It's not only Audi that builds soul crushingly boring cars..
Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2010 10:47 am
...Vokswagen does it too.
In a fit of sheer idiocy and total mental eclipse, after not extending a lease on my Maserati (warranty expired after 2 years) I got myself a Golf R. I have full access to a GT3 RS and my work contract is a bit iffy at the moment so I didn't want to get an expensive car. I really like the looks of the R and love the idea of an uber Golf. Despite the fact that I absolutely hated my RS4 and loath Audis in general (but maintain a professional interest in them) I got another VAG-ina group car.
What a mistake. I might as well have spent the money on blow and hookers... at least I would gave had some stories to tell the grand-kids. Here I basically burned the money in a pile.
Out goes one of the finest regular production 6 cylinder engines and in comes a polished turd of epic proportions. The car itself is quiet dull in a secure for a rubbish driver kind of way but it's the engine that ruins the show.
Not only it sounds terrible - like a Korean industrial vacuum cleaner, it has terrible lag and when the boost arrives... it's Bob Dole limp. Basically I have to anticipate in order to pull out in safe manner at busy intersections. The car bogs down unless you ride the clutch. The clutch action is loathsome too. One of the worst manuals I've driven in a while.
My city mileage? Between 17 and 19L/100kms where a BMW 130i did 14 at most. Downsized engines ONLY look good on paper. In real life they are utter turds. THERE IS NO REPLACEMENT FOR DISPLACEMENT. Look at the real world mileage the new 5.0 Mustang with 400hp+ gets... if only VAG was not run by closet Nazi accountants. Basically you get a bourgeois car with dull handling and a pretty banzai engine which you have to violate with that six speed <beep> in order not to feel like you bought a 1.2 TSI Golf. 3.6 VR6 would have been the PERFECT engine.
Meanwhile I could have bought a low mileage Alfa 147 GTA with THAT engine. I've tried one recently and it's like going from a Soviet Factory canteen to a 3 star Michelin restaurant. There was an aural orgy and my right foot was on the VIP list.
In a fit of sheer idiocy and total mental eclipse, after not extending a lease on my Maserati (warranty expired after 2 years) I got myself a Golf R. I have full access to a GT3 RS and my work contract is a bit iffy at the moment so I didn't want to get an expensive car. I really like the looks of the R and love the idea of an uber Golf. Despite the fact that I absolutely hated my RS4 and loath Audis in general (but maintain a professional interest in them) I got another VAG-ina group car.
What a mistake. I might as well have spent the money on blow and hookers... at least I would gave had some stories to tell the grand-kids. Here I basically burned the money in a pile.
Out goes one of the finest regular production 6 cylinder engines and in comes a polished turd of epic proportions. The car itself is quiet dull in a secure for a rubbish driver kind of way but it's the engine that ruins the show.
Not only it sounds terrible - like a Korean industrial vacuum cleaner, it has terrible lag and when the boost arrives... it's Bob Dole limp. Basically I have to anticipate in order to pull out in safe manner at busy intersections. The car bogs down unless you ride the clutch. The clutch action is loathsome too. One of the worst manuals I've driven in a while.
My city mileage? Between 17 and 19L/100kms where a BMW 130i did 14 at most. Downsized engines ONLY look good on paper. In real life they are utter turds. THERE IS NO REPLACEMENT FOR DISPLACEMENT. Look at the real world mileage the new 5.0 Mustang with 400hp+ gets... if only VAG was not run by closet Nazi accountants. Basically you get a bourgeois car with dull handling and a pretty banzai engine which you have to violate with that six speed <beep> in order not to feel like you bought a 1.2 TSI Golf. 3.6 VR6 would have been the PERFECT engine.
Meanwhile I could have bought a low mileage Alfa 147 GTA with THAT engine. I've tried one recently and it's like going from a Soviet Factory canteen to a 3 star Michelin restaurant. There was an aural orgy and my right foot was on the VIP list.
