Hermann
Site Donor 2023
The good folks at Geico/Enterprise RAC gave me a nice Audi while the Maverick's hail damage is being fixed. The day after I got it went on a 375 mile trip the next day to the Lake of The Ozarks. According to the mileage monitor it is averaging 28 mpg in the last 16K miles. Moan, niggles and likes below.
Powertrain. This was a Quattro model with the 2.0L turbo engine. 7 speed ZF transmission. Smooth Smooth Smooth. You only hear the revs change when it shifts in normal driving but no sensation through the vehicle. Sounds great but if you take off from a start with any vigor, it seems to be confused as to what you want. Don't even bother with any drive mode except dynamic. It seems totally confused in any other mode. My feeling is the suspension is mostly shot at 38K. When i first got it, it was in Auto mode and if a wheel on one side hit a bump the other side totally overreacted. The famous German bank vault solidity is there until you hit a moderate or larger pavement imperfection, the whole vehicle shimmies. Again I feel the suspension is well worn.
The condition of the vehicle when received was disappointing. The glass on the whole vehicle was full of mineral water spots which may be hard to remove without ruining the mirrors . When received it was apparent it was on the road all night and full of piss poorly removed bugs from the windshield. Looks like they were wiped with a cloth towel with no scrubbing. Stopped at the first Quik Trip to take care of that. The inside of the windshield had evidence of a poor attempt to remove vinyl smoke. Had to take the car to Direct Tire to have the air pressures set. They were 8-10 psi overinflated. My previous comments were after the tire pressure adjustment. It was almost undrivable before the adjustment.
The very quirky interior has the most difficult to use cruise control IME. Plus it is so easy to activate the turn signals accidentally as the Cruise control stalk is right below the turn signal stalk. The worst of Toyota made it into an Audi. The infotainment is easy and logical. Android Auto connected reliably. After 38K miles the seats are rock hard and comfortable only for short trips. My back ached the day after the long trip. The leather still smells nice and has not cracked. Wish I could be more positive but it seems the only service its seen has been oil changes. It needed new wiper blade. The upstroke is very smeary. The downstroke was better.
The summary is this was not the greatest experience. This is not a luxo-cruiser, at least not in its present condition.
Powertrain. This was a Quattro model with the 2.0L turbo engine. 7 speed ZF transmission. Smooth Smooth Smooth. You only hear the revs change when it shifts in normal driving but no sensation through the vehicle. Sounds great but if you take off from a start with any vigor, it seems to be confused as to what you want. Don't even bother with any drive mode except dynamic. It seems totally confused in any other mode. My feeling is the suspension is mostly shot at 38K. When i first got it, it was in Auto mode and if a wheel on one side hit a bump the other side totally overreacted. The famous German bank vault solidity is there until you hit a moderate or larger pavement imperfection, the whole vehicle shimmies. Again I feel the suspension is well worn.
The condition of the vehicle when received was disappointing. The glass on the whole vehicle was full of mineral water spots which may be hard to remove without ruining the mirrors . When received it was apparent it was on the road all night and full of piss poorly removed bugs from the windshield. Looks like they were wiped with a cloth towel with no scrubbing. Stopped at the first Quik Trip to take care of that. The inside of the windshield had evidence of a poor attempt to remove vinyl smoke. Had to take the car to Direct Tire to have the air pressures set. They were 8-10 psi overinflated. My previous comments were after the tire pressure adjustment. It was almost undrivable before the adjustment.
The very quirky interior has the most difficult to use cruise control IME. Plus it is so easy to activate the turn signals accidentally as the Cruise control stalk is right below the turn signal stalk. The worst of Toyota made it into an Audi. The infotainment is easy and logical. Android Auto connected reliably. After 38K miles the seats are rock hard and comfortable only for short trips. My back ached the day after the long trip. The leather still smells nice and has not cracked. Wish I could be more positive but it seems the only service its seen has been oil changes. It needed new wiper blade. The upstroke is very smeary. The downstroke was better.
The summary is this was not the greatest experience. This is not a luxo-cruiser, at least not in its present condition.
