Why am I never happy...?

[DavidT]

SL55 is smooth & refined in car terms.

What do you actually want to do with the car i.e. what type of driving ?

[dom888]

What do I want? Not much really: super fast off the lights, a sense of occasion, rare, well built, reliable, inexpensive to maintain, great handling but with a huge safety net and depreciation proof.

I live in London and drive seldom, so I want something that makes me creep into the garage late at night to look at and smile......

[DavidT]

I fold

[Dom81]

I fold

Brave attempt though...

[audijohn]

thanks guys. would an sl55 be a bad choice....?

Dung pile avoid, unreliable too.

[scoobyc]

What do I want? Not much really: super fast off the lights, a sense of occasion, rare, well built, reliable, inexpensive to maintain, great handling but with a huge safety net and depreciation proof.

I live in London and drive seldom, so I want something that makes me creep into the garage late at night to look at and smile......

why not 50mpg too just to make it a challenge
i'll reply to pm later tonoght when i get a chance, cheers sc.

[t_urbo]

maybe its the usable power that either makes it actually faster (imho) or makes it feel faster? eg autocar times 0-100 = 9.4 tt and 10.5 rs4 eg a second different as mentioned but i think thats a fairly big difference over that speed (eg 997tt/430 mentioned as different league but it makes 0-100 in 8ish and 9.0 "only" just over a second quicker) . But if you take in gear times eg 5th for give and take roads 70-90 3.7 tt and 4.7 rs4, 80-100 4.0 tt and 4.9 rs4 that in my opinion is a fairly noticable difference (especially as percentages) and it felt it when comparing the cars. not trying to say that these will feel quick after a bike but to me an rs4 is in a similar league to a c2s, m3 etc and then the next level up is tt and then the next level above that is, as mentioned 997tt,gtr,etc. but just my 2p's worth

Your right there is no comparison with in gear times, the tt's torque comes into its own in that department.

[hairyaardvark]

Re. your initial comment about swapping your RS4 for a Lotus Exige S - don't do it!!
I actually sold my brand new Exige S after only 6 months ownership, in order to buy my current RS4.......

Although i miss the sheer head-turning beauty and pin-sharp handling (in the dry only!) of the Exige, overall it was the best car decision I've ever made. The Lotus always felt over-priced, was extremely badly put together, rattled (more than expected), leaked (much more than expected for an '07 car, even after numerous trips to the dealer), clanked (dodgy front suspension arms), shook and wobbled (dodgy rear clamshell design which needed changing), had a terrible plastic interior (despite me paying 2K extra for Super Touring pack). Bits were constantly snapping off it or malfunctioning in some way. Standard brakes were rubbish for trackdays (and not great on the road) so I had to shell out a further couple of grand on proper AP Racing calipers before I had any confidence in them. Add that to the fact that the car is simply dangerous to drive in the wet on the semi-slick Yokohamas, and lost all decent handling on the Snowsport tires offered as a winter substitute.

I was truly gutted - had wanted a Lotus for about 10 years and finally made the dream come true by dropping 43K on a specced-up Exige - only to find that it was put together by blind men, mostly out of plastic. Oh, and the standard soundtrack (before I upgraded the exhaust) was pretty tame for a sportscar too.

The RS4 was a true breath of fresh air !! (although it is also too quiet in standard form)

[P_G]

Get your name on the list for a Nissan GTR and keep the RS until then

[hairyaardvark]

!!! You've rumbled my plan too ;0)

[audijohn]

Get your name on the list for a Nissan GTR and keep the RS until then

Yes thats a great idea. Lotus is up the road from me; Old girls in hair nets put them together that's why they fall apart