antiSUV

I'm in Manila, the Philippines this week and learned of an Audi test drive event at one of the local malls.

It was an intro to the B8, and they had both a 1.8T and a 2.0TDi to drive, both FrontTrak models. Looking at the B8 side by side with a B7, I found that the roof curvature disguises the extra length very well. The car does look sleeker, losing the slab-sidedness of the B6/B7.

These cars come with standard perforated leather seats, and they were pretty nice. The leather felt softer than the standard B7 leather, but the silk nappa in the S4 is still tops. Fit and finish was at par with previous generation, and contrary to some prior opinions, I didn't think the dash material was cheaper-looking.

I love the new dash layout with the MMI canted toward the driver. I am dating myself, but it reminds me of the driver-centric cockpits of BMWs of yore (still miss my E30 325ix).

MMI wasn't all that difficult to learn. The car I drove did not have navigation, but it was neat to be able to set things like the folding the mirrors when you park the car.

I drove the 2.0TDi diesel, and was pleasantly surprised. I have driven B7s with the 2.0T/CVT combination, and in this application, the multitronic was well suited to the engine. It stepped off smartly, accelerated briskly and there was no diesel clatter in the cabin at all! Since this was only a low-speed course on roads within the mall compound, the fastest I could go was 90 kph and only for a very short time.

There was a little torque steer when accelerating around a hairpin, and it felt like there was some electronic modulation (ASR maybe) going on to minimize it. The steering is still, unfortunately, rather numb and a little too light, but that's an Audi trait I can live with. The brakes were very good -- no squeal, and so far, not too much dust. Again, these were pretty low speeds.

Ride was very nice, and in this city, where the roads can be rough at times, it was supple and well controlled. The downside is the car looks like it's got a standard lift kit, as there is almost a handspan between the top of the front wheel and the fender liner.

The banner above the showroom proclaims 29 km/liter (highway) for the 2.0TDi. According to the salesperson, they tried to replicate it, but since there are no sustained high speed roads here, the best they could do was 24 km/liter in mixed driving. That would be 39.6 mpg highway, 33.8 mpg mixed.

Considering this is a small market, I am amazed at the engine choices they have: 1.8T and 2.0TDi for starters, but the 3.0TDi is already available in the A6 and will be available shortly in the A4. All that goodness comes at a price, and the car I tested stickers at PhP 2.6 million or about $59,000. I paid 25% less for a B7 S4 Avant last year.

For those of you who have B8s on order, you will not be disappointed. If Audi can hold the line on US prices, then we will continue to get bargains compared to the rest of the world. I'm looking forward to the Atlanta leg of the Audi driving experience to see what the US version cars can do.

Kudos to the local distributor, PGA Cars, for a nicely done event.

rbt

engine cut-off, like in the hybrids. ;-)

was this at Alabang Hills? gotta be a mall w/ a decent size lot.