[PlatzdaTurbo]

Monday,19th April 2010,Santacruz,Mumbai -

So there i was , on my office desk, glum as usual, going through a few pending files, reading a few books for an exam that i intend to appear for later this year, glum as it was just another day, getting too monotonous. Longingly i stared at the F10 BMW 5 series wallpaper on my desktop when my dad comes out of this cabin -
Dad- "Come on lets go"
Me - " (sigh) where to ???"
Dad - "shut up and move"
My body felt like it weighted a ton as i moved my anchors (i mean legs) towards the car,trying to hide my irritation and sulking look to avoid an earful from dad. Little did i know that an amazingly pleasant heart attack was in store !
Emotions,expressions,feelings is a great phenomenon that all living things experience and i would fondly remember this specific day for the most abrupt and sudden change of feelings from being extremely bored and sulking to something like completely ballistic & not being able to control my elation. Our office stands at Santacruz which is right next to Kalina,the suburb where Audi Mumbai West have setup their service centre and are operating from there until their brand new showroom at New link road, Lokhandwala comes up.
As the car entered the complex with "AUDI WEST" written in bold ,all i had in mind was "huh?? what the.....what in gods name is going on???" A man was waiting there to greet my dad as he alighted the car. My dads first words were, " ok where is she" & that is when my eyes first caught sight of her standing in a corner. WOW ! gleaming in altogether different shade of white and her Bulgarian beard grille shinning in a unique gloss !
It took me quite some time to interpret from my dad and the officials exchanges that they had already talked and held discussions before. Quite sometime later i was told that a day prior to all these events, a client had introduced my dad to this guy at Audi who had informed him about a CBU White coloured Audi A4 3.0 TDI ,the very same one that was displayed at the Auto Expo in Delhi earlier this year and had been transported down to Mumbai right after the event. They claimed that this was a unique A4 in more ways than one. For starts, it had all , i mean all possible features,gadgets and functions one could dream of having in a premium segment car. Since it was a CBU ,brought in from Ingolstadt , it did not have the usual IBIS white colour that is seen on other A4s and on the inside, it had "Audi Exclusive" packaging and upholstery which again, would not be offered on any other Audi A4 in the nation. Whats more, i was really surprised when i learnt that the 3.0 TDI version of the A4 was not due to go on sale till August-September this year. When i first heard this i had 2 thoughts in mind - First was , i was not sure how much of this was true and second being, even if all of this was for real , they would surely demand a heavy premium over the normal tag that would be asked for the a4 3.0 tdi.Nonetheless i kept mum and decided to observe the proceedings. They talked & talked more and finally the time arrived for the TD. The 3.0 tdi we were after , was NOT available for TD since it was not registered and we were given a 2.0 tdi for TD. Dad took the wheel and we were quite overwhelmed by its power as well. What really had me drooling was, if the 2.0 tdi felt like this, how might she be??? yes, that beast of a German with the same body but different heart ! , a massive 240hp 500NM 3 L tdi V6 engine and whats more, QUATTRO !! TD happened, we checked out the interiors of the 3.0 tdi and YES, every word of what the Audi guy claimed was true !! A sea of features to start with which was coupled by red and black leather seats with "Audi exclusive" signature slabs on each side ! I just cant come up with enough superlatives to describe the eliteness and perfection of that cabin. That done, it all came down to one thought - "The car was amazing but how much would they ask for?"
Extensive talks later that included a discussion with the owner of Audi West, most of which i would discount, we managed to get them down a massive 6.5lakhs from the price they were originally quoting and trust me , it is now very very reasonable! Let me just disclose the 1 dialogue that my dad repeatedly used which sealed the deal from their side- " This car is no doubt amazing, but my son here wants me to wait for the new 5 series that releases a week later . But that doesn't matter , you give me your best possible quote and i will seal the deal right here right now"
History made ! Formalities completed, arrangements made and voila !!! ..she was ours !!!! The first Audi A4 3.0 TDI Quattro in the nation, that too a limited edition CBU ! Trust me, i was drooling, paralyzed ,all of it,almost at the same time !!!
Today its been almost 3 weeks since that phenomenal day and the car has been with us for almost a week now with temporary registration and in spite of the red numberplate, we have driven it extensively already including 2 trips on the expressway to Pune ,1 of which was for registration purposes ( talegaon registration ) I cant really put into words the extreme sublime levels of perfection and minute detailing that has gone into manufacturing this beauty and the godly feeling one gets while driving her !

PRESENCE - Its scary, the amount of attention it attracts !!! Literally everybody gives it a second glance, and what really catches eyeballs more than anything else are those unbelievably sexy LED crystals ! Passing through Lonavala and surrounding areas , it felt as though i am some bollywood star, the way people were looking again and again at the car ! Earlier i was a bit conscious with so many people looking but now i am honestly used to all the attention the car gets !

POWER - Probably the best part. An engine meant to push around an Audi Q7 put into a car half its size and what one has is a raging bull !! Crazy is a subtle ,but best way to describe the responses and acceleration of the car! Best example is ,overtaking a Skoda superb 3.6 on the expressway while returning from Pune at a speed of 190kph !

HANDLING - 1 word over and over again - QUATTRO, QUATTRO & QUATTRO ! Only when i looked at the speedo did i realize i was taking turns on the ghat at over 110 kph and consistently in the mid 100 kph range.GULP ! no matter what , she just will NOT slip !! i haven't even tried pressing the ESP OFF button.hehe

RIDE QUALITY - I have been in a C class though not extensively and only on the expressway mostly and never traveled in a 3 series so i cant compare the Audi with the Beemer but as far the the Merc is concerned, without bias i honestly felt that the ride quality of the Audi is almost as good as the Merc ! Though i remember the Merc being very smooth, i did not experience any harshness while driving the Audi. Just an added statement here though, suddenly that Merc C230 CDI felt like a Luna on power after driving the Audi.lol

SPACE - Ok, for its size advantage over rivals , the inside space isnt a huge bonus in the A4. I did NOT find a great increase in rear space over the C class. I am 6 feet 1 inches tall and i can sit comfortably enough but only just, there isnt plenty of space as such.The car is strictly comfortable for 4 adults and a kid thanks to the tri-zone air-conditioning coloum. I would give rear space maybe a 7/10.Front is not an issue atall !

SNOB VALUE - HUGE !!! thanks to tons of Beemers and Mercs on our streets and a bigger thanks to not many Audis around comparatively, people look and how ! Add to that the A4 is probably one of the best looking sedans in the country if not the best and those LED crystals just add to the oomph ! So yes, exclusivity factor is a huge huge plus.

MILEAGE - Honestly , driving such a monster of a car in its first week itself i haven't been giving too much attention to the mileage. On the other hand i have just been enjoying its unlimited power and driving exhilaration. But dad took it to Pune in one of its trips and he said, driven well, it gives a healthy average hovering around 15. Too early to give an overall verdict on average.

On the whole, i dont know if i have covered all points here. Its my very first ownership report or long post of any kind so it might be absolutely pathetic ! Do forgive me for that ! It has been around a week with the car but i am still in the process of getting well acquainted with its power and character. I hope to make all required changes in this report or perhaps write a better or more relevant one as i spend more time with her. For now, am putting up some pics taken on the very first day, i.e the 19th of April when she was first shown to us. Hope you the pics !

[PlatzdaTurbo]

a few pics of the exteriors

[Akshay1234]

congrats buddy on the car. it is an absolutely crazy car. a monster. how about some pics of the interiors too? and ive seen at least one other 3.0tdi. btw please please change the rims to the 5 spoke 18".

[jagxf]

brilliant car!! love the color, the exhausts look sweet! is that a proper diffuser?

[PlatzdaTurbo]

& the interiors here...

[recshenoy]

Congrats dude. looks amazing! what is the top speed and 0-100 of this car? same as one available here?

& the interiors here...had never imagined red & black packaging ! phew !

Cant see interior pics

[PlatzdaTurbo]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

congrats buddy on the car. it is an absolutely crazy car. a monster. how about some pics of the interiors too? and ive seen at least one other 3.0tdi. btw please please change the rims to the 5 spoke 18".

I could have changed to 18s but both dad and the owner of Audi west were against it. Dad ,as he would be driving it more and he has no intentions of breaking his back and the owner advised against it as it would make the ride really harsh and going over the slightest of potholes at a slightly high speed would make the car jump here and there. I personally wanted 18s but had to do without them. Maybe sometime in the future

[jagxf]

@PlatzdaTurbo: love the black and red interiors! the re stitching looks great too! your one lucky guy!! i doubt 18s will cause any back breaking issues, most of my cars run on 18's no complaints at all whatsoever!

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by jagxf

@PlatzdaTurbo: love the black and red interiors! the re stitching looks great too! your one lucky guy!! i doubt 18s will cause any back breaking issues, most of my cars run on 18's no complaints at all whatsoever!

then again your car is a much more comfort oriented car than this a4

Originally Posted by PlatzdaTurbo

I could have changed to 18s but both dad and the owner of Audi west were against it. Dad ,as he would be driving it more and he has no intentions of breaking his back and the owner advised against it as it would make the ride really harsh and going over the slightest of potholes at a slightly high speed would make the car jump here and there. I personally wanted 18s but had to do without them. Maybe sometime in the future

i agree but when buying such an exclusive car with a sports kit, you should at least keep the wheels more sporty. of course the 19"s this car had at the expo are overkill but im sure you can manage well with 18"s by driving a bit slower and keeping the suspension on comfort or auto. you have a good point, but stilllllllll

[PlatzdaTurbo]

Originally Posted by jagxf

@PlatzdaTurbo: love the black and red interiors! the re stitching looks great too! your one lucky guy!! i doubt 18s will cause any back breaking issues, most of my cars run on 18's no complaints at all whatsoever!

yup, as i said, i wanted 18s too....i surely will upgrade but maybe sometime later

[nikhilbelsare]

Awesome car dude. And those bright white LEDs really look stunning in the daylight!
BTW, the center console plays TV? And that too DD National?

[PlatzdaTurbo]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

then again your car is a much more comfort oriented car than this a4



i agree but when buying such an exclusive car with a sports kit, you should at least keep the wheels more sporty. of course the 19"s this car had at the expo are overkill but im sure you can manage well with 18"s by driving a bit slower and keeping the suspension on comfort or auto. you have a good point, but stilllllllll

I am dying for 18s too....initially my prime concern was, these rims might end up looking small and puny on this car, i am glad that is not the case. they look fine enough. Yea they are no eye catchers but they are good enough. Besides, with this car approaching you with those LEDs on, those rims are perhaps the last thing one might look at
Secondly, all new models of Audi are not coming with the suspension button - comfort,dynamic,auto. Its all automatic and the car adapts and adjusts according to the driving style and goes into dynamic all by itself ( suspension stiffens, steering feedback sharper and gear changes faster) when the Tiptronic is shifted into "S" mode.

Originally Posted by recshenoy

Congrats dude. looks amazing! what is the top speed and 0-100 of this car? same as one available here?

The website claims the 0-100 dash to be in 6.2 secs....i would imagine it would be slightly slower than that taking into consideration the fuel grade in our country. maybe in the mid 6 second range.
Top speed is limited to 250kph with the electronic limiter. Remove it and it goes to 280kph

Originally Posted by nikhilbelsare

Awesome car dude. And those bright white LEDs really look stunning in the daylight!
BTW, the center console plays TV? And that too DD National?

Yea it does play TV,its got a TV function. But at the moment all it plays is DD national and free channels as the government has not yet given clearance for terrestrial broadcasting. So all channels can be aired once clearance is obtained.

[Utopian]

Only one word for the A4, Awesome. Congrats Platzda on the acquisition of the Audi. Loved the interiors.
Wishing you lots of happy miles with the Audi.

[nkrishnap]

Ouch! the white A4 is a heart throb for sure. Love the looks of this car with the DLRs on.

The interiors is a nice place to be in.

Enjoy many more miles on the White Angel or should I call it monster for the 3.0 V6

[FlyingSpur]

WHATTT a crazy car to own !! You are very lucky to have landed an A4 3.0 TDi Quattro. I'd driven a same spec A6 and man that car blew me away, I liked more than the E60 530d and the W211 E280 CDI. I can only imagine what your can will be, what with drive select and everything. Awesome... enjoy the beauty and keep us posted. Redeff, you have company