I bought the Audi a few weeks ago and I needed to move back north to Seattle for summer from Scottsdale. I have done this trip many times in many different vehicles. Rented Mini-van, wife and 2 cats is about a 20 hour trip driving straight through about as fast as a Mini van can go. It should be a 24 hour trip according to trip advisor. I have done it also in my Maserati Couple GT and my MINI JCW track car and got close to breaking under 19 hours but traffic and timing prevented it. The record holder is my wife Turbo Beetle! 18 hours and 42 minutes with no traffic and perfect timing running S to N. Running S the timing doesn't work out with hitting Vegas traffic. I loaded the car with cloths and stuff we needed up N. Trunk was stuffed and the back seat and front seat were full. She was loaded heavy. Car only has 300 miles on the majority were my wife while I was out of town after the purchase.
Engine break is a critical thing with me in a new car. My rule is break them in hard just the way I plan to use it. It has never failed me. I had a friend who takes the opposite approach and baby's it way to long. We bought the exact same vehicles. I was running over 100 within 2 miles of leaving the dealer. 1 year later. Same units running head to head. No contest as his motor could only be described as anemic. Mine was a beast and ran strong until sold. His motor blew up after 2 years!
I prep the car and overnight Apple decides to update my cell phone. No connection the next day by Bluetooth. I use the cable and it connects to the car but still will not work! It is 1AM and I got to go. I pull in Tonopah NV as a destination but Vegas will be my first gas stop at about 300 miles. First thing the GPS picks a route that will cost me 20 minutes! WTF! My 8 year old Tom Tom is better! I also misses another short cut later in the day that would have cost me 10 minutes but I know the route. Lame- will they all just partner with Tom Tom already. The info provided on the Nav is very useful. I loaded the info with the dial since now my voice system is not working without a phone connect even thought the wireless handsfree was working fine for calls.
First leg is 300 miles to Vegas on not so good roads through the dark desert in the middle of the night. This is normally 4.5 to 5 hours trip for most people. Breaking 4 hours is very tough. I do a an Escort Redline long range radar detector which works great. First feel is the car really runs well at high speed and seems to really like it. Traffic as you can imagine at this hour is very light. The road is pretty much wide open and I do not see a single cop or get a single radar hit the whole way to LV. I try the Auto dimming head lights but can't get them to dim automatically even on the early setting. No time to stop and look at the book and the manual on the screen was useless to help. It will be light soon so no worries. I survived this long without that feature. I pop over the hill in Henderson and see the Vegas lights and it is under 3 hours! Burning up the road. I fuel N of LV on 95 and I set a new personal best of 3:15 to LV. I very good start. Light traffic running N which can be an issue. I need people out front to take some radar hits. If there is traffic I just blast up to the next car, pass and look for the next one. Fuel mileage is not looking good when running the twin turbo hard. Looking like 18 to 19 is the best see will do all trip. Maserati gets better mileage the harder you push it. Not the Audi. Tank is small compared to the Maserati also but did not present a range issue at all. I think the reserve must be pretty large. The lowest I got was 20 miles to empty and it still only took 16 gals to fill it.
Very uneventful trip for the first leg. Topped off in Tonopah NV and headed to Austin, then Battle Mountain and Winnemucca. I varied the setting from comfort to soak up the bumps to my individual setting which is all dynamic except for the suspension. I like comfort for the ride except for to sloppy of handling. I sure wish you could choose the steering response individually or manually instead of just a general setting. This is an are of weakness that was called out in some recent reviews. It is more of a straight line car. I will car fast and hard but just not rewarding or all that comfortable as you never really seem to know exactly what you are going to get. Part of that issue is me switching between comfort and Dynamic/Individual. Time may help but it is a little numb and vague. My Maserati is softer sprung then the Audi and lighter but just loves to carve a corner once you set the car. The Audi is always a bit unsettled and requires slight adjustments in the corners. I am also a bit picky and have lots of track and racing experience. I was thinking this as I took a fast sweeper at 110 MPH. It is not that bad and I am not sure I would be going this fast in any other car this size!
Past the half way point now and refueling N of Winnemucca. I know I am making good time. I have not had anything to drink or eat or even stopped to pee yet! Just gas and go. Now I need to decide to stay on 95 to Burns or take my secret empty short cut road which is twistier, more secluded and open range. Yes I came around a fast sweeper and there was big cow standing half in the road looking dumb. She heard me coming and took off fast. Other notable animals on the big Bob Cat shot in front of me in the desert. He was not expecting my speed nor me his. His was low and moving fast like a cat on carpet. Jack rabbits were everywhere and like warming themselves in the middle of the road. Evasive action saved several lives and not blood on the car. Even one critter that was smart that darted out front and I went over at 120MPH who I saw running away unscathed in my review mirror. Hopefully wiser. I choose the twisty empty route and it was a good choice. Dam can this car eat up road. The first section off 95 is straight for almost 40 miles of open desert where you can see for every. The road is a bit bumpy and I went from Comfort to Dynamic to tighten things up. This is as wide open an as empty as you are ever going to see a road. Why I choose the short cut. The other route has some nice hills and fast sweepers but also more cops and traffic. Time to drop the hammer. In my short blast in the car earlier I thought she was fast to 120 and then ran out of a bit of steam where the Maserati really pulls hard to 150. I might need to rethink that statement. She had no trouble easily finding the 155 cut off several times just to see then settled into a nice 130 MPH pace. The American western Autobahn. Average speed now showing 83 MPH and gaining. Now the curve show up and the big Audi handles them fast and easy but a little unsettled. This is a rural 2 lane black top with no stripes, markings and no warning signs for the corners. I know it well and running Nav helps big timing seeing what is around the next corner so you can be properly set up for the next corner. I came in to couple a 35 MPH corners way to fast. The big brakes really check up the big beast fast and she powers though at 70 with no issues. I am getting a bit hungry now but no much in Burns so I top off fuel and head for Prineville OR. More trucks and traffic now and passing is a main stay. I am not sure what is out there that can pass much faster than this beast when in sport mode. I had a Buick GS as a kid and that turbo 40 would drop to second gear at anything under 90 but the Audi is in a whole different league. You can get caught sleeping a bit if you are in D and Comfort as she will not drop to the best gear as quickly as if in S. I spent a lot of the time in D looking for better fuel economy as less stops saves times too. I think it saved minimal fuel and S is way more fun. By the end of the trip in S she would stay in gear at 4500 rpm's in traffic just begging to pass or press forward. I used the paddles very little as I just do not feel as connected to the car as I do with a stick. I think S does it just fine. I find just using the shifter like a sequential is actually better for me but I am use to shifting a manual and having one hand on the wheel. When racing on a track I often have just one hand on the wheel which is habit I need to break and paddles to help that.
At Prineville I was going to eat but elect to move on as I am pushing to get through PDX before rush hour. I still have not had anything to eat or drink but still feel fresh. Now I start heading toward Mt Hood and into the mountains. Traffic gets heavier and passing in mountains is key to making time. The Audi excels here with grip, speed and quickness. I catch a C4 that is Black clean and running pretty hard. The Audi toys with him like cat playing with a mouse. Here is were you need to be careful in these cars. It is way faster than they are expecting and I can be places they are not expecting a car this size to get too that fast! I let him lead and play rabbit for the cops until we come to big parade led by a double trailer semi and about 8 cars. it is a long line! 2 lane but we get a clear section for a legal pass. The Vette is 2 cars ahead of me. Other look and decide to stay put. The vette peaks out and decides there is not enough road. I flash to pass and pull out and stand on it. I figure I can get half the pack before I will need to tuck back in. From about 70 as I pull out she just starts digging. I am knocking off cars and road is still clear but I see the no passing line ending ahead and still a few cars and the semi to go. Decision time. She is pulling so hard I just stay on deciding I will take the semi too. I actually was clear of semi way before the passing lane end but she was moving. Open road ahead and never saw the vette again.
My average was up to 85 MPH before I hit PDX traffic which cost me 30. Nav tried a 200 mile detour for a blocked road. It was highway 26 if it were blocked there would be signs so I ignored it. There was a closure between 5 and 6 PM for construction but I was plenty early. More bad or incomplete info from the Nav. I lost about 30 minutes in PDX and another 15 minutes in Tacoma rush hour traffic. I still crushed my old time by 51 minutes and if I had the same traffic could have saved another 45 minutes if timing was better. My average speed ended up at 78MPH and averaged just over 18 MPG for the entire trip which really is not bad for the speed I was pushing. It was like a 1400 mile track day. I will say the rings are well seated and I am very impressed with car. I see 3 things that need improved.
Software to allow us to choice the steering dynamics to our choice in any drive mode- This is the cars weakness
Nav- Needs updateing and better software which it looks like Audi has done on the 17 A4. Will one MFG please just partner with Tom Tom already. There shit works.
Interior lighting should have al colors available not just white!. Already on the 17' Q7.
Very impressed with the car. It is a sleeper for sure but it will run with anything on the road in total comfort. I knew nothing about these cars until I bought it. Audi can sure keep a secret.
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