Last month my brother (from Europe) visited me here. He drove my (APR) chipped
1.8 qtms and was very impressed with the power. Especially picking up speed
from 65mph in fifth was a joy. Well, a few weeks later he was able to testdrive
a Porsche Carrera 4. This car has a 300HP engine and compared to the 1.8t
he found the Porsche to be "slow". In fast corners the Porsche feels unstable.
However, he did say that the Carrera is excellent for lengthy high-speed highway cruising.
I think the car feels slower because of the 1.8 turbo effect. Actual acceleration times
will be much better in the Porsche.

Then he tried a Ferrari 355 (this was a company sponsored event). Now I have to add
that he also rides motorcycles (Yamaha YZF600). As expected, the Ferrari is an
incredible machine with acceleration approaching the feeling you get when riding
a motorcycle. Of course with 380 HP it leaves the little 1.8qtms in the dust. (price wise
as well) The "drawback" of the 355 is the gated shifting, you really have to get used to it.

Just as with the new speedometer in the S4 it is difficult to tell how fast you are
really going. It is impossible to say if you are doing 180 or 190. Not that it
really matters that much!

Simply wanted to share the testdrive impressions.

Steve

99.5 1.8qtms APR'd (21000 miles in 6 months)

I am thinking of getting an APR chip...
However, before I bought one, I wanted to
drive one first...and get as many
opinions on it. THanks.

Marco
99 A4 1.8T avant
Boston, MA

I think maybe the Porsche was much smoother and much faster than the A4. Your brother was probably going much much faster into corners, that's why he thought the car was not stable (when approaching the limits of the car). The smoothness could also account for the lack of sensation of speed, giving your brother the impression it was slow.

Just a possible interpretation, I'm not bashing your brother :).

adc
With too much time on his hands