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

[Frank Stadmeyer]

Yep, the A3 was as disappointing as the RS4 was fun!  My regular car  
for those of you not keeping up is an R32, so I was antsy to drive  
the A3 3.2 as well as try out DSG.  The added incentive was that my R  
has been in the shop for a week to fix up some minor bodywork and the  
dealer gave me a 2006 Passat 2.0T with Tiptronic.  I hated the  
Tiptronic so I was really hoping the DSG would be fun.

Wrong, wrong, wrong!
I frankly couldn't tell the difference. I drove the Tiptronic A3 (for  
sure) and the DSG one (maybe ?) and neither of them was keeping up to  
the task at hand.  And as Paul said they should have been out on the  
North 40 they plowed so badly.
I enjoyed the A8 4.2 much more.

As for the RS4, I tried the smoother is faster approach and my first  
run was a low 30 (I didn't have the benefit of the demented cheering  
section in the back seat that the others did).  I jumped in with Bob  
and Mike to snag a second set of runs and I'll have to admit that  
VIOLENT Bob and MANIAC Mike were faster. I sort of forgot the point  
for the first 20ft. then I nailed it but I only got a 29 something.  
So INSANITY is good for something.


Frank



On May 1, 2006, at 1:55 PM, <pkrasusky at ups.com> <pkrasusky at ups.com>  
wrote:

>
> D'oh my bad on #'s, leave it to you to remember them all verbatim.
> Nerd.
>
> For reference one of the Audi Seefield Experience or whatever
> instructors whipped off a high 24 as we departed.  We were satisfied.
>
> Double d'oh!!!  I left out <<<THE>>> funniest quote of the event!!!!!
>
> I'm backseat to the Sergathon RS4 carnage, and coming out of the tight
> 180'er Serge somehow invokes the Voice Recognition Chic in the system.
> She comes on as he's sawing away @ the wheel.  I start answering her
> from the back with "beat me harder" "FASTER" or something akinly  
> stupid.
> She keeps replying back "SORRY" "SORRY" "SORRY".
>
> Now while that's funny, we're nearing the end of the run, and she then
> resorts to - kid you not - "HELP" "HELP" "HELP".  Bwhahahahaaa.
>
> I can not make this stuff up.
>
> And threatening to jump the Q7 off that trailer stunt ramp during our
> lap around the Belmont Downs facility was humorous as well, that poor
> guide had to have thought I was serious at least for a moment.
>
> Amen to your comments Bob.  Baloney emailed me best with "sounds to me
> like they have left the r8 r10 engineering at the track and only bring
> the Rzero to the masses?"
>
> Frank was quite funny when we met up with him afterward asking his
> thoughts on A3:  "well, it, sucked".  Yup.  Which was even more
> hilarious as the dork that guided us in the Q7 said he "didn't own and
> Audi but someday aspired to likely get an A3".  Upon our guided return
> we were ripping that POS to shreds - he had to be slinking in his  
> seat.
>
> -Paul
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Robert Rossato [mailto:r0ssat0_987 at att.net]
> Sent: Monday, May 01, 2006 1:22 PM
> To: Krasusky Paul (WQQ2PXK); s-car-list at audifans.com
> Cc: wmahoney at disk.com; mplatt911 at yahoo.com; s6serge at verizon.net
> Subject: Re: [s-cars] Audi "Streets of Tomorrow Ride and Drive", or...
>
>> 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
> _______________________________________________
> S-CAR-List mailing list
> S-CAR-List at audifans.com
> http://www.audifans.com/mailman/listinfo/s-car-list