Did the Audi Streets of Tomorrow event in L.A. today - "I am completely miserable San Diego!"

[MylesPH1]

A couple of things to note - 1) You HAVE to drive the Q7 before you drive anything else, but that beast does pretty well considering its size. 2) They have a euro-spec S8 to look at, and the Bang and Olufsen sound system is truly amazing. 3) just as rumors had predicted, no more driving the RS4. All the Audi reps made it clear why - the cars were abused at last week's event in San Diego, and then people posted about how fast they went on internet forums, so AoA banned anyone but their own reps from driving them. 4) The silver RS4 they had for a demo was crashed last night, and apparently no one is sure who did that or how. 5) Even though you don't get to drive the RS4, it's still worth the wait - the car is pretty damn wicked. One feature (among many) it has that I wish came on my car - oil temp at the bottom of the driver info display (225 degrees fahrenheit, BTW, on a mildly warm day). The demo driver gave us a good idea of what the car can do without being crazy - the exhaust sound in sport mode is.... astounding.

[Dream TT]

I was at San Diego last Sunday (and drove respectfully, etc.), but I know of others who definitely abused the privilege of driving the vehicle and abused the vehicle itself (burned clutches, etc.) As usual, the irresponsible 2% ruined it for the other 98%.

[ZaGerman]

I drove one yesterday and made a u-turn with it. The turning radius is almost like that of my A4. I was surprised.

[Bada Bing]

In terms of driving experience, I would rate this event well below Lexus and BMW events. The location, service, food and ambience was first rate, but they should have set up a closed course so you could explore the cars' capabilities a bit more.

I drove the Q7 and an A8 L and rode shotgun with a female Audi driver who was reluctant to punch it more than only once or twice. I agree that the exhaust sound and the engine's power is truly amazing. The steering wheel seemed identical to my 2.0T S-Line except for the badging. They should at least have made it thicker. I also didn't care for the RS4-specific gauges. I prefer the A4/S4's with the metal rings around them. If I had $70K to spend, my money would go toward an A8. An amazing car.

[oatzel]

we had all that real estate behind the driver's seat.

[MylesPH1]

I'm lucky because I live about five minutes away from the Design Center, so I knew some good quiet roads to play with the cars a little bit. I would have liked to drive the A8, but I've never tried a DSG transmission before, so I went for a V6 A3 - the Lava grey one, for those that were there.

LOVED it. I refuse to buy anything but manual transmissions for my cars, but the DSG might change my mind.

As for the location, well, maybe it should have been in the Staples Center parking lot, if they wanted to emphasize driving. But the fact is, most luxury sedan buyers aren't like the people on these forums, and were probably content to drive the cars in the conditions they see every day. A real drive in the RS4 is gonna have to wait until they show up at the dealership..