So for today and the next 4 days I will mostly be driving one of these:

Bit of a change from my Octavia but as it has 7 seats, I've got it for an extended weekened as we're going away with friends (thanks to Head Office for the loan!)

First thing that strikes me about the car is the way it doesn't actually feel as big as it looks - yes you can feel the weight especially when trying to pull it down at speed but aside from that it feels very normal.

It has a 6 speed S Tronic automatic box with flappy paddles behind the steering wheel :driver: so plenty of options - leave in Auto; manual change on the stick plus manual change on the paddles. Response is a little bit slow from the auto box, you have to judge coming out of junctions a few seconds before to allow the car to respond. However, stick it in "Sport" mode and it responds much much quicker.

The engine is very torquey and pulls very well, haven't tried to pull from a low speed in a high gear yet (as the gearbox won't let me or I haven't worked it out yet). Considering the bulk of the thing, fuel consumption isn't too bad - I did a 45 mile journey to work this morning, and despite some "silly" driving, I managed 28 MPG - from a 3 litre diesel, guess that isn't too bad?

Interior is nice and roomy - although the leather S Line seats are comfy, they are 12 way electrically adjustable. Can I get them right? Can I heck! One interior gripe I do have is that the air vent surrounds are chrome and as such reflect quite badly in the side windows and therefore in your view on the wing mirrors, can be off putting.

One thing I don't have a gripe with is the stereo system - it has the BOSE DSP system and it is awesome. CD changer takes 6 discs with MP3 recordings - I have put 1 CD in it which has 7 albums on, so there would be plenty of music choice should I fill it up completely :doublesho

I keep this updated as and when I can over the weekend with some more views on the Audi. Suddenly the kids want me to take them to school in it tomorrow - they'll be going right at the back in the 3rd row of seats, that should be fun!

Thanks for reading.

I've always wondered about 3.0TDI based cars.

Also, sounds like you've got a DSG based car (S-Tronic is just what Audi call it) - Nice!

I've always wondered about 3.0TDI based cars.

Also, sounds like you've got a DSG based car (S-Tronic is just what Audi call it) - Nice!

Yes it's DSG box = Lewis Hamilton style on way home with the paddles!

^^ Update on the above:

Filled the damn thing up this morning Oh god. Even though I had about 180 miles left to go, I thought I'd do it before the weekend to save the hassle. Not exactly sure what the tank size is but it just kept going and going - when it got to £80 I thought I'd better stop in case there was a limit on the fuel card, it eventually stopped at £92 and 65 litres !!!! According to the trip, that'll give me about 600 miles.

Took the kids to school this morning and they wanted to sit right at the back in the 3rd row. Couldn't actually see them very well through the rear view mirror, just voices and their little heads popping up. They thought it was brill and were constantly banging the windows and waving at their mates as we got closer to the school. Obviously with the 3rd row of seats up, the boot space is massively reduced - not sure we'll even manage to fit a cool box in the boot for when we go out at the weekend. Shouldn't be a real issue because there will be space in the 2nd row but still a pain nonetheless. You can't also put the retracable parcel shelf in with the 3rd row - thats stored in the garage.

Played about with the sat nav today also - very good and thorough. The main map is displayed on the centre console and the route guidance can be shown up on the driver display between the dials. Instructions are very clear and precise if a little quiet but that could be because I had the stereo on too loud.

Despite driving in it all day yesterday, I still haven't managed to get the seat in a comfortable position. I think if it was my money, I'd probably not spec the electric seats. Don't get me wrong they are very comfortable but I've spent more time adjusting them because I can, rather than just getting in moving seat forward/back up and done.

Will pile the whole family in tomorrow and see how we get on it at swimming and shopping. Should be fun, parked in a Tesco Express yesterday lunchtime and it would hardly fit in a space.

Regarding the seats, the problem with so much adjustment is the constant fiddling to get it right as you say.

When I got my Range Rover I spend two weeks before I got it right!

At least once you have it right you can set that position in the memory.

And yes, the width in car parking spaces can be a PITA if you have to actually open a door.