swiv
Member
And a good morning to you all!
Wow. Yesterday my dealer/salesperson called me to ask me a really strange question. Well, sort of.
He wondered if I was willing to lend them my car for a day, in order for a new customer to get a feel of what a chiptuned A2 Tdi is like!
Not something I might easily consider if I owned my car privately. But being a leasecar and all, and understanding that I would have died for a similar experience before getting my own tuned, I decided to give them a chance...
But what a good bargain! Besides the fact that they'll give my car a good valet service (which it really really needed), they gave me a spanking brand new (1000 km) A3 Sportback, with the great 140 bhp 2.0 TDI. Better still: it's an Ambiente, so lovely 17" wheels, sport suspension, sport seats, dual zone climate and all. No xenon and no DSG however, but who cares. It's a dark dolphin grey, which must be my fav A3 colour!
So I drove this stunningly beautifuyl car (ok, it can't ever touch a Honda Accord Tourer
) to my work, all 55km of it. All kinds of traffic and of course my own route to work, so I know it very well.
First impressions:
- typically tasteful interior. Complete with the annoying rattle they all seem to inherit. Very good. I like the low seating position. Rear visibily is something I need to get used to.
- adequate space in the back and boot, but nothing to be really excited about. I find my A2 to be more comfortable when seated behind my own seat (which is set back quite a bit).
- engine: QUIET! Very smooth. Hardly sounds like diesel, let alone like the 3-cyl A2. Clutch works a treat, way better than my A2. Six gears are nice. Good range on all of them. Pulling power of this new diesel is impressive. And it comes in nice and soon, but the weight (about 1400 kg) and quiteness of the car leaves you longing for more sensation of speed. In fact, I think my own chipped tdi isn't that much slower if driven correctly.
One thing worried me a bit: I did a quick 'test' of it's sprinting capabilities and while pulling through the gears I definitely noticed a hesitation every time I switched up. Really strange, given the fact that this 16v + variable turbo geometry thing should give it great performance throughout the rev range. Maybe it's just too new...
All in all, this car is great, but I guess it is hardly noticed once on the road. And I find it way to expensive. Over 40.000 euro and still lacking xenon, rain sensor and good stereo (the Concert radio was 'boomy' at best).
Can't wait till the day is over. Then I can drive it back to the dealer! (yes, I do want my own A2 back, strange uh?)
Edo
--
(2003 Silver 1.4 Tdi Exclusive(SE), 95bhp/235Nm chiptuned by ABT, black interior, sport seats, heated mirrors, TomTom3 PDA Satnav, JVC KD-SH909RB cd-receiver, Infinity Kappa 63.1 + Vifa on-dash tweeters, 12" Subwoofer on 300w Amp)
Wow. Yesterday my dealer/salesperson called me to ask me a really strange question. Well, sort of.
He wondered if I was willing to lend them my car for a day, in order for a new customer to get a feel of what a chiptuned A2 Tdi is like!
Not something I might easily consider if I owned my car privately. But being a leasecar and all, and understanding that I would have died for a similar experience before getting my own tuned, I decided to give them a chance...
But what a good bargain! Besides the fact that they'll give my car a good valet service (which it really really needed), they gave me a spanking brand new (1000 km) A3 Sportback, with the great 140 bhp 2.0 TDI. Better still: it's an Ambiente, so lovely 17" wheels, sport suspension, sport seats, dual zone climate and all. No xenon and no DSG however, but who cares. It's a dark dolphin grey, which must be my fav A3 colour!
So I drove this stunningly beautifuyl car (ok, it can't ever touch a Honda Accord Tourer
) to my work, all 55km of it. All kinds of traffic and of course my own route to work, so I know it very well.First impressions:
- typically tasteful interior. Complete with the annoying rattle they all seem to inherit. Very good. I like the low seating position. Rear visibily is something I need to get used to.
- adequate space in the back and boot, but nothing to be really excited about. I find my A2 to be more comfortable when seated behind my own seat (which is set back quite a bit).
- engine: QUIET! Very smooth. Hardly sounds like diesel, let alone like the 3-cyl A2. Clutch works a treat, way better than my A2. Six gears are nice. Good range on all of them. Pulling power of this new diesel is impressive. And it comes in nice and soon, but the weight (about 1400 kg) and quiteness of the car leaves you longing for more sensation of speed. In fact, I think my own chipped tdi isn't that much slower if driven correctly.
One thing worried me a bit: I did a quick 'test' of it's sprinting capabilities and while pulling through the gears I definitely noticed a hesitation every time I switched up. Really strange, given the fact that this 16v + variable turbo geometry thing should give it great performance throughout the rev range. Maybe it's just too new...
All in all, this car is great, but I guess it is hardly noticed once on the road. And I find it way to expensive. Over 40.000 euro and still lacking xenon, rain sensor and good stereo (the Concert radio was 'boomy' at best).
Can't wait till the day is over. Then I can drive it back to the dealer! (yes, I do want my own A2 back, strange uh?)
Edo
--
(2003 Silver 1.4 Tdi Exclusive(SE), 95bhp/235Nm chiptuned by ABT, black interior, sport seats, heated mirrors, TomTom3 PDA Satnav, JVC KD-SH909RB cd-receiver, Infinity Kappa 63.1 + Vifa on-dash tweeters, 12" Subwoofer on 300w Amp)
