feel what Audi have done, the car is much tighter, grip is amazing for a front wheel drive car, and the turbo is just about right in its punch....it is less aggressive than the 8V in the way the power curve climbs, it is more progressive on the 8Y....(ECU voltage changes can manipulate this)..... but just drop it down a gear and let the turbo kick it at 4k revs.....the thing can move.
Around town nice and smooth, no issues....parking is very easy....just one small change on design, the mirrors have been bought forward slightly, now this is fine, but it has a plus and minus, the plus is you can see more, that little gap by moving the mirror forward is a real help, downside I think you get more cabin noise from this placement....but like i said, plus and minus!
Overall this car has more plus than minus about it.....
So as carwow would say...should you buy it, shortlist it...etc.......Well I bought it, but my advise would be to shortlist it!!!.....simply because I think Audi as usual has dropped the ball in crucial areas, and the Golf, Seat and others in this bracket have more features for your money, and if you can live without the snobbery of an Audi badge, then they would be better options as they are virtually the same cars!!!!....
If I could describe the car in a few words it would be .....A beautiful women, with beautiful hair and in an amazing dress, ...wearing wellington boots.