Introduction

After a hectic week, when the mind hates to be woken up by the sound of an alarm clock, Audi India offered us a little incentive in the form of a drive experience at the Audi Weekender event which was held at Mahalakshmi Race Course in Mumbai. Now, for someone who has that soft corner for German cars, missing this event is definitely not an option. At the venue we were greeted by the sight of a sparkling TT, S5, RS7 and the top of the product range, the RS6. However, owing to track limitations the RS6 and the RS7 were only for visual delights.

Moving away from the limelight and fancy cars, we headed to the Q course. Amid the hot and humid weather, the Q7 and the Q3 with muck all around its wheels were an indication of some sweaty, yet fun time ahead. The course was specifically designed to test the SUVs insulation, centre of gravity, traction control and electronic stability control via well designed rumbles, chicken holes, banked incline, axle twisters and a bit of slush runs.

Taking the driver’s seat, the first thing that you want to do is adjust the seat as per your height. The effortless steering, good throttle response and braking soon starts to make you comfortable and confident as you take on every hurdle. A team of efficient and reliable spotters from Audi India and a trained supervisor in the front co-passenger seat further eases your worry.

The Audi Drive Select with off-road and lift modes makes it all the more easy in the Q7 as it gets the adaptive air suspension setup. On the banked incline managed to get a 36-degree angle on the tilt, which was also coincidentally the highest for the day. Yes, it does appear scarier from the inside rather than what we see on the outside, but then the SUV holds its ground with confidence and with a little help from the spotters, the hurdle is taken care of with ease.

As we progress, a large ditch awaits our arrival. This is the moment where Audi takes pride in its Quattro technology, where it automatically cuts off power to the wheels that have no traction, while directing that power to the ones that need them the most. Least said, the image itself describes what we mean!

Overall, the Audi Weekender experience has been one of those moments that would be cherished for a long time. Although the Q course was well made and offered modest level of challenges, we would like to see more of tarmac runs for the performance cars rather than the barely half a kilometer run on the bumpy paver block surface. Between the Q7 and the Q3, the former definitely performs impressively and requires the least effort. However, the Q3 Quattro is purely for those who would like to put their skill level to test. Moving forward, we will like to see more such events being organised by Audi India which is also a great way to build trust and a strong relation with its existing as well as potential customers.