Friday, September 22, 2006

Vorsprung Durch Technik


I was just invited to have a look at a friend’s brand new Audi Q7. It is the 4,2l V8 Quattro. I am speechless. This is the most sophisticated machinery I have ever been allowed to touch. For starters, it looks smooth and elegant. It doesn’t appear big from the outside, but it is really big on the inside. And its got everything you can think of. Name it. SatNav, built-in phone, optional TV tuner, fold-down trays behind the front seats, leg space, leather, wood-inlays, and the list is endless. It about 5m long and 2 m wide, so it’s big. Everything works with voice prompts, you press a button on the steering wheel, and say something like “phone”, and it opens the phone display on the centre of the dashboard. The same display changes to a camera when you reverse, so that you can see behind you. It also shows lines of where you are going, superimposed in the video image, so you know where you are “aiming”. The lines change angle as you turn the steering wheel. When you open the hatch in the back, there is a button you can press to lower the car when you want to load stuff. Also, there is a button on the hatch door that closes the door automatically when you press it. Inside, it has a four zone climate control system, so the passengers in the back have individual control. It produces 171 kW @ 4000 r/min and torque of 500 Nm @ 1750-2750 r/min, and it weighs 2300kg (this is for the TDI). It has a radar sensors that monitor the blind spot on the sides of the car and flashes a signal to the driver via flickers mounted on the inside of the mirrors, alerting the driver that a car is in its blind spot.

In all, a bloody technologically impressive car! You have to experience it yourself. Go out now and check it out!

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