Piers Daniell

I have eulogised at great length already about my car but one thing that needs to now be mentioned is the shoddy customer service that appears to be synonymous with Audi ownership. Having been a loyal Mazda customer for three years, I thought I knew all I needed to know about bad customer service. However having upgraded back to Audi last year I believed my worries would be behind me and I would be able to enjoy worry free ownership once again.

For me the warning signs started soon after ordering the car only to find out that while the car had been built to schedule there was no transporter available to bring it back into the country. A nationwide problem apparently, not helped by the lack of communication and the fact they persuaded me to trade in my old car two months earlier… Then I wanted an IPod dock – “no problem sir, but there is no stock”. Weeks turned to months until I tracked one down at another dealer. As they didn’t post I did a 40 mile drive to pick it up.

Next I had a stone on my brake pad so called up the flash new Audi centre in West London (the one by the M4 overpass). “No problems sir, bring it in and we will sort it asap”. Only to turn up bright and early on Saturday for nobody to have any recollection of my call and a quick two minute inspection to say there was no issue. Also the paint you requested on the phone (to cover a few of those high speed stone chips) is not in stock.

On my way back into London later that weekend with my brakes screaming I decided to book it into Docklands Audi. Spoke to them on the phone, ordered the paint. All was well. Work complete I ask where my paint was. “That isn’t in stock sir, we have to do a special order for that”. Ok time to speak to a manager. So after promising to post the paint I hear nothing. So I gave them a call only for them to tell me they don’t post paint….arghh! And so it went on. Two promises broken and three wasted visits later I have my paint. And I haven’t even got to the puncture and six hours waiting for assistance yet.

After dealing with four different Audi centres across England within the last eight months my experience has been poor. Ok nobody has died (yet), but I do think they should be able to do a lot more, especially when buying what is meant to be a premium product. I’ll reserve judgement until my first service before deciding if the R8 is a worthy upgrade.

As we are in the depths of another snow storm I thought it would be a good opportunity to discuss the merits of my car again! I have covered the engine and DSG gearbox in previous posts but now there is another part which is making a real impact at the moment. Audi has always had a reputation for rallying and one of their major developments out of the sport in 1980 was their Quattro technology.

By delivering power only to the wheels that have the most grip means it is one of the most intelligent four-wheel-drive systems currently available. Driving back from the Cotswolds on the weekend I was wondering if it was working as I hadn’t seen any flashy lights on the dash, until I got out of the car and promptly slipped over. I honestly struggled to get back in the car and had driven, at not an insignificant pace, across the country without realising exactly how treacherous it was.

The secret behind Quattro is the Hadlex clutch which moves power between the front and rear axles as required. ESP and other systems then brake each wheel to ensure only those with grip actually spin. It is a similar system deployed on soft roaders from VW and other manufactures, Volvo for one, I know have used this technology extensively with their AWD and XC cars. It is a brilliant piece of technology and one I am surprised more people don’t invest in. Mercedes for example have ‘4matic’ and BMW ‘xdrive’ which are available in all their salon models on the continent but unavailable, for some reason, in the UK.

If as a country we aren’t going to switch to winter tyres during these now wintery months then I believe there is going to be more of a demand for four-wheel-drive in our regular cars. It is incredible what a difference it makes and now will reduce my choice for future cars when I look for a replacement – happily though both the R8 and Bugatti have this system in place as standard.

When I was choosing my latest car one of my main requirements was to have a big engine. I was just fed up of having a small four cylinder engine, and especially on the motorway, having to watch it rev over 4,000 RPM just to keep a reasonable speed. I thought it would be nice to have a smooth V6 or a lazy V8 to make the weekly trip up the motorway less of a chore. Being a petrol head and with the few miles I do each year I wasn’t too concerned on emissions or economy so diesel was definitely out of the question. Also nobody seems to realise you pay a premium on a diesel engine which means 30,000 miles of driving to break even. 

Audi like most manufacturers are under great pressure to reduce emissions and improve economy, so there is a big focus at the moment on reducing engine size. The good news is that they have realised that their clients still demand a sporty and quick cars, so a lot of the downsides have been avoided. Obviously the sales man saw me coming and persuaded me away from the V6 and go for the faster TT-S model which had a turbo charged 2-litre 4 cylinder.

It does produce nearly 270 bhp which is frankly incredible from such a small engine and comparable to a good V6. It was definitely the better choice and while my heavy right foot doesn’t get more than 27 mpg out of it I am sure it would be less in a bigger engine. Driven normally it gets 35, but that’s me talking about economy again. Driving benefits are also plentiful because with a smaller engine comes less weight which is a good thing because it steers and handles better.

There will be a big push in the VW group over the coming months with a range of very small turbo and supercharged engines making their way into the cars we know and love. I for one welcome the change and for once see a benefit for cars going green.

Well the MX-5 has gone to be replaced with the new Audi TTS. Couldn’t quite stretch to the R8 this year but I do feel I am getting closer to it and eventually the elusive Bugatti. Took a few months deciding on the car I wanted and considered a wide range of different cars (a lot from the Volkswagen Group) before taking a brave pill and getting the TT.

I appreciate it has the same appeal of the Mini (ie every other car is a TT), but in this latest incarnation i.e. the ‘S’ version it is a little rarer and a different beast to the standard model. My main aim was to go for a big engine as I had never owned anything larger than a four cylinder but after the sales man did his bit (and sales people are the easiest people to sell to!) I could see the benefit of choosing the smaller engine. This motor is the latest upgrade from the infamous Golf GTI and offers 272 PS while still delivering nearly 36 mpg and a 0-62 time of 5.2 seconds. Another benefit of this car was the Quattro four-wheel drive giving me the confidence to journey back home on the weekend during a snow storm – something I didn’t enjoy doing in the Mazda.

My most controversial decision however was to choose the S-Tronic gearbox instead of being a proper petrol head and opting for the manual. I had read up a lot on this subject and ordered it without even trying it but the fact that even Jeremy Clarkson liked it meant I had to be onto a good thing. Nothing however prepared me for the brilliance of this gearbox and now I wonder how I ever managed to drive a car before. This is not an auto but actually a dual clutch unit which Audi pioneered with the first version of the TT. It blips the throttle and downshifts automatically during braking while delivering seamless shifts between gears. As I say a superb piece of engineering and one I would definitely recommend to anyone looking to by a car from the Volkswagen group. However other manufacturers are fast catching up and I predict this will become the standard gearbox once the novelty has worn off.

So having fun keeping my work life balance in check!

Company branding has always held a level of interest for me and when running your own business something that needs direction right from the beginning. I believe it evokes strong emotion and that without any actual evidence can sway a decision to buy a product or service. Over the years the Fluidata logo has remained the same but the look and feel has evolved. But what does it stand for? And how is it perceived by our clients? Questions I will be asking in the near future.

Branding is so interesting and even shouting out some loves and hates around the office the feedback is interesting and surprisingly similar. For example why is opinion divided so heavily on British Airways and why am I so keen to defend it? Have they given me great service? Not really. Are they cheap? Getting there but still Ryanair are cheaper as long as you don’t use the toilet and agree to share your seat with someone else. But something deep down makes me love the company and I am not someone who flies very much.

Then on the other side you have Virgin who not only run an airline (successfully from what I can make out) but also slap their logo on everything else you might want to buy. Does it make me love the brand? No. Why? I don’t know but obviously see through the marketing pretence and see the service underneath.

Others banded about the office included love for Innocent, Diesel, Lexus, Nike, Apple, Audi, Waitrose and Adidas. Hates included ASDA, Starbucks, Gap and Mercedes. What made people shout out these names in the first place? Let alone have an opinion on why they like or disliked them.

As I said even the smaller company can’t ignore the impact a brand has and the importance of ensuring you have a good one.

I have written before about my desire for a Bugatti but Audi have just put a spanner in the works with their new R8 coupe with Lamborghini’s V10 engine. At a shave over £100K it is positively good value when compared to the Bugatti and even undercuts the Lambo by £40K. Going to be a few years yet until all of this is anything but a pipe dream but for now this is what I am going to work towards.

Interesting fact with this car is that it is the first in the world to get LED headlights which will replace the xenon bulbs, and I assume as they get cheaper will become options on lesser Audis in the future. Also I would imagine the servicing and running costs will be a little less than Lamborghini’s Gallardo which I understand can be as much as £30K per annum!