Tiptronic

["Graydon D. Stuckey" <graydon@apollo.kettering.edu>]

Guys,

	I had another drive in an A4 today.  This one has the 2.8 5V V6 
with Tiptronic.   This drive really confirmed my opinion that the 
Tiptronic is basically useless.   I thought that way when I first drove it 
in the A8 three years ago, and I still feel that way.   It does nothing 
to improve car control and it does nothing for shift speed or outright 
vehicle acceleration.  As a matter of fact, it detracts from the driving 
experience.   Since the auto mode shifts just as well, I found it 
more trouble to shift manually.   As far as manual shifting goes, the 
Tiptronic is about as satisfying as a backhoe.

	Obviously, the Tiptronic is just a marketing ploy to attract 
drivers who really want manuals, but have other influences requiring them 
to buy autoboxes.

	OTOH, the 1.8t of Brendan's is really nice to drive.  I think 
that a V6 TT with a 5-sp would be great fun.  Gotta get me one of those...

Later,--------------------------- -   -   -   -
Graydon D. Stuckey		 / \ / \ / \ / \
graydon@apollo.kettering.edu	|Mr. Muffler... |
810 733 0255			 \ / \ / \ / \ /
--------------------------------- -   -   -   -