Ride Report - '05 Audi S4 Quattro Cabriolet
Aug 31, 2005, 3:01 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: NY
Programs: Marriott Gold, UA Nobody, Hertz Gold, Avis Select
Posts: 786
Ride Report - '05 Audi S4 Quattro Cabriolet
A nice bright cherry red paint job on this little monster with a configuration to the tune of 56k. The odometer showed ~17k. Paint job is almost brand new. The tires are showing A LOT of wear. I'm surprised Hertz is still hasn't replaced them. The configuration of my S4 is missing the Audi Nav system, 4-Spoke multi-function steering wheel, S4 Carbon Fiber trim and I think it has the stock Bose stereo. It also came with Sirius Sat radio.
Looking at this car you would never guess it has such monster of an engine. It almost doesn't sound it either. It doesn't produce a deep bassy sound like a V8 mustang. Once you get in and start driving it you just don't want to get out. Doing some city driving the Sport mode makes it feel a bit jerky since the car will aggressively shift up and down but in regular Drive mode it's nowhere near as jerky. Handling is outstanding. Car definitely shows it's racing spirit at cornering and acceleration. Overall, it's a blast to drive. I think I've made twice as many starbucks runs as I normally do just so I can drive the car.
The transmission is 6 speed with 3 different options, Automatic/Sport Mode/Manual. It looks like in Sport it will prefer to use lower gears which probably explains why I'm getting between 9 and 12 miles per gallon.
The top is fully automatic with a button hidden under the center armrest. To me it feels a bit slow to open/close the top but I don't have much to compare it to. It's takes about a minute. Because this is a convertible, the trunk is not spaceous. But it can fit at least one medium and two small suit cases and the additional space in the back is sufficient for two more suitcases. Trunk is not deep but does extend pretty far under the softtop enclosure.
The interior can feel cramped, but I'm 6'2" and with the seat all the way back and down it's sufficiently comfortable. This of course leaves no space for the back seat leg room. It's a bit tough to get out of since it has larger doors which swing out further and you need to have the door open pretty wide to get out. This can be a bit annoying in tight parking lots. The steering wheel is plane jane, no audio controls but there are gear shifting paddles at 10 and 2 so you can shift gears that way, or using the regular gear shifter. The console is pretty easy to figure out. The car does have dual climate zones but I think I turned on the AC once in the 3 days I've been driving this car. It's just a lot more fun with the top down. The driver and passenger seats have extendable cushions to provide thigh support (eh?). They also have 4 memory presets for seat and mirrors. And, there's 4 way lumbar support. As I already mentioned, the rear seat is a joke. It can fit another person but they would not be comfortable, unless it's a very small child.
Some things I enjoyed:
-Power
-Handling
-Styling of the car
-Convertible top!
Some things I don't like:
-Fuel efficiency (3$ a gallon! with 10mpg = lots of gas money)
-Wasn't impressed with the stereo, The 9 speaker version may be better
-Slow convertible top (but I'm not sure if it's "truly" slow)
-Hertz Neverlost takes up some space for the passenger and looks awful
Overall, I think this car is great for a weekend getaway somewhere like LA or Las Vegas but I would not use this as my daily driver. It's just not fuel efficient enough to drive every day. It's more of a show off/status symbol thing. I priced it out for a week in 2006 and it showed a rough price of 600$ a week. So I'm not quite sure how Hertz is making money on this thing. My guess is that they try to recoup most of it's value on the resale after it's served it's time in the fleet.
Looking at this car you would never guess it has such monster of an engine. It almost doesn't sound it either. It doesn't produce a deep bassy sound like a V8 mustang. Once you get in and start driving it you just don't want to get out. Doing some city driving the Sport mode makes it feel a bit jerky since the car will aggressively shift up and down but in regular Drive mode it's nowhere near as jerky. Handling is outstanding. Car definitely shows it's racing spirit at cornering and acceleration. Overall, it's a blast to drive. I think I've made twice as many starbucks runs as I normally do just so I can drive the car.
The transmission is 6 speed with 3 different options, Automatic/Sport Mode/Manual. It looks like in Sport it will prefer to use lower gears which probably explains why I'm getting between 9 and 12 miles per gallon.
The top is fully automatic with a button hidden under the center armrest. To me it feels a bit slow to open/close the top but I don't have much to compare it to. It's takes about a minute. Because this is a convertible, the trunk is not spaceous. But it can fit at least one medium and two small suit cases and the additional space in the back is sufficient for two more suitcases. Trunk is not deep but does extend pretty far under the softtop enclosure.
The interior can feel cramped, but I'm 6'2" and with the seat all the way back and down it's sufficiently comfortable. This of course leaves no space for the back seat leg room. It's a bit tough to get out of since it has larger doors which swing out further and you need to have the door open pretty wide to get out. This can be a bit annoying in tight parking lots. The steering wheel is plane jane, no audio controls but there are gear shifting paddles at 10 and 2 so you can shift gears that way, or using the regular gear shifter. The console is pretty easy to figure out. The car does have dual climate zones but I think I turned on the AC once in the 3 days I've been driving this car. It's just a lot more fun with the top down. The driver and passenger seats have extendable cushions to provide thigh support (eh?). They also have 4 memory presets for seat and mirrors. And, there's 4 way lumbar support. As I already mentioned, the rear seat is a joke. It can fit another person but they would not be comfortable, unless it's a very small child.
Some things I enjoyed:
-Power
-Handling
-Styling of the car
-Convertible top!
Some things I don't like:
-Fuel efficiency (3$ a gallon! with 10mpg = lots of gas money)
-Wasn't impressed with the stereo, The 9 speaker version may be better
-Slow convertible top (but I'm not sure if it's "truly" slow)
-Hertz Neverlost takes up some space for the passenger and looks awful
Overall, I think this car is great for a weekend getaway somewhere like LA or Las Vegas but I would not use this as my daily driver. It's just not fuel efficient enough to drive every day. It's more of a show off/status symbol thing. I priced it out for a week in 2006 and it showed a rough price of 600$ a week. So I'm not quite sure how Hertz is making money on this thing. My guess is that they try to recoup most of it's value on the resale after it's served it's time in the fleet.
Last edited by psychephylax; Jan 18, 2006 at 10:32 am
Sep 1, 2005, 9:28 am
#2
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: San Diego US and Brisbane AU
Programs: AA EXP/2MM - DL PM - OZ Diamond - Bonvoy LTT - Hyatt Glob - IHG Plat - National EE - Sixt Platinum
Posts: 1,315
Thanks for the review. ^
This, the LR3 and the STS are the main Prestige models I haven't driven yet, so I'm interesting in scoring one on my next leisure rental...
This, the LR3 and the STS are the main Prestige models I haven't driven yet, so I'm interesting in scoring one on my next leisure rental...