First Impressions of the R36

[R36 Dreamer]

Well yesterday was the day. Picked up the new R36 Wagon in Biscay Blue.

The delivery process went well, and the dealer showed me all the basic features of the car. My wife was most impressed by the brolly in the door!

Then the driving.

I must say the car had only 17kms on it, and I would imagine has a lot of loosening up to do in the engine.

The noise the thing makes is just great, not too loud but loud enough. From the outside when accelerating away it sounds tops.

The tyres are quiet, and compared to the GTI I would say the best description is "less frantic".

As it is not forced induction, when accelerating it just revs and gets on with the job, without being too busy as I thought the GTI was.

The seats appear to be really comfy.

The xenon and static cornering lights are a great feature.

Stereo is good. (I didnt get the Nav)

Last night I got about half way through the first book, trying to work out how to change the seats around, how to get the key to memorise the seat positions etc. WIll get through more tonight.

Overall I am completely happy with the purchase, and the driving immediately put my concerns about ordering a car without seeing/driving it to bed.

Anyone who has ordered one... you are in for a treat.

[deemoE36]

heard of the "this thread is useless without the pics" saying?? it applies

good luck with it mate, congrats

[R36 Dreamer]

heard of the "this thread is useless without the pics" saying?? it applies

good luck with it mate, congrats

Mate was too busy driving yesterday to get an upload pics!!

On top of that it was raining yesterday so the car doesn't look its best.

Will see what I can do as the week progresses.

R36Dreamer

[Steve]

Sounds pretty awesome!

I'm expecting to pick mine up on Wednesday. The wait is killing me

[phaeton]

Sounds pretty awesome!

I'm expecting to pick mine up on Wednesday. The wait is killing me

At least Steve you'll be able to have the proper German Experience (SA GTG Joke) on Wednseday

Congrats R36 Dreamer on getting your baby

[Mischa]

congrats dude. jealousy is a sin ok guys

[Steve]

At least Steve you'll be able to have the proper German Experience (SA GTG Joke) on Wednseday

Congrats R36 Dreamer on getting your baby

I'm still feeling the effects - I didn't eat dinner until about 10pm last night

[Lance B]

Congratulations, mate.

Look forward to some pics.

I *may* get an R36 next year if the petrol prices don't go too high, but at the moment I am still overjoyed with my humble R32 Passat 4 Motion.

[Wyatt]

Sitting here jealously till August. More impressions and photos welcomed.

[R36 Dreamer]

Sitting here jealously till August. More impressions and photos welcomed.

I gave an Audi A4 2.0T Quattro driver a little lesson about the R36 on the way home last night - he loved it....

This car is bloody quick.

Concentration is going to be required if I am going to keep my licence!

[Wyatt]

Nice!
Looking forward to the first story of taking out a boy racer in a WRX or similar.

[Lance B]

I gave an Audi A4 2.0T Quattro driver a little lesson about the R36 on the way home last night - he loved it....

Maybe this is appropriate...

This car is bloody quick.

Excellent!

Concentration is going to be required if I am going to keep my licence!

Good to hear.

[Steve]

Picked her up an hour or two ago... so awesome.

Photos and video later... I'm going for a drive.

[Steve]

No photos yet... the stupid camera battery was flat and needs charging

Anyway... I just did about 100km or so, in town and on the highway and around twisties and on straight bits.

I'm impressed. It's quick without giving it heaps, it sounds spectacular - a beautiful, throaty burble that builds pitch and volume as revs increase. If you're familiar with the Audi S4 and the V8 in there, think similar to that on the inside, but I haven't heard it from the outside yet! The DSG works perfectly, in fact I'd say it's smoother and nicer than the DSG box in our GTI. It still manages to squeeze out the GTI style "fart" noise too... sweet!

It's a very comfortable ride - firm but inoffensive, similar to the GTI. Maybe it's the honeymoon, but I reckon it feels even better - more supple over bumps that could cause the GTI to crash about. It appears to love corners, but I haven't pushed it (very) hard at all yet. I took it up to Stirling via Eagle on The Hill and didn't have a problem with vague steering feel on some of the long sweeping bends with bumps and dodgy road surface that there seems to be with the GTI. It never felt anything but perfectly grounded.

The inside is great. Very comfortable, feels good, looks good... doesn't feel cheap or nasty anywhere that I've found yet. Setting the seat memory can be a bit of a pain in the arse but once it's set up, it's all good. The seats are supportive and comfortable and are a very nice place to be. Miles ahead of the standard Passat seats. There's plenty of room in the rear, and while they're comfortable the rear seats seem a little firm... but that won't be a problem for me, only my passengers!

The RNS510 works a treat, too. Before I headed to the dealer to pick it up I burnt 4.7 gigs of MP3's to a DVD-RW. It reads the music without a problem, and it's easy to change and select and view and manipulate the music. Navigation works well, but the woman sounds a little stern - I hope there's a way to upgrade her to a more sexy voice

The automagic tailgate is pretty nifty, though it would be nice if it were possible to both open and close it using the button on the key. As it is, the button only opens it. I'll have to learn not to open or close it manually, as apparently it can throw the mechanism out and it'll have to be readjusted.

I haven't even bothered to do any fuel consumption figures yet... I figure I just don't want to know right now. It's too much fun to care about sucking down the juice... maybe I'll pay attention once it's run in...

Not sure re: R32 style flapper mod. I'll have to have a closer investigate underneath the car.

I'll get some photos when the battery charges and the light is alright.

To those of you waiting... it's worth it. The car is awesome

[Dzl_Dubba]

Congrats and hope all goes well, i'd love to hear you smoke the Falcodore V6s