first impressions after test drive
Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2012 10:54 am
Well I had 4 hour test drive yesterday in really crappy weather first impression was yes the white dose mute the curves and arches of the car and with the rotor alloys a first glance the car looks nothing special (would defiantly spec the V spoke alloys) after the drive I parked up next to my RS4 and it has a wide front end and a fat arse (sorry for the pic as it was raining heavily and in a dark car park) and in the right colour as ,many have already said it would show off the cars contours far more this I found was like my first impression of the B7 the pictures did not do it justice and is was far better in the flesh I did like the crease lines on the bonnet as it leads your eyes down to the wide grill and angry head lights so for me I do like the styling of the B8.
The interior was a typical Audi quality nicely finished and what I have came to expect from Audi interiors initially I was a bit put off by the silver buttons on the console but it dose lift a dark interior if you have black seats and head lining there was a rattle coming from the drivers door but a small niggle I would think it was a door seal or possibly the door needed to be adjusted slightly the sport seats while nice to me it’s a no brainer to get the buckets this for me going from the B5 to the B7 made you feel more connected to the car and I did feel when pushing the B8 I was moving in the seat very slightly so buckets for me are another must have
The ride control in comfort mode its great for around town soaks up the lumps and bumps of the city and coupled with the gearbox it is effortless around town.
Change into dynamic and a totally different animal very stiff on par with my set up which is standard DRC with H&R anti roll bars the steering how ever was very heavy at first heavier than my B7 but as you pushed the car you got the feel for the steering to be honest if I could spec the sport package with out the steering I would but I have not driven one with standard steering and I would think all the demos will have the dynamic steering fitted and if you spec the individual items in the sports package it works out around an extra £1875 just to leave out the dynamic steering so for me I would take the sports package as I would soon get used to the set up one thing I never tried was the individual setting were you can pick and choose the ride and handling of the car
The engine and gear box are great point and squirt and it puts a real smile on your face the exhaust note is nice but for some strange reason the sports exhaust was not on the demo car but it still was loud enough for you to hear the V8 burble and the blips on the down shift this made me smile it did feel marginally quicker but I would put that down to the gearbox I did a mixture of city and county roads and even with the crappy weather yesterday it felt like all RS4s planted in the wet and flat in the corners.
So for me it is a progression from the B7 with the gearbox and suspension (but I would need to press the car harder on dryer roads for a real feel for the setup) would I buy one well yes
The interior was a typical Audi quality nicely finished and what I have came to expect from Audi interiors initially I was a bit put off by the silver buttons on the console but it dose lift a dark interior if you have black seats and head lining there was a rattle coming from the drivers door but a small niggle I would think it was a door seal or possibly the door needed to be adjusted slightly the sport seats while nice to me it’s a no brainer to get the buckets this for me going from the B5 to the B7 made you feel more connected to the car and I did feel when pushing the B8 I was moving in the seat very slightly so buckets for me are another must have
The ride control in comfort mode its great for around town soaks up the lumps and bumps of the city and coupled with the gearbox it is effortless around town.
Change into dynamic and a totally different animal very stiff on par with my set up which is standard DRC with H&R anti roll bars the steering how ever was very heavy at first heavier than my B7 but as you pushed the car you got the feel for the steering to be honest if I could spec the sport package with out the steering I would but I have not driven one with standard steering and I would think all the demos will have the dynamic steering fitted and if you spec the individual items in the sports package it works out around an extra £1875 just to leave out the dynamic steering so for me I would take the sports package as I would soon get used to the set up one thing I never tried was the individual setting were you can pick and choose the ride and handling of the car
The engine and gear box are great point and squirt and it puts a real smile on your face the exhaust note is nice but for some strange reason the sports exhaust was not on the demo car but it still was loud enough for you to hear the V8 burble and the blips on the down shift this made me smile it did feel marginally quicker but I would put that down to the gearbox I did a mixture of city and county roads and even with the crappy weather yesterday it felt like all RS4s planted in the wet and flat in the corners.
So for me it is a progression from the B7 with the gearbox and suspension (but I would need to press the car harder on dryer roads for a real feel for the setup) would I buy one well yes
