Audi R8

Audi R8 V8

This is probably my favourite car of all time since the day it was introduced in 2006. The Audi R8 is a high end sports car from Audi. It's a two door mid engined coupe with Audi's permanent Quattro all wheel drive system.

Visual: I think anyone that sees this car will drop their jaws because it really is that stunning. This sports car is not flashy, it has a really sleek and clean look. The car sits very low and has a short wheel base. This was the first road car with LED

daytime running lights that many other manufacturers now have copied. The side scoops with the carbon fiber sigma sideblade option added gives it a really distinctive look. In the rear, there is a spoiler that will raise up when it reaches a certain speed (130km/h) or could be manually raised with the push of a button. The rear tail lights are very attractive during day or night. I believe they are based off the Audi's Le Mans race car, the Audi R10, which is also where the LED lights came from. On the 4.2, there are four exhausts and on the 5.2, it has two large oval exhausts which looks even cleaner. On the back, you will be able to see the beautifully designed engine under the transparent cover.

Rear view of the Audi R8 V8 with the quad exhaust tips.

Performance: There are two engines for it. A 4.2-liter FSI engine which now produces 430 horsepower and 320 lb-ft of torque. The 0-60 mph time is not the quickest at 4.4 seconds but don't worry, there is a 5.2-liter V10 option which is taken from the Lamborghini Gallardo. It's however de-tuned to 525 horsepower and 390 lb-ft of torque but still does a quick 0-60 time of 3.8 seconds. The top speed of the 4.2 is 187 mph (301 km/h) and the 5.2 is at a very impressive 197 mph (317 km/h). There are two transmission options: a six speed manual gearbox with a really cool metal gate for the shift lever, or the R tronic gearbox, which are the paddle shifters.

Cockpit view of the interior

Interior: The interior in this car is very solid and clean with buttons placed in an organized way. The cockpit view is really nice like what all Audi's have. But the the rest of the interior could be better. A dash trim in front of the passenger seat could really help. Most of the features are placed into the Audi MMI (Multi-media interface) with a few buttons to navigate it which you can see on the dash. There are many options to add to the interior such as alcantara, leather, carbon fibre packages. But yeah, I think the interior of an Aston Martin looks better.

Nonetheless, the Audi R8 is a really great sports car which is why it has won so many awards.

Want an epic review of the Audi R8?

Volkswagen GTI

I have never been much of a fan for hatchbacks but the new generation of the Volkswagen GTI is definitely an exception. It's a sporty little 3 or 5 door hatchback with great fuel economy. This car is the highest level in the Golf family.

The 2011 Volkswagen Golf GTI 2 door
Image taken from GlobalMotors.net

Visual:
Again, I don't really like hatchbacks and the back of the GTI looks chubby like a mini van. But the rear still looks good with the dual exhaust separated between the diffuser. The slightly redesigned front end looks great. The red lines on the front really gives a good highlight and the fascia is really distinct from any other cars out there (except for the ones in the Golf family of course). The car has option 18" wheels with summer tires which should have been a standard feature because they flow just right with the car. The wheels the GTI comes with look unappealing.


                                                                                

Rear of the Golf GTI
Taken from ModPark.com

 Performance:
As I have mentioned, it's a car with a bit of sportiness and fuel efficiency, so it comes with a turbocharged 2.0 liter engine which gives 200 horsepower and 207 lb-ft of torque. 0 to 60 mph takes only 6.9 seconds. The optional transmission is the same as before, a super quick 6 speed automatic DSG gearbox costing an additional $1100 or a simple 6 speed manual. Normally, standard gearboxes are more fuel efficient compared to automatics, but the automatic does 24/32 MPG while the manual does 21/31 MPG. Over a period of time, the extra cost in gas will add up to the price of the automatic.

Interior:

Interior of the Golf GTI
Image taken from AutomotiveAddicts.com

People that don't know much about cars might think Volkswagen is comparable to a economy car manufacturer like Toyota, but actually, it's quite up there. Manufacturers such as Audi, Bentley, Porsche, Bugatti etc.. are owned by the Volkswagen Auto Group. So, the GTI's interior is just as solid and luxurious. I could not find anything that will rattle or squeak. Everything is mounted on solidly. The dash is a soft rubber and not plastic and you get leather like a typical luxury vehicle.

This car is another addition to my wish list. It actually costs a bit more than the Hyundai Genesis Coupe but with the materials and quality of the build, it is certainly worth it with a better resale value, too.

Hyundai Genesis Coupe

When you think of the automaker Hyundai, you'll probably be thinking it's "Bleh, it's not going to be good". Well in the past years, they have finally brought out cars that are actually quite decent. One of them is the Hyundai Genesis Coupe. It is Hyundai's second sports car next to the discontinued Hyundai Tiburon. The Genesis Coupe has the layout of a good sports car. It is rear wheel drive with a V6 engine in the front and a aerodynamic looking car.

Visual: The Genesis Coupe looks like a serious sports car. The front fascia looks mean but the grille could be better since it looks a bit plastic. The body looks really sporty as if a aftermarket bodykit has been added. With the Grand Touring package, it has 19" wheels and a trunk spoiler which makes the car stand out and the red caliper Brembo brakes give a high performance look.


Performance:
Firstly there are two engine choices. A fuel efficient 2.0T engine producing 210 horsepower or a sportier 3.8L V6 engine producing 306 horsepower. Some test drivers were able to get a 0-60 mph time of 5.4 seconds. All the trim levels for this car will be available with a standard 6 speed manual transmission which is what most sports car enthusiasts would like to have. But you can also option for the ZF automatic gearbox with paddle shifters which can be useful for cities with lots of traffic. This vehicle is able to compete very well with other cars in the same range such as the Chevrolet Camaro, Ford Mustang and there are rumours about a even bigger engine to be added to the Genesis Coupe.

Interior of the Genesis Coupe
Image taken from egmcartech.com

Interior:
The interior does include a bit of plastic but it still looks very welcoming. I doubt you would get bored in it especially when it has a decent 360 watt Infinity sound system. There are silver and chrome accents which make it far from plain. The main touch points are wrapped in leather such as the seats, steering wheel, shifter and center console box which feel great.




Although Hyundai is not the best reputable brand (it's getting better and better), I'd still love to own one in the future.

Audi A7

There is a new car released from Audi, the A7. It has a sportback design similar to the Porsche Panamera and Mercedes Benz CLS550 but starts at a much lower price. However, the other two cars have much more performance compared to the Audi A7.

Visual:
The front fascia of the A7 looks very nice with a sharp and expensive appearance. The LED lights do not only offer a safer vehicle on the road, but it looks spectacular and how it aligns to the chrome grille looks simply stunning. On the other hand, the rear end of the car is quite disappointing. It looks like it got rear ended and the tail lights make it look droopy. There are options for different car paint and interior colours like any other Audi vehicles.

The "rear-ended" A7

Interior:
Audi has done it again with their amazingly gorgeous interiors. The A7 looks unbelievable with the dash and center console. I believe it has a similar layout to the A8 which is the highest model on the A series. Everything just flows right with how the buttons are placed. Most of them control the settings on the Multi Media Interface display.






Performance: While it is a luxurious family vehicle, it still has a sporty engine. A supercharged 3.0 V6 producing 310 horsepower and 325 lb-ft of torque while still maintaining very good fuel economy. It does 0-60 mph in 5.4 seconds which is not bad at all. For even more performance, Audi will most likely release the S7 which is basically the A7 with a bigger engine. The A7 has the Quattro all-wheel drive system as standard. What's good about it is a feature which sends power to the wheel with the most grip. This vehicle has a 8 speed Tiptronic transmission. Most cars today commonly come with 5 or 6 speeds but the 8 speed will allow slightly more fuel efficiency and it is just as light as a 6 speed transmission.

 The Audi A7 is not released to Canada yet but it should arrive in the Spring of 2011 which is, very soon. It will most likely start off at over $60,000 plus a ton of options which will easily turn it into a $70,000+ vehicle. Honestly I would take the new Audi A6 over it because of the rear end.

2012 Nissan GTR

Since the GTR came out, it has been praised all along. With 480 horsepower, fast dual clutch transmission and a top speed of 194 miles per hour, it was considered the best bang for the buck sports car out there. Now there is going to be a updated version of the Nissan GTR and it has six different versions.

Performance:
With 530 horsepower and 448 lb-ft of torque (seriously a lot for a V6), this vehicle has been tested to do a 0 - 60 mph sprint in just 2.9 seconds (faster than a LOT of performance cars)! The engine is the same as the previous one, a 3.8 liter twin turbo engine most likely with a higher psi setting for the turbos. The GTR has already been made to beat the Porsche 911 Turbo and had competition with the Chevy Corvette ZR1. I think it will be very close to the ZR1 or even beat it now.

Front and rear view of the 2012 Nissan GTR
Image credits to GTRBLOG.com

Cosmetics:
Slight changes have been made to the exterior of the vehicle. The front and rear fascia have been fitted with a different diffuser which allows better airflow/aerodynamics. There are LED lights on the front too sort of like how Mercedes' had put them. Since Nissan is coming out with so many versions of the GTR, there will be many choices for paint colours. The center dash has carbon fibre for a more sporty and expensive look with the leather dash. There will also be different types of seats with common or higher end leather. The engine cover is painted to represent that it is more powerful. The exhaust tips have increased in size and so are the redesigned aluminum 20 inch rims.

Interior of the GTR
Image credits to GTRBLOG.com

 I think this will be one of the best sports cars out there. The Japanese have done it again with their amazing technology. I don't see any other car company in other countries that are capable of doing this.

Before, the interior looked really boring with complete black interior. But now, it looks simply amazing with the seats and dash, well maybe not compared to a Aston Martin but it will beat a Aston performance wise. For a price of around $90,000 USD, the Nissan GTR is putting others to shame.

What do you guys think of it?
Comment below!

Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 2011

This is probably one of my favourite dream cars ever, the Lamborghini Gallardo. Now that there has been a design change from 2008 for the Gallardo's, it looks even better!

Appearance:

2011 Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4

One of the obvious differences for this car is the change of the front and rear fascia. The front air intake designs are similar to the Lamborghini Reventon where they slant down towards the centre. There are dual pairs of exhaust instead of two separate ones. The tail lights are also similar with the arrow led design and the headlights also have cool led designs on them which also act as daytime running lights. Basically this car is much cleaner yet just as mean looking.

Performance:

The Gallardo has always been driven by a mid-engine V10 and now it has a displacement of 5.2 liters instead of 5.0. The horsepower is increased to 560hp @ 8000rpm and 398 lb-ft torque @ 6500 rpm.
0 - 100km/h takes just and 3.7 seconds. It has a top speed of 325 km/h which is incredibly fast.

Rear view of the Lamborghini

Options:
This car already has a lot to begin with at $205,000 USD, but there is a option list with a wide variety of things you can add to this vehicle. There are things such as e-gear which are shift paddles behind the steering wheel, carbon ceramic brakes which allow more stopping power, carbon interior package, navigation and other options. Unfortunately, all these great features added will mean a hefty price of $235,730 USD.

Hopefully I will be able to drive this car in my lifetime.

Insane details of my parent's car: Audi A4 2009

So, for my first blog I have decided it to be about my parents car. Although it is a year old now, it still is decent and people on the street stare at it. It is the 2009 Audi A4 which is not a crazy good looking sports car, but it does look quite appealing. Back when my parents have bought it, it was quite a rare breed but now, I see them everywhere in the Greater Vancouver area. 


Performance:

Ibis White version of the 2009 A4

The Audi A4 we have is the Premium Quattro version. It has the 3.2 liter V6 straight fuel injection engine producing 265 horsepower and 243 ft-lbs of torque. The 0-60 mph time is approximately 6.1 seconds which isn't slow nor very fast either. Since we use it for daily driving in the city, we decided to get the 6 speed automatic w/ Tiptronic transmission instead. Well actually, my mom just doesn't know how to drive stick-shift. While the Tiptronic is not a full standard stick-shift drivetrain, it still is quite fun and shifts very fast. 
We also opted for the well known Quattro system which is Audi's all wheel drive system which is known to be very good on wet or icy roads. Another option we added was the Audi Drive Select which allows us to choose between Dynamic, Comfort, or Auto. Dynamic definitely gives a different feeling. The suspension feels harder and the acceleration and gear changes are sharpened. In comfort, the acceleration pedal, suspension and steering is less responsive allowing you to be relaxed on a highway. Auto just learns the way you drive. With gas prices so high, the 3.2 liter v6 version of this car does 12.1L/100km city and 7.7L/100 highway which is not something you would want for saving gas. The 2.0T is definitely a better choice if you want fuel efficiency over performance.


Pricing:
The 2010 Audi A4 starts at $37,800 and if you use the Audi Configurator, you can choose options you want extra for the vehicle. There are lots of choices for it such as the Navigation package, Bang & Olufsen sound system etc... Adding everything will cost just under $58,000 excluding taxes. For my parents 2009 model and the options we added, it costed  $58,000 excluding tax. Of course you will be able to finance/lease an expensive vehicle like this for up to 6 years


Quality of this car:
When I first got into the A4, it felt very luxurious coming from a person who has mostly been in a Toyota Matrix and Dodge Caravan. The leather seats were comfortable and has a better feeling compared to cloth seats. Around the front cabin are pieces of aluminum trim which were a choice to match the black seats. The interior is spacious and is free of rattles from any vibrations. But if you put sunglasses or something loose on the door panel, the speakers are powerful enough to make them move around and will sound annoying. 


Test Drive:

As we went for a test drive, the ride was smooth and it was very quiet inside the cabin. The Audi salesman also stepped on the gas and the amount of torque delivered was quite intense. It is maybe not as strong as a AMG Mercedes but wow, it gave me an adrenaline rush. I now have a license and can drive the A4 so I have driven it. My opinions on it are that the steering, gas and brake pedals are very sensitive. I have heard it is not as sensitive compared to a BMW M3 or a Mercedes Benz C63 AMG, but it is definitely more sensitive compared to a Toyota Corolla or other cheaper cars that are not intended for sporty driving. You get a good feeling driving this car around the city while the LED daytime running lights attract people on the sidewalk. Sitting in the rear passenger seat of the car is not bad at all and it actually beats competitors but the middle seat is definitely not going to be comfortable for long trips.


Extras:

Interior of the Audi A4

We added the Bang & Olufsen sound system. It has 14 speakers powered by a 500 watt Class D amplifier. It sounds great but I had expected more especially since the option was $1100. I use my iPod all the time so a iPod adapter was added, a $350 option and another $70 for the cable which is seriously overpriced. Though, it's quite nice to control the iPod buttons off Audi's MMI system which is basically a 6.5" LCD display controlling most things in the car.  Also, a $2000 option for more technology (as if this car already doesn't have enough) which includes something called HomeLink. There are three buttons beside the sun-roof controls that allows you to open the garage or turn on the lights in your home. We were never able to set it up properly though. But another feature is the side/lane assist warning feature which flashes LEDs on the side of the mirror to warn the driver there that there is a close car behind or beside him or her. For easier access, there is keyless door entry which allows you to keep the fob (key) in your pocket and open the door without taking the fob out. Inside the car is also a push start button which also can start the engine when it sense the key near the vehicle.


Conclusion:
While the Audi A4 is luxurious and sporty, it is a great car for the family with a driver that may want a fun driving experience. It is quite expensive once you add all the cool gadgets, but it sure is worth it if you can afford it!