Wow! Big Smile on my Face

[Bash D Bishop]

I picked up my new Oolong Grey Allroad 245 PS from Wolverhampton Audi yesterday (Saturday). My 5 year old son and I flew down from Edinburgh to Birmingham on the 07:15 flight and were collected by the salesman and taken to the dealership.

After completing what seemed to be mounds of paperwork they brought the car round from the storage area. It looked superb in the sunlight and I was immediately very impressed. As my car was a standard stock item I hadn't been able to specify any extras so it was on the standard 18" rims. This was the first time I had seen these "in the flesh" as was impressed. The demo car I had driven was on 20s, and while they look superb, I felt they were noisy and hurt the ride a bit. So far no regrets about ordering a car with bigger rims.

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I was shown around the car by the salesman although I didn't want to waste too much time as I prefer to play around with stuff myself. As the paperwork had taken longer than I thought we left we left Wolverhampton at around 11:30 for our 300 mile trip home.

The first thing i noticed was the sat nav was proposing a very bizarre route home. We live 25 miles east of Edinburgh so there are a few routes to take but via Glasgow is not one of them! Yes, it is a valid route but not one you would take unless all others were blocked. It adds at least 40 miles to the journey.

The second thingi noticed was when my phone buzzed to say I had a text and it was then I noticed the absence of the ability to read or have read SMS messages. My X3 had this function 8 years ago and most other cars I have driven with integrated BT have this so the lack of the facility on a £45k car is surprising.

On the journey out of Wolverhampton I set the suspension to comfort and was very pleased with the ride. My Disco 3 was very comfortable but the Allroad surpassed it.

A quick stop to fill up and reset the trip computer and we were soon on the M6 and heading north and the computer now set to "Efficiency". I tend to set cruise control at 78 mph as this is just below the threshold that the Talivans use for starting prosecution. In any case the M6 was quite busy so 78 mph was about as much as could be managed.

My son was happily sitting in the back with my ASUS Transformer mounted on a headrest bracket watching movies when he then said the words most parents dread: "I need a wee. I really need a wee!" With 12 miles to the next services I offered him the option of stopping at a junction but he doesn't like that and said he would wait until the services so I was grateful at that point for the traffic clearing slightly and I was able to 'progress a little quicker'. I was amazed at the lack of engine noise and that the ride stayed so superb. We pulled in to Charnock Richard just as the fire alarm was going off but we ran in to the toilet and then as we couldn't get any lunch, jumped back in the car and headed for the next services.

After lunch (if you can call a Burger King meal lunch :o) we continued up the M6 in a mix of sun and heavy rain. The smooth ride and near silent running were astounding me and my son was still happily in the back watching movies.

Leaving the M74 we then took the A702 towards Edinburgh. For those unfamiliar with this road it is a busy A road with a lot of twists and not many overtaking opportunities. Unless you have a 245 PS Allroad that is. ;) Situations where I would never have considered overtaking in my Disco suddenly were no problems. The road holding and the ride were amazing.

The final leg of our journey is on B Roads although they are quite rough but again the car remained composed and very smooth.

The final piece of my enjoyment was seeing the fuel consumption. Having been used to mid 20s in the Disco, 38.2 mpg at an average of 65 mph is very welcome. :biglaugh:

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The only problem now is the car is a bit dirty from the drive and the rain so I think I'll need to get the bucket and sponge out later.

[Whippy53]

Congtarulations and thanks for the post.

[johnsimcox]

Lucky man!! Enjoy your car.


The first thing i noticed was the sat nav was proposing a very bizarre route home. We live 25 miles east of Edinburgh so there are a few routes to take but via Glasgow is not one of them! Yes, it is a valid route but not one you would take unless all others were blocked. It adds at least 40 miles to the journey.

The second thingi noticed was when my phone buzzed to say I had a text and it was then I noticed the absence of the ability to read or have read SMS messages. My X3 had this function 8 years ago and most other cars I have driven with integrated BT have this so the lack of the facility on a £45k car is surprising.

A quick stop to fill up and reset the trip computer and we were soon on the M6 and heading north and the computer now set to "Efficiency". I tend to set cruise control at 78 mph as this is just below the threshold that the Talivans use for starting prosecution. In any case the M6 was quite busy so 78 mph was about as much as could be managed.



In the Sat Nav settings you can select an option so that the system gives you three alternative routes rather than default "quickest" route which assumes the speed limit data in the mapping data is accurate which is not always the case (locally there is road which the sat nav claims is 40mph in one direction and 30mph in the other!) and allows local knowledge to come to the fore.

On the C6 you used to get the ability to read and send texts if you had MMI HIgh plus the handset in the armrest but that seems to have gone with the C7, I suspect very few in anyone selected that option.

You will get better mpg not using the Cruise Control as it sticks rigidly to the selected speed and use the brakes on downhill stretches when engine braking would be sufficient. You can spot this by how infrequently the mpg display goes fully to the right when using the cruise control showing that it has not switched off the fuel supply to the engine. Fuel consumptions should also improve a lot in the coming weeks as the engine loosens up

Finally please don't wash it with a sponge!! Get a lambswool or microfibre mitt/cloth it will do much less damage to the paint

[Olio]

How did you find the PDI there?

Any swirl marks on the paint?

[Kieron Mullan]

Congratulations on the new car and great opportunity to really run it in heading back north.

Cheers

[Bash D Bishop]

How did you find the PDI there?

Any swirl marks on the paint?

Not that I could see. As it was in stock in at their dealership in Amersham it was PDId there before being transported to Wolverhampton. To be honest I didn't look that closely. My cars tend to get well used and as we live in a rural area and spend time on my inlaws farm swirls are normally the least of my worries. Don't get me wrong, I like a clean, smart car but I don't go for constant showroom look as it would be utterly pointless.

[Bash D Bishop]

Congratulations on the new car and great opportunity to really run it in heading back north.

Cheers

Thanks. 300 miles does get you familiar with a car. 2 weeks today it will do another 1000 miles on a trip from home to the Dordoyne and the same back again 2 weeks later. By mid-July it will have covered more than 3000 miles so it should be getting well run in. :D

[Bash D Bishop]

In the Sat Nav settings you can select an option so that the system gives you three alternative routes rather than default "quickest" route which assumes the speed limit data in the mapping data is accurate which is not always the case (locally there is road which the sat nav claims is 40mph in one direction and 30mph in the other!) and allows local knowledge to come to the fore.

Thanks for this but I can't find the option. I have the "basic" SD card Sat Nav. Is this function available on it?

[Passatier3]

Yes, go into Route and the options are in there.

[turpal]

Cracking car mate.Thge only advise is to preserve the front from stonechips as it it has a water based paint it`ll chip easier.

[daycartes]

Cracking car mate.Thge only advise is to preserve the front from stonechips as it it has a water based paint it`ll chip easier.

Yeah, I'll support that advice as mine (also Oolong grey) has already done Scotland to Auxerre (and back) and there are some minor stonechips already. Bon voyage. In fact you could have turned off the M74 and taken a short diversion to see how it has affected mine.

[Phil K]

Sounds like a fun journey mate and I bet your little lad was buzzing with excitement! My son is a few years younger and we have been potty training for the last month or so. Generally its gone well but we definitely don’t have 12m waiting times when the alert is issued from the back seat! Thank god for the Recaro seat protector!

Car looks great and if the ridiculously soft paint is a concern it may be worth looking into a clear vinyl paint protection film for the front end - these films really are very good and very difficult to detect if applied well. They're definitely more cost effective than a front end re-spray in a few years time!

[Bash D Bishop]

Thanks all. Very, very pleased with the car.

I spoke to the valeter/detailer I use and he has steered me away from the protective film. His view is that it looks okay at first but as time progresses it can start to look bad particularily around the edges as dirt can work its way in. I do value his opinion as he is very good at what he does. He has restored my Disco 3 to showroom condition on a few occasions.

I have also used a very good guy from ChipsAway. I know some of these franchisees have had bad reputations but this guy is very good. He is honest and straight up. If he doesn't think he can do something he will say. There were a couple of scratches on the Disco that I thought he need to paint but he managed to polish them out.

It will probably work out cheaper getting the chips painted than having film applied.

[Allroad_2013]

As my car was a standard stock item I hadn't been able to specify any extras so it was on the standard 18" rims. This was the first time I had seen these "in the flesh" as was impressed. The demo car I had driven was on 20s, and while they look superb, I felt they were noisy and hurt the ride a bit. So far no regrets about ordering a car with bigger rims.


We "only" have the 18" wheels on our Allroad, but as nice as the bigger options are, personally I think they look out of place on the Allroad.
Also, with only 5 spokes they take seconds, rather than minutes (or hours) to clean. And the cost (particularly the 20" wheels) is painful, particulalry as the tyres cost more to replace and the ride quality reduced - sounds like a lose-lose situation to me. Had we purchased the regular Avant, I might of thought different though.

Glad you're liking your Allroad, we're enjoying the quality, comfort and rariety of ours despite living in area which must have one of the highest Audi densities in the country!!

[Passatier3]

I agree with you with regard to wheels on the Allroad. As with Range Rovers for example you can reach a point where the reduced sidewalls look out of keeping with the type of vehicle.

I didn't really have time to consider the downside of 20" wheels as I didn't think I was going to be able to get an A6 anyway, but when the figures stacked up and it was a BE as well I was hooked! :D

Absolutely no regrets though (quite the opposite) and as others have said, on the saloon/Avant the ride is surprisingly good and the tyre noise not too intrusive. And they look great! :D

[Bash D Bishop]

Just over a week of ownership and I've put just under 1,100 miles on the clock. The smile is still big :D I've done a mix of rural, A road and motorway driving and the car excels in all of them.

The first leg of my journey from home to Sunderland (c.115 miles) was completed in just under 2 hours. The route was initially rural B Road then mixed dual and single carriageway A Road. I wasn't hammering it by any stretch of the imagination (only when overtaking :p) and was very pleased with 39 mpg. The second leg from Sunderland to Knutsford was being done at 70 mph on cruise and until I hit the closure of the A1(M) the display was showing 43 mpg! After clearing the closure (took about 1.5 hours of working my way around back roads) I then pushed on a bit at a steady 90 but I was still showing 38 mpg on arrival. I could only have ever dreamed of those figures in my Discovery 3.

By the time I get home on Friday there will be around 1,600 miles on the clock. With one day at home to pack for holiday I'll then be heading south again for the Dordoyne via Portsmouth and St Malo, so there will be 2,500 miles covered in just over 2 weeks.

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[Bash D Bishop]

The mileage continues to climb. Just over 2 weeks in and I went over 2,500 miles as we arrived in to Saint Avit Loisirs in the Dordoyne. I was quite surprised by how much we managed to fit in to the car. I had the roofbox on standby on Saturday but it wasn't needed. Every inch of the boot was full, the portable fridge was on the 40% folded part of the rear seat and the footwell below was stuffed. Add to that an Atera Strada bike rack on the towball with 3 biles and we were pretty heavy. Initially fuel consumption wasn't great but it settled down and give just over 35 mpg on the run from Scotland to Portsmouth and then just under 37 mpg from St Malo to Saint Avit Loisirs. That was at around 80-90 mph on the Autoroute so can't complain.

The only minor issue is "Efficiency" mode is not available when towing. However, I was only towing a bike rack so I wish there was an override.

The car still brings a big smile to my face although flare-up of a lower back problem is making getting in and out a very panful experience!


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