The Audi A4 Allroad 3.0 TDI CAR review

Audi A4 Allroad 3.0 TDI, It’s essentially the same trick Audi began using on the A6 nearly a decade ago: chunky plastic cladding to protect the bodywork (or more likely let people know that it’s not a normal Avant) and cover a 19mm wider track, plus there’s a 37mm hike in ground clearance. But unlike the air-sprung A6 Allroad, the Audi A4 has conventional steel springs so the ride height is fixed at that level. An Allroad costs around £1500 more than an A4 Avant Quattro SE with the same drivetrain but does come with 18in alloys and a boot organiser thing as standard.
Powertrain options are more limited than in a regular A4. The only petrol engine is the latest Golf GTI’s 207bhp 2.0-litre turbo four, available with manual or S-tronic (DSG) gearboxes, both featuring six speeds. It’s actually quicker than the GTI, reaching 62mph in 6.9sec, 0.3sec sooner, and can return 35mpg. Diesel fans looking for similar performance can choose the beefy 3.0-litre TDI six but most will likely settle for the 2.0TDI.
Surprisingly so. Audi laid on a mild off-road course that the Allroad cruised through with no problem – and which an A4 Avant with the same Quattro transmission probably could have tackled equally well. But a couple of quite serious ascents and descents proved not just the level of traction but also the surprisingly generous approach and departure angles. A proper SUV would certainly be able to do more, but the Allroad is capable of handling anything most of us would ever ask of it. Audi mentions research that suggests only 2% of SUV buyers actually ever venture off road.

Look Ferrari 599 HGTE CAR review

This Ferari HGTE handling package for the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano was launched at the Geneva Motor Show in March and we’ve just been to Fiorano, appropriately, to test it. With Ferrari predicting the same sales in 2009 as 2008, despite the addition of around 2000 Californias, it plainly needs help shifting its current models, and particularly the V12s. But will the idea of spending an extra £13,960 for some chassis, gearbox and trim tweaks be enough to tempt existing 599 owners to upgrade the Ferrari 599 HGTE ?
No engine modifications, for a start – not that the magnificent, Enzo-derived 612bhp V12 needs them. For the 2008 model year it cut emissions from 490g/km to 415 and consumption from 13.3mpg to 15.7; very impressive, if not exactly the kind of bar-room boasts that would tempt existing owners to change.

So the HGTE package aims to do that. It lowers the car by 10mm and springs are 17% stiffer at the front and 15% at the back. The magnetorheological damping system is remapped to reduce roll, the wheels runs half a degree more camber and the rear anti-roll bar is 1.5mm thicker. The six-speed paddle-shift manual transmission now shifts 15 milliseconds faster at 85m/s, and will perform multiple downshifts if you hang onto the left paddle. And the quad exhausts have been made a little louder and angrier, not that the current car is shy.
I’m struggling to spot the difference…

The easiest way to spot the HGTE is its new matt-silver five-spoke wheels, which cut 5kg in unsprung weight. They’re half an inch wider at the front and are shod with stickier rubber. The brake callipers come in five colours and the venturi is now finished in black and the front and rear prancing horses in brushed aluminium. Inside there’s a white rev counter and full carbon trim. The new carbon-shelled but fully electrically adjustable seats are trimmed in leather and Alcantara, with the Handling GTE logo stitched across the backrest.

Audi Q3 SUV ready to production By Audi

Audi has confirmed that it will put the Q3 SUV into production in 2011. The new car will be built at a Seat site in Spain, and Audi expects to invest €300m in the car and produce Audi Q3 SUV 80,000 units annually.
Audi is producing the Q3 SUV? That’s a bold move in the midst of a recession

Yes, but Ingolstadt is hoping that the world will be a better and brighter place by the time the new 4x4 rolls out of Seat’s Martorell plant in 2011 - it’s also the same year we will see the
‘Following in-depth consideration of all relevant factors and an extensive international comparison of various sites, we selected Martorell,’ explained Audi chairman Rupert Stadler. ‘We are counting on this Spanish site’s efficiency, the excellent quality of the production department, and its highly trained staff. We will use the Group’s synergies to sharpen our competitive edge and help protect around 1200 jobs. The decision furthermore safeguards workplaces at other Audi locations.’

But while Audi has confirmed European production, it has postponed a decision over whether to produce the Q3 in the USA.
Just what is the Q3?

Audi describes the car as ‘a coupe-like five-door SUV with seat positions, wheel size, and ground clearance characteristic of a typical SUV’. To you and me it’s a funky 4x4 to sit below the Q5 and take on BMW's X1.

The Q3 was first previewed to the world in 2007, by the Cross Coupe concept shown at the Shanghai motor show. The production car uses the basic floorpan architecture of the VW Tiguan, and Audi’s Quattro four-wheel drive system will (of course) be available, though an eco-friendly front-wheel drive version is also thought to be on the cars.

Under the bonnet there will be a pair 2.0-litre TFSI engines, producing 168 and 207bhp, but taking the majority of sales will be the 2.0-litre diesel, available in 138 and 168bhp guises.