Audi

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The Audi A6 Avant Ultra is a car for people with serious jobs who want to cut loose on the weekend

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I like BMWs but Audi is making damn fine cars these days. They’ve got the styling and image spot on and the range of engines is second to none. The A6 Avant may be for upwardly mobile family-types with serious jobs but it’s also great fun to drive on the weekends too.

It has strong brakes, light but sensitive steering and enough performance from that low emissions TDI engine to make every journey a pleasure.

With the S Tronic 7-speed auto gearbox the ride is also smooth and relaxed. There are flappy paddle gear-shifters on the steering column but the Ultra doesn’t really have enough grunt to make using them worthwhile.

I tried for a while but then just stuck the gearshifter in ‘Drive’ and enjoyed the hi-fi. There’s minimal body roll and surprisingly little loss of traction at the front wheels under harsh acceleration.

I’m not sure the Ultra is as engaging to drive as the 5 Series Touring but it has been driven if you are in the market for a top notch estate…

 

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Audi’s A6 Avant Ultra is seriously big – but a rival for the BMW 5 Series Touring?

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The first thing you realise about the latest A6 Avant is that it’s big – very BIG. There’s plenty of room for five adults and you have slightly more space than the 5 Series in the boot too.

The Ultra model is designed for maximum efficiency (nobody predicted fuel prices would fall in 2014!), with a super sleek design that almost glues the A6 to the road and improves aerodynamics.

The lights, front grille and noticeably the exhausts are all re-shaped – inside the glass now deadens out more noise and the trim quality is higher than ever.

The S Line we have on test looks great. If you have to buy an estate then this car needs to be on your shortlist. What’s it like to drive? Come back tomorrow…

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Audi TT Roadster 1.8 TFSI – Fun In The Sun

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How much you like the TT Roadster may well depend on how you value the badge on the boot. I can’t say the Roadster is that much better than a Mazda- MX-5 but Audi is premium brand – and that means a great deal to many people when making their buying choice.

The TT is fighting its corner against stiff opposition, from the likes of the BMW Z4 and more expensive Porsche Boxster too. Personally, I prefer the look of the BMW and Porsche, simply because the TT is starting to look a little dated these days.

Otherwise, the Audi is a fine handling car that brings the joy of open top motoring down to a reasonably affordable level. The cabin is well screwed together and easy on the eye – apart from the grey leather in our test car! – and the boot is a decent size too.

Z4 owners would say it doesn’t have the added security of a tin folding roof, Porsche drivers would point out the TT is nowhere near as pretty. Truth is, it will come down to personal taste because all three cars, plus the cheaper MX-5, are great fun and a joy to have on the driveway.

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Audi TT Roadster 1.8 TFSI – Give Me More Power

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I’ve come to the conclusion that 158bhp just isn’t enough in the Audi TT Roadster. The strong fuel economy in the entry-level model will be a sound trade off for some people but this 1.8 car just needs some extra grunt to set my pulse racing.

There are several larger engined models to go for, of course, including a TDI. The 208bhp 2.0 petrol would be tempting but the 270bhp TTS top choice. There’s a 335bhp TT RS too but that almost sounds too much!

All versions have a standard six-speed gearbox  and most have the option of the brilliant S tronic automatic as well.

The Roadster certainly needs more power than 158bhp if I’m going to start making comparisons with a Porsche Boxster, rather than a Mazda MX-5…

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Audi TT 1.8 TFSI – Grey, Like David Brent’s Underpants

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A convertible should inspire you to want to drive it. It’s Bank Holiday Monday and I’ve been sat in the garden, considering the TT Cabriolet from a variety of angles.

The simple fact is this – it doesn’t have the same visual appeal as the cheaper Mazda MX-5. The Audi isn’t an ugly car but comparisons with the streamlined and eye-catching Mazda are obvious.

Not only that but the TT does not feel like a ‘natural’ sports car when you drive it. The gearstick doesn’t fall to hand as easily, you don’t feel inspired to throw it around a corner and even with the rear wind deflector up, there’s a bit too much wind intrusion in the cockpit.

Unfortunately, our TT test car also features a rather dull cabin colour. The carpet and leather trim are light, limp grey. It’s like sitting in a pair of David Brent’s over-washed underpants. Opt for black and it won’t need cleaning so often either….

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Audi TT 1.8 TFSI Cabriolet – Eeny, Meeny…

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Wasn’t there a time when Top Gear was all about cars? I seem to remember it was quite good, post Noel Edmunds that is, before the BBC turned it into light comedy cash cow.

Sour grapes? No. I worked on TV with Hammond for a while and he was a true pro. James May is a good foil for Clarkson, while big JC himself writes cracking copy in the Sunday Times.

I just think Top Gear is way past its sell by date and needs a total revamp. Perhaps a spot of dumbing up is in order – and a very large gag for JC’s gob. No wonder he is frowned upon around here in the Cotswolds.

And the Audi TT Cabriolet? This is what Clarkson said…

“Then there’s the biggest problem of them all – the problem of being in an Audi TT when you are not called Angela. I do not know why it can be driven by only people named Angela, but that’s a fact and there’s nothing we can do about it. If you have a TT and you aren’t called Angela, you have the wrong car.”

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Audi TT 1.8 TFSI Cabriolet – Geoff Capes Need Not Apply…

AU_078_sI’m not sure why God created the Midlands. He obviously wasn’t a petrol head because the roads are terrible – especially if you are travelling across country, rather than to the north, or south.

The whole A-road network around Birmingham seems to consist of A-roads choked up with heavy goods vehicles, chugging along at 50mph, or oversize tractors which seem to have become the new caravan. Awful.

I’m just returned from a six hour slog to interview Geoff Capes, a former Commonwealth gold medallist and the World’s Strongest Man, twice. Geoff is now 27-stone and breeds budgies (it’s true) but he once appeared in a Volkswagen Polo commercial, lifting the supermini off the ground. He split ten pairs of trousers in the process.

Geoff now drives a Discovery and there’s no doubt he would have tossed the Audi TT to one side if I had blocked him in on the driveway. The TT isn’t a Geoff Capes sort of car but it’s roomy enough for a pipsqueak like me. Plus the folding soft top means the roof mechanism doesn’t eat into the boot space.

Size isn’t everything and the TT’s small cabin is perfect in every other way. Large blokes need not apply.

 

 

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Audi TT Roadster – Budget Open Top

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You can buy a diesel TT Roadster and pay more for a litre of fuel – or enjoy a few mpg less in this 1.8 TFSI petrol version. There was a time when it was a straight choice between fuel economy or performance – cars like this blur the lines and make the choice a tough one.

The current Audi TT was launched way back in 2007. A new version is due soon but it’s a testament to the style of design of the car that both the Roadster and Coupe still look exceptionally smart cars.

New on the driveway today, the 1.8 Roadster is eye-catching indeed. And as I’m off on a long journey to Lincolnshire later, I’m excited at the prospect of 120 miles of A-road to enjoy it on.

This may be the slowest car in the TT range but a quick drive to the station this morning has really whet my appetite. More tomorrow when I will have nudged the fuel gauge significantly…

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Friday – Ice Ice Baby

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Jessica Being a gym bunny of the very early morning variety, through necessity rather than choice, it means I experience the full effects of a frosty morning in the pitch dark.

Beware of starting your Audi Q5 by pressing all the buttons available and expecting a quick departure, because it does not want you to leave fast once it is turned on.

Or let put it this way, sometimes an ice scraper is required and all you get is a needy alarm or a switched off engine, not only that the seats are not heated. Gym kit is not ideal for the cold, so I was left with a chilled behind and shivering body before finally venturing out onto the open road.

The car of course in any other setting is pure Audi, crafted carefully to make driving a pleasure and (apart from frosty morning troubles) painless.

Fast with controlled steering, just the right amount of responsiveness on the brakes,  you would be happy to drive your family, pets and others about in style and confidence once you had handed over your well earned cash.

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Thursday – Get ‘Orf My Road!

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Bloody typical! I’ve just had an altercation with a local farmer, head to head down a narrow lane, my Q5 against his poo-covered tractor. Not sure what his problem was but apparently, I’m a city type who doesn’t know the ‘way things work’ in the country’.

Now, was it just because I was driving a posh Audi? Would it have been the same if I had been in my ancient, poo-covered Land Rover I wonder?

Maybe it was the fancy daylights, the ’13’ on the registration plates, or the angry front grille (see earlier post)? Has Audi become the new BMW – the most despised premium brand on the market?

I’ve grown to like the Q5, especially since I found the dynamic drive button. It’s also fairly inoffensive, unless you are an angry farmer.

I’m also sure that with privacy glass, bling wheels and sporty bits, it could well be a ‘townie’ car. Especially if you are an angry farmer in Gloucestershire…