Re: Any more 1.8T Manual owner's reports?

[jeffw@smoe.org (Jeff Wasilko)]

Scott Stiles writes:
> Hey, I think you grumpy buggers drove-off the guy with
> the new 1.8T Manual. I'm expecting delivery on one
> in the latter part of May and I promise to make every
> effort to keep it away from "redline" in the early 
> stages:)

It would take more than the grumpy folks around here to scare me
away...

I haven't posted 'cause I've been out driving. (-:

Friday started out as a perfect Quattro day here in Boston. Snow,
sleet, freezing rain, more snow. The drive home was very
sure-footed and I was glad I had Quattro. I hooked up with 2
other Audis (one was a 90 20V quattro) and we owned the left lane (-:

On Saturday I drove to New Jersey (about 250 miles each way) and
really enjoyed the trip. It was my first occasion to spend any
quality time in the car since I had picked it up on Wednesday. 

Since I'm not a great reviewer, I'll simply list some comments:

o The car is extremely well put together. The interior reminds me
of much more expensive cars. The sport seats are perfect--they
are long enough to give good support to my legs and the bolsters
are tall enough to keep me stuck to the seat, but not so high as
to get in the way. The sport steering wheel is a work of art.

o In general, the controls/switchgear are a joy to operate. The
only exception is the radio, which I'll soon be replacing with my
Alpine head unit. The stock radio has too many buttons that are
the same shape & size, with little tactile reference. 
In practice, the auto climate control is easy to use--I'm suprised 
it recieved so many knocks in the reviews.

o While I'm still driving with kid gloves on, I love the way the
A4 handles. Mine came with Continental tires (rather than the
Goodyear that nobody seems to like), but I've not yet pushed hard
enough to find the limits of the tires. 

o The steering effort is light, but I always feel connected to
the road....

o In my first tankfull of highway driving, I saw 25mpg which isn't
bad. I'm sure it will improve as breakin continues.

Well, that's all I can think of right now....

-Jeff