Hi All
So i picked up the FL sedan yesterday morning, the black sedan i was booked in for was not returned, so the dealership gave me the Aura Blue sedan instead
Quick review of the FL and some footage i took with the GoPro via YouTube.
First impressions of this FL.
Exterior:
Excellent contrast with the Aura blue and Matt aluminium styling pack, looks astonishing in person. Pictures really don't do the FL any justice.. hands down this is the best colour to get. The front has a nice sleek design, very aggressive look. The dynamic tail lights and the rear diffuser with bigger exhaust tips looks the Business however, the tacky reflectors on the bumper need to go.
The real let down for me are the blade wheels, such an average design. I would not think twice to go for the rotor wheel package to complete the aggressive look.
Interior:
The steering wheel has alcantara on the sides as oppose to the PFL with it being on the top and bottom. Love the feel of alcantara but i do think with it being on the sides it'l dirty easily and wear out overtime.
The virtual cockpit- didn't play around with it too much, the Nav and digital speedo are very impressive, it sure does have the "cool" factor.
Everything else is the same as the PFL in terms of seats, floor mats, mmi screen size etc.
Performance:
Power wise, yes there is a noticeable difference, it felt quicker of the mark and it kept my body planted to the seat right through until the redline. Another noticeable positive is the shifts are smoother in sports/manual mode, there is a pleasant transition through the gears slightly quicker and less clunky then my PFL. However, there is that dreadful delay when downshifting.
I didn't push the car as hard as I'd like around the bends being that i was on a public road and the surface was wet. I can't confirm whether it performs better handling wise. Unless you drove the car like you stole it i doubt you would notice a major difference on the street, It felt more or less the same as my PFL.
I'd love to see a comparison video of both cars on a track.
Suspension wise, nice and tight, suspension is a little soft in Dynamic, a touch more pleasant drive but then again i have those average H&R lowering springs installed on PFL.
The let down was the exhaust sound, it does lack the high pitched pops and bangs my PFL makes, very disappointing
. I even questioned the dealer twice whether or not it had a sports exhaust! He did say a lot of people commented on how much more tame the FL exhaust is. -refer to videos for sound
Conclusion:
Will i be trading in my PFL with $30k nzd on top for a new FL? Not just yet. I can not justify spending that kind of money right now for similar performance and a few cosmetic changes. I wasn't left thinking wow what an amazing upgrade, it was all to familiar from the older rs3. Perhaps i would think differently if i was to take the car around a racetrack on a fine day?
The only disappointment was the exhaust sound.
Link for videos :
https://www.youtube.com/user/rpuin2
Some pics on my instagram : rs3_richie