RE: Audi R8 Spyder: Review

[daveco]

Guvernator said:

anonymous said:

[redacted]

^^^^ This to be honest. A friend bought an R8 V10 spyder last year and I was very much looking forward to driving it, who wouldn't with a convertible V10 pushing out over 500bhp? However while it looked lovely and made the right noises, it just felt a little too safe and dare I saw boring and this is coming from an S5 owner.

The difference is I bought the S5 because I WANTED a nice, safe 4WD family car so wasn't expecting it to set my hair on fire but surely the R8 should be doing exactly this. Unfortunately it felt just like my S5, safe and boring, even the interior was very similar so I came away feeling a bit underwhelmed.

You know you're doing something wrong when you can't make a V10 mid engined car exciting and yet your competitors can do just that with turbos and two (or sometimes four) less cylinders.

As an aside it does look great in convertible form, the rear end is superb-the front end not so much.

[VonSenger]

daveco said:

Guvernator said:

anonymous said:

[redacted]

^^^^ This to be honest. A friend bought an R8 V10 spyder last year and I was very much looking forward to driving it, who wouldn't with a convertible V10 pushing out over 500bhp? However while it looked lovely and made the right noises, it just felt a little too safe and dare I saw boring and this is coming from an S5 owner.

The difference is I bought the S5 because I WANTED a nice, safe 4WD family car so wasn't expecting it to set my hair on fire but surely the R8 should be doing exactly this. Unfortunately it felt just like my S5, safe and boring, even the interior was very similar so I came away feeling a bit underwhelmed.

You know you're doing something wrong when you can't make a V10 mid engined car exciting and yet your competitors can do just that with turbos and two (or sometimes four) less cylinders.

As an aside it does look great in convertible form, the rear end is superb-the front end not so much.

eh?? Id assume you poodled along in it? If the R8 V10 doesnt get the pulse racing when pushing on I dont know what will. Id suggest driving it properly.

[suffolk009]

VonSenger said:

eh?? Id assume you poodled along in it? If the R8 V10 doesnt get the pulse racing when pushing on I dont know what will. Id suggest driving it properly.

I have to say that after driving a coupe for a couple of hours around roads I know very well (A and B roads), unless I was flooring it briefly for the warp factor sensation, I couldn't actually drive it any faster than my wife's Boxster S. And the Boxster is actually just as much fun on those roads.

As for "pushing on", unless you're on a racetrack or the autobahn, you very quickly run out of space.

And that is the Catch 22 of most modern sports and supercars.

[VonSenger]

suffolk009 said:

I have to say that after driving a coupe for a couple of hours around roads I know very well (A and B roads), unless I was flooring it briefly for the warp factor sensation, I couldn't actually drive it any faster than my wife's Boxster S. And the Boxster is actually just as much fun on those roads.

As for "pushing on", unless you're on a racetrack or the autobahn, you very quickly run out of space.

And that is the Catch 22 of most modern sports and supercars.

Tiz indeed. I just returned from a trip to the ring in mine and have driven my old one at Brands, Bedford and Silverstone. I think it needs to stretch its legs to get the best out of it, but stretching its legs would almost certainly entail a visit to the clink should you get caught at that pace. Which is why you simply cant tell if a high performance car is "boring" on the road. Is it guilty of being boring at legal speeds? I think possibly.

[Guvernator]

For me 3 main things let it down.

1) Most of the dashboard and switch gear looked like they were lifted straight from other Audi's. A big let down for a car which costs well into 6 figures.

2) Primary controls - steering too light and DSG although mapped slightly differently i.e. it would hold onto gears for longer, felt surprisingly similar to driving my S5. The paddles action wasn't very positive and the gear change was far too smooth and free of drama, nice in a family wagon, not so great in sportscar where you would crave a little more interaction.

3) Felt boring at normal speed, planted, not very mobile and with the quattro, very little chance of breaking traction unless you got silly. It was only when you got into license loosing territory that it started to feel a bit more like an event to drive.

I know sports\super cars are universally getting easier to drive and the R8 compounds this even more by being aimed at the softer, every day usable end of the market but surely it should feel a bit more exciting than this?

[VonSenger]

Guvernator said:

For me 3 main things let it down.

1) Most of the dashboard and switch gear looked like they were lifted straight from other Audi's. A big let down for a car which costs well into 6 figures.

2) Primary controls - steering too light and DSG although mapped slightly differently i.e. it would hold onto gears for longer, felt surprisingly similar to driving my S5. The paddles action wasn't very positive and the gear change was far too smooth and free of drama, nice in a family wagon, not so great in sportscar where you would crave a little more interaction.

3) Felt boring at normal speed, planted, not very mobile and with the quattro, very little chance of breaking traction unless you got silly. It was only when you got into license loosing territory that it started to feel a bit more like an event to drive.

I know sports\super cars are universally getting easier to drive and the R8 compounds this even more by being aimed at the softer, every day usable end of the market but surely it should feel a bit more exciting than this?

As someone said earlier, catch 22. They want to capture the "mass" market, everyday user but also need to appease us. We lose I suppose, unless you use it on track like i do. Otherwise where would I get to exploit the potential. Would i buy one to use everyday? no.

[RamboLambo]

Overweight, overhyped, overpriced Audi SPORTScar.

Much rather have a McLaren, Ferrari or Lamborghini for that sort of price even if it was a used/nearly new car.

The last Audi R8 dropped like a stone even in the limited edition GT version. This car as good as the engine is will go the same way and the overall running costs due to depreciation will be higher than the real exotica.

A nearly new McLaren 650S spider at £185k would be my choice . That's a proper SUPERCAR

[Dave Hedgehog]

La Liga said:

One of the few cars where I think the last generation actually looks better (excluding the interior). It's almost as if they've gone backwards from smooth lines to a 'boxy' look. Still looks good in the flesh, though.

i would agree with that, i don't like the new design language audi are using, hence i didn't change my 8P RS3 for an 8V

a V10 manual spyder would do me very nicely

[Remagel2507]

Dave Hedgehog said:

howardhughes said:

As much as I like Audi's £164,240 as tested is taking the piss.
Thanks, but not thanks.

its a shame, R8's used to be attainable for what they where but the pricing has just gone stratospheric, at this price i would rather have a 911 CS and an RS6

Agreed - Ticked nearly every option on the configurator and it comes to £173k which I think is too steep considering this car was originally dubbed as the budget supercar. That said I still prefer this over the Huracan Spyder

[VonSenger]

Remagel2507 said:

Agreed - Ticked nearly every option on the configurator and it comes to £173k which I think is too steep considering this car was originally dubbed as the budget supercar. That said I still prefer this over the Huracan Spyder

Definitely not worth £170k!

[Sully3606]

Realistically you can trim 20k off that list price just by removing the carbon, wing, overpriced phone technology and ceramics, which if we are being honest you don't need and with dealers offering up to of 10k off a new one you are then looking at a £135k car, a long way away from any of the "Exotica" mentioned, plus if a n/a V10 with the roof off doesn't stir something inside of you then I'm not sure what will.