AudiWorld Forums - TTC Bus Review

The 2003 Orion VII handles like a hippo. Acceleration is horrible, braking is noisy and frightening. And don't get me started on curb weight. I don't have the actual specs with me, but if I had to guess at it's weight, I'd be under by about 3 tons. Its turbo-diesel engine is rear-mounted (kinda like a Porsche).

The interior is solidly built, but it lacks the nice finish that I'm used to. The onboard GPS system doesn't have a map, but it sports a voice feature that calls out seemingly random streets and an LED screen to display them. (I think it might have been broken.) Orion's choice of rims won't win them any style points, but the fact that it can lower its suspension (front only) on a whim is an impressive feature for a stock vehicle.

My test-drive was shared with about 110 other professional automotive experts. The vehicle was so stuffed with humans that I could barely see what was going on. One small thing I did notice about the interior while I was sardined within the whale was that the rear-corner seats are so offset to the side that passengers essentially have to sit in the lap of the person next to the seat they want and then slide over into the corner seat. ...This is not a desirable feature (most of the time).

I was considering selling my Audi for a trip-by-trip shared lease on an Orion VII, but as a trip which normally takes me 45 minutes took me 1 hour and 42 minutes in the Orion, I think I've changed my mind.