[s-cars] Audi "Streets of Tomorrow Ride and Drive", or...

[Robert Rossato]

> The RS4?  
> 
> It was 'ok', tho I'm guessing I'd like it more on a more open road
> course or out on the open road.  I got my best time of 25 and change
> keeping it in 1st and bouncing the limiter nearly the entire run.
> Upshifting to 2nd got me into a 28.  That was kinda funny as Bob got in
> for our first run and asked the guy what the better times were so far
> and what his own time was, he was high 28's - Bob proceeds to come in
> cold off the street and hit a low 28 with 4 in the car giving us quite
> the chuckle, then I click off a low 25.  

I'll give you FTD for the group, but my times were slightly better than that.  My 1st run was a 27.4s.  Mikey had what I felt was a faster time, but the timing equipment had a brain fart and it showed a 1m56sec run.  You had a 25.7s run.  My second run was a 26.2 and Mike's was a 26.6.

Overall I loved the feel of the RS4.  Shifter is best I've experienced in an Audi.  It would've been interesting to see how it handled on the longer, faster course on the other side of the parking lot, but I think we would have scared them to the point of being evicted.

Driving the A6 4.2 and the A3 3.2 reaffirmed that I don't ever, ever, ever want to own a car with an automatic transmission.  According to the Audi USA website the A3 3.2 only comes in DSG format.  If that was truly DSG, then I am very disappointed.  Not something that could be driven quickly using the shifter in "manual" mode.  Maybe it was just my unfamiliarity with trying to use the paddle shifters but I just couldn't get a rhythm with it.  Granted things happen much more quickly in an autocross course versus spirited street driving.

And the A3 plowed horribly.  Unsafely so in my opinion.  And these have the sport suspension as standard.  Completely disappointing.  I wanted nothing to do with that car after that drive.  The A6 4.2 handled much better than the A3, though the bogging that occurred when trying to exit a slow corner spoiled what could've been an otherwise good car.

bob