It sounded much louder at idle than I expected, sounded good! Cockpit/dash looked nice. The one I drove had the Sport Chrono Package with a swivel mounted time display in the center of the dash with a digital read out to the hundredth of a second.

Got in, adjusted the seat, and got on it. The gear shift pattern felt ok, sort of notchy, but about the same throw as my short shifter in my S. As I pulled out on to an open road, I forgot I wasn't driving quattro...gotta love rear wheel drive.

Lower gears were pretty torquey, which I liked. But cruising at 70mph in 4th gear and then stepping on the pedal...nothing. My stock S4 definitely whips my head back onto the headrest better than the Cayman. The brakes weren't as bitey as I figured them to be...but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt that the car only had 15 miles on it and the pads weren't properly bedded. Wasn't a big fan of the blind spots...reminded me of driving a TT, but I'm just not used to driving that style of car.

I don't know why I was expecting more from it. Maybe because it was new, looked so sleek, had 40 more HP than my stock S4, or perhaps the $71k sticker price? I drove my 4000 to the dealer, figuring that driving <i>anything</i> after my car's "115 horse power of fury" would feel like driving a rocketship! Though it moved pretty well, my grin factor has been MUCH greater in the few chipped S4s I've driven. Just my $.02...

--morgan

 

you've been spoiled by turbos! ;-)

 

Obviously you don't have the torque pull of a FI car, but wind those engines out and you'll find the promised land. Ultimately I think the big sell with that car is the handling and balance.

 

<center><img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/5926/porscheclub.jpg"></center><p>We ran pretty even (slight walk by S4) and pretty close to the modified 996tt (not GT2 despite the picture with a GT2 nose). The torque in the S4 feels sweet but the revs in the GT3 is music to my ears.

 

Asked for a test drive at Porsche dealership? Hmmm, I may have to do this.

 

It's Porsche/Audi...so I know the sales guys from buying my S there.