Andreas_D
Registered User
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2010
- Messages
- 26
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 1
- Location
- San Franciso, USA
- Website
- www.driving-vacation.com
Driving through the deserted lush Mt.Wilson rain forest, just 120 km northwest of Sydney of Route 40, I fall madly in love with this Cabrio. What a marvelous sound this Ibis white Audi A3 Cabrio 2.0T produces. When I upshift the S-tronic dual clutch gearbox, the RPM revs up briefly as the clutch disengages the second gear, and then the RPM goes down to synchronize with the third gear. During this lighting-speed sequence of precision events, the turbo has more pressure than the engine needs at lower RPM on the third gear...
Photo gallery
Mt. Wilson is a mountain range that spans for five kilometers north of the World Heritage Blue Mountains National Park. The rich volcanic basalt soil makes this region a perfect location for many natural-appearing large scale English gardens .Passing the Kangaroo and Koala crossing road sign and coming into a blind chicane, I downshift the S-tronic to third and second, and the Cabrio burbles exotically. On accelerations, the blow off valve sound reverberates through my spine and bounces of the trees. As the engine speed rises, the baritone exhaust note ascends confidently. This is the similar sound the Audi R10 Le Mans produced when Emanuele Pirro accelerated on the long stretch in front of the Laguna Seca podium. Heading back towards Sydney at night, I pass the jagged rocky Mt. Tomah on route 40, Bells Line of Road. With the top and windows down, the pristine mountain air brushes my hair. This serene ambiance must be soaked in. The sun has set many minutes ago. The southern sky stars are appearing quickly. Cocooned in a magma red leather sport seat, I recline and enjoy the open sky and the galactic light show thats about to begin. The white and red glow of the dashboard instruments produces the sense of space flight. No planetarium in the world can match this celestial experience...
Photo gallery
I commute to work through George St. from my hotel in Darling Harbor neighborhood. It is one of my favorite streets in Sydney downtown. This Cabrio allows the stimuli to enter my eyes, my ears and my nose uncensored. It makes the George St. experience very vivid. After crossing back the Harbor Bridge from the North Sydney, I drive through Prince Albert Road off the Circular Quays Macquarie St. This road takes me to the entrance of the Sydney Botanical garden. Suddenly a dark cloud formation comes rapidly disturbing the calm atmosphere. It brings an afternoon flash rain that drenches the road. Marble size raindrops splash and tiny drops bounce in the air. I quickly push a button on the center console. This single button automatically synchronizes the windows during the opening and closing of the top. The Z-shape origami engineering ingenuity makes the front hard section of the top acting as a cover that rests flush with the car body when the top is open. It creates a very clean design that dramatically differentiates this Cabrio from other convertibles in a very subtle way.
Photo gallery
Driving around Sydney could be very expensive had I not have a portable GPS with speed and traffic light radar data. This Cabrio is not equipped with the Sat Nav option. Police is barely seen on the highways or roads around or outside town. But my GPS warns me almost at every two blocks about the existence of such devices. They are everywhere like Starbucks in Seattle. No wonder, Australians are law abiding citizens when they are on the roads. There are barely any SUVs in Australia. Instead, UTEs are everywhere. It is a sedan married to a pickup bed. Australians love their tricked out cars. Ford and Holden are in fierce rivalry in producing muscle UTEs and sedans. Where can Australians enjoy their modified UTEs and sedans given so many speed traps around? I may have found the answer. The 132 square kilometers Royal National Park is 30 kilometers south of Sydney, of the Princes Highway South toward Wollongong. It is a relatively unspoiled hilly bush land hosting rainforest, heath, waterfalls, and creeks.
Photo gallery
I had a prejudice about any convertible because my experiences before this Cabrio were limited to the convertible from Hertz. It didnt take long for me to start disliking convertibles. They twisted like pretzel on the highway cloverleaf interchanges, even worse on zigzags. So it is a stark revelation for me to experience this Cabrio because the experience this car gives is nothing like the other convertibles do. The inventor of Audi Space Frame has brought yet another innovative technique to ensure the most optimum car stiffness. Combining the uses of high-strength, ultra-high-strength, and hot-formed steels with the V-pattern steel profiles and the box-shape structure, Audi engineers brings the DTM-car-inspired torsional rigidity and crash protection into this Cabrio. This car comes with the sport package featuring a renewed McPherson design with triangulated lower wishbones and four-link rear suspension. The electromechanical speed-dependent power assist steering system provides precise and confidence driving. 17-inch light weight aluminum wheels wrapped by 225/45 Michelin performance tires ensure that the kinetic energy is transferred in the most efficient way to the road. The super-sized ventilated disc brakes along with the anti-lock braking system (ABS), electronic brake-force distribution (EBD), electronic differential lock (EDL), and Brake Assist can stop the car in the way that makes me more nervous about the cars behind than the objects I am avoiding in front. Coming out of the lush part of the bush land, we arrive at Bald Hill vista point. The glistening ocean beacons many riders and drivers to sit and relish the breathtaking sweeping view of the crescent shoreline and sharp cliffs.
Photo gallery
When I visit a place, an impression is formed inside me. Often time, the impression cant be explained logically. It cant be broken into different categories nor be assigned weighted values. It is just is. In this regard, Sydney is very inviting and welcoming. Driving through Blue Mountain World Heritage Park, Mt. Wilson, Sydney downtown streets, and the Royal National Park, I discover whats in the mind of Audi designers and engineers when they created this diamond-like perfection. They built this car so that the driver can enjoy the machine and the nature as one holistic experience...
Photo gallery
Read more...
Photo gallery
Mt. Wilson is a mountain range that spans for five kilometers north of the World Heritage Blue Mountains National Park. The rich volcanic basalt soil makes this region a perfect location for many natural-appearing large scale English gardens .Passing the Kangaroo and Koala crossing road sign and coming into a blind chicane, I downshift the S-tronic to third and second, and the Cabrio burbles exotically. On accelerations, the blow off valve sound reverberates through my spine and bounces of the trees. As the engine speed rises, the baritone exhaust note ascends confidently. This is the similar sound the Audi R10 Le Mans produced when Emanuele Pirro accelerated on the long stretch in front of the Laguna Seca podium. Heading back towards Sydney at night, I pass the jagged rocky Mt. Tomah on route 40, Bells Line of Road. With the top and windows down, the pristine mountain air brushes my hair. This serene ambiance must be soaked in. The sun has set many minutes ago. The southern sky stars are appearing quickly. Cocooned in a magma red leather sport seat, I recline and enjoy the open sky and the galactic light show thats about to begin. The white and red glow of the dashboard instruments produces the sense of space flight. No planetarium in the world can match this celestial experience...
Photo gallery
I commute to work through George St. from my hotel in Darling Harbor neighborhood. It is one of my favorite streets in Sydney downtown. This Cabrio allows the stimuli to enter my eyes, my ears and my nose uncensored. It makes the George St. experience very vivid. After crossing back the Harbor Bridge from the North Sydney, I drive through Prince Albert Road off the Circular Quays Macquarie St. This road takes me to the entrance of the Sydney Botanical garden. Suddenly a dark cloud formation comes rapidly disturbing the calm atmosphere. It brings an afternoon flash rain that drenches the road. Marble size raindrops splash and tiny drops bounce in the air. I quickly push a button on the center console. This single button automatically synchronizes the windows during the opening and closing of the top. The Z-shape origami engineering ingenuity makes the front hard section of the top acting as a cover that rests flush with the car body when the top is open. It creates a very clean design that dramatically differentiates this Cabrio from other convertibles in a very subtle way.
Photo gallery
Driving around Sydney could be very expensive had I not have a portable GPS with speed and traffic light radar data. This Cabrio is not equipped with the Sat Nav option. Police is barely seen on the highways or roads around or outside town. But my GPS warns me almost at every two blocks about the existence of such devices. They are everywhere like Starbucks in Seattle. No wonder, Australians are law abiding citizens when they are on the roads. There are barely any SUVs in Australia. Instead, UTEs are everywhere. It is a sedan married to a pickup bed. Australians love their tricked out cars. Ford and Holden are in fierce rivalry in producing muscle UTEs and sedans. Where can Australians enjoy their modified UTEs and sedans given so many speed traps around? I may have found the answer. The 132 square kilometers Royal National Park is 30 kilometers south of Sydney, of the Princes Highway South toward Wollongong. It is a relatively unspoiled hilly bush land hosting rainforest, heath, waterfalls, and creeks.
Photo gallery
I had a prejudice about any convertible because my experiences before this Cabrio were limited to the convertible from Hertz. It didnt take long for me to start disliking convertibles. They twisted like pretzel on the highway cloverleaf interchanges, even worse on zigzags. So it is a stark revelation for me to experience this Cabrio because the experience this car gives is nothing like the other convertibles do. The inventor of Audi Space Frame has brought yet another innovative technique to ensure the most optimum car stiffness. Combining the uses of high-strength, ultra-high-strength, and hot-formed steels with the V-pattern steel profiles and the box-shape structure, Audi engineers brings the DTM-car-inspired torsional rigidity and crash protection into this Cabrio. This car comes with the sport package featuring a renewed McPherson design with triangulated lower wishbones and four-link rear suspension. The electromechanical speed-dependent power assist steering system provides precise and confidence driving. 17-inch light weight aluminum wheels wrapped by 225/45 Michelin performance tires ensure that the kinetic energy is transferred in the most efficient way to the road. The super-sized ventilated disc brakes along with the anti-lock braking system (ABS), electronic brake-force distribution (EBD), electronic differential lock (EDL), and Brake Assist can stop the car in the way that makes me more nervous about the cars behind than the objects I am avoiding in front. Coming out of the lush part of the bush land, we arrive at Bald Hill vista point. The glistening ocean beacons many riders and drivers to sit and relish the breathtaking sweeping view of the crescent shoreline and sharp cliffs.
Photo gallery
When I visit a place, an impression is formed inside me. Often time, the impression cant be explained logically. It cant be broken into different categories nor be assigned weighted values. It is just is. In this regard, Sydney is very inviting and welcoming. Driving through Blue Mountain World Heritage Park, Mt. Wilson, Sydney downtown streets, and the Royal National Park, I discover whats in the mind of Audi designers and engineers when they created this diamond-like perfection. They built this car so that the driver can enjoy the machine and the nature as one holistic experience...
Photo gallery
Read more...
