Fizzboy7

Audi put on a good show, but Lexus' offerings at the same venue earlier this year were a bit more thrilling thanks to the showcased IS-F. For today's track laps, Audi's hottest car was the new A4 3.2 Quattro (last year was the S5). A nice all-around car with very neutral handling.
The IS250 AWD held it's own pretty well, even with the obvious horsepower disadvantage. The MBZ C300 was voted worst by my group, the IS250 AWD in third, the 3-series AWD second, and the A4 first. From a performance standpoint, I agree with those standings. Of course we all know an IS350 AWD would have been a far better match if Lexus made such a model.
About the Benz... it's definitely in a different league alltogether. Very soft and floaty and a handful around the cones. I felt the BMW and IS handled similarly, with the BMW sorting out side to side transitional forces slightly better. The A4 was the surprise, with easiest to modulate steering and braking. We all agreed it was the car that could be driven the fastest through the course.
All in all, a very fun event. Other than the Mercedes, there really isn't a bad car in the group. (sorry for the crappy pic)
Does anyone know when the next Taste of Lexus events begin?

AM1

iTrader: (6)

so was it worth going to?

Fizzboy7

Three free hours of defensive driving skills and thrashing around someone elses cars? No question.

t0e

iTrader: (1)

Thats pretty cool, to bad you didn't post it up, so we could have joined you!

crazybuggy

thass crazy! envious!

Fizzboy7

Well, it being an Audi event, I didn't want to start talking Audi on here. But interestingly, there were a lot of Lexus's parked in the parking lot for the event. Lots of enthusiasts there. Lexus does there own as the Taste of Lexus, which I'm sure you all know about. I think they just had theirs at the Rose Bowl last month. As far as I know, Audi and Lexus are the only two who have used Fontana, which has a true race course. Big difference with that and what is set up in a parking lot.

Brian231

Sounds like a ton of fun. I guess being in Cali, you really don't need the AWD anyway?

mikez

Yay, someone actually likes the 250AWD lol

Fizzboy7

From the test, I'd conclude the Lexus AWD really only improves things in foul weather. But for enhancing performance, I think it's a wash or even a hinderance due to the extra weight (ditto with the BMW and MBZ). The Audi's Quattro system is designed to help with handling and bad weather driving.
It would have been more helpful and interesting to have been able to test identical AWD and 2WD cars to see how much the AWD really made a difference around turns.

AM1

iTrader: (6)

yea i went to the last audi event. i just dont know, since its more then 50 miles one way to get to the event. and not being able to drive the s4/s5 for the last lap....hmmm...what to do...

Fizzboy7

I was faced with the same dilema. Long drive and no high performance models. But it turned out to be quite fruitful in that one can test out the every-day cars and see how they would handle in extreme conditions. I used it to brush up on my emergency handling skills.