Decisions, decisions

[John Cassidy/Sallyann Mulcahy]

Scott,

I have a '90 CQ that my wife drives.  My daily driver is a '91 200q. I've
had an '80 5kt, 84 4kq, and an '87 5kqa.  By far my favorite for any kind of
drive other than rally type winter mountain driving (that would be the 4k)
is the '91 200q.  I could put 1000 miles per week every week on the car and
be delighted.  Easy to drive very fast, excellent handling especially with a
Bilsteen/Eibach setup and 16" wheels, dependable, and very comfortable.  It
even gets decent gas mileage. The tonage becomes a non issue quickly.
Decent, well maintaned cars are now in the $7-10,000 range.

On the other hand, the '90 CQ is a major disappointment to me.  I've been a
UR-Q fan since '83, and when the new CQ was released, the drooling started.
We've owned it for 5 years now, and my wife loves it.  The seats are very
comfortable if you are under 5'10" (I'm 6'4").  It wallows through the
twistys with tendency to push early on, and lots of body roll, and non
existant power on exit.  It doesn't get quite as good mileage as the 200,
even though it's smaller, lighter, and aerodynamically more slippery.  It's
difficult to upgrade the tinny stereo that doesn't compete with the one in
an Impressa.  It has the lowest mileage (100kmi.) of the 6 Audis I've owned,
and it's the only one that burns oil.

The Coupe does have it's good points.  It's been reliable, and less
expensive to maintain than the turbos.  It always gets compliments.  Pearl
white looks better on it than any other Audi.  It's really a small station
wagon:  It can swallow a Cosco shoping spree through the hatch.

I don't think I'd want to put the kind of mileage your talking about on a
ur-q.  They are still very high on my my favorite Audi list, but you have to
figure in age and saftey issues. I'd own one for a weekend warrior toy.

You're obviously not a sedan guy.  I never thought I'd be either.  My first
Audi, the '80 5000t changed  that.  But you really ought to look into a '91
200q.  They are super easy to upgrade (400hp enough?), will go the distance,
are very safe, comfortable and economical.  Maintenance is on the high side,
and so is insurance, but I just compare the cost per mile figuring in
depreciation against other cars you could buy for the same money, such as a
3 year old Taurus, or a new Kia.

On the other hand, if you can afford a ttq, buy it!

Just my 2 cents,

John Cassidy