Sunday, October 18, 2009

2009 Audi TT

Now, I absolutely love Audi, therefore being able to drive the TT is an absolute treat to me. First off, let's take a look as the design. Although it doesn't look terribly different as you can imagine, there are some slight changes, such as the bi-xenon headlights with Audi's trademark LED daytime running lights (which are useless, but looks awesome), and larger air intakes in the front. Wider door sills and an a aggressive rear bumper incorporates the two twin exhaust outlets in the back.

The interior is well, small. I mean Audi added two seats for the back but there's no way anyone can fit properly back there unless they didn't have legs. As for the front, there is plenty of room..... for your legs. As for the rest, it comes with a nice aluminum trim, sturdy but soft leather seats, and a overall modern looking design. All of the controls are within your reach and easy to operate, except the navigation system, which I had a bit of a problem with. However, it comes with Audi's Multi-Media Interface (MMI) which gives you in display audio controls, and adds several steps to simple tasks like changing the radio station. MMI might appeal to the geeks of the world, but using buttons works better in the long run.

Under the hood, the one I'm driving today comes with the 3.2-liter V6 engine that outputs 250hp and 236 ft.-lb. of torque. Fuel economy starts at 17-mpg city and 24-mpg, which isn't that bad actually. Other versions that are available is the 2.0-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine which outputs 200hp and 207 ft.-lb. of torque, and the top of the line TTS which has a slightly more tuned V6 engine which gives you 265hp. It also comes with Audi's variable adaptive suspension keeps the front-wheel-drive TT on the road.

Now, let's talk about how this handles when being drove. In the city is wonderful. The sport suspension is stiff, but not overdone to the point where your ass will feel like you went through a round of boxing with Danny Jacobs. It's also is very quiet surprisingly and able to accelerate well when needed. Onto the highway it takes off very nicely. Although not incredibly fast, it accelerates more than well enough to leave the people trying to follow you. Plus the sound from that 3.2-liter V6 engine is just fantastic. Now, the U.S. has a governor on these vehicles which limit them to 130mph. Although I didn't get that fast, I got close enough to start making people think I was being chased by the cops (about 120mph). Pulling off the highway and onto the country roads, it handles well under high speeds around corners. It must come with the fact when Audi designed this vehicle, they made it so it's very well balanced in the front and the rear. Along with Audi's adaptive suspension it just excellent anywhere you go.

So, overall I'll have to give this car a thumbs up in my book. However, if I were to say what my main disappointment is, it's the engine. I was expecting a little more from Audi's superior engines, especially from a V6. Why couldn't they turbocharged that decently and give it a good 300hp, along with the TTS having even more?






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2009 Dodge Challenger SRT8

I'll be honest with you, I'm not really a muscle car fan by any means. So, when I was asked to do a review on the Dodge Challenger SRT8, I wasn't terribly excited as a schoolboy seeing his first porn film. However, when I finally got this vehicle on the road I have to say I am impressed by the power this thing has under the hood.

Inside the Challenger has a very sporty and modern look compared to your 1970's editions. It has the gauges in a 4 pod setup and is very easy to read, even for the old geezers who want something to replace their old beat up car from way back when. The stitched leather bucket seats are very comfortable and look great as you can expect. There is even rear seats, but there isn't really a ton of room, and don't expect to be able to get back there from the drivers side because the seat doesn't move to do that. Under the hood is the 6.1L Hemi V8 that roars out a impressive 425hp and 420lb.ft. torque. It also has a six speed manual transmission and a limited slip differential. All that power, and it still gets 14 mpg in the city and 22 on the highway. Very impressive for a muscle car.

Taking it on the road through the city, I have to admit it's quite comfortable. You barely feel any bumps in the road and the engine is not overly loud by any means. It also has driven in quite a lot of attention from a lot of people, which surprised me quite a bit. One guy even came up to me when I was getting off the cell phone in a parking lot and talked about his old 1974 Dodge Challenger that he still has in his garage at home and how the engine doesn't run in it anymore. I have to say, that is my only complaint. It's got a lot of over-steer going around corners that I thought the back-end would slide out and put me into a ditch. I know muscle cars do have this problem, but you'd think they would have fixed that with the SRT8 model.







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