Everyday use advice please for new R8 owner

[richcliffe]

Hi everyone

This is my first post, and I hopefully take delivery of my R8 next week (20th Nov). The car has every option except the reversing camera. I would like some general pointers/advice on using the car as an everyday vehicle. I don't want it to be a garage queen, but I am a little nervous about taking it everywhere, and coming back to a smashed up / scratched / damaged etc... car. I have had the Cobra Trak installed for extra security also. I live in Nottingham, UK, and so would appreciate comments especially from UK owners, but any advice is thankfully received. Specific questions would be as follows.

Does the car get loads of attention, and if so, is it good or bad?
Is it realistically a car for all occasions?
How do you get on with speed bumps?
What kind of mpg is realistic?
Do you guys leave it parked in supermarkets / airports etc...?

I guess I'm looking for someone to say "Don't worry - everything will be fine", but I'm not sure if that's the case!!

Thanks very much in advance for your comments, and if there is anything you can add that isn't one of my specific general questions, then please do so.

An excited, but somewhat nervous, soon to be R8 owner.

[4ringer]

Don't worry, everything will be fine. Mine goes to school every day [most expensive school bus, per seat, ever !] office, and is now daily driver in place of Range Rover SC, which sits forlornly waiting to go off to the snow this winter. I'll pass 19,000 miles this morning, took delivery 31 March this year, so it isn't getting babied.

[4ringer]

and speed bumps are a real pain, going in and out of driveways is always an adventure in geometry and physics, and the gas mileage isn't in the econobox range, but if any of this is a surprise I'm surprised. And yes, it's a cell phone camera magnet accident waiting to happen.

[imclueless]

Don't worry, everything will be fine . 17,000 since Jan 2008 hardly ever washed anymore. Never missed a beat. Always had postive comments and get let out of Junctions!

Unforuantely my new girlfriend can't abide it and thinks I should spend the money on starving children in Africa instead. Nice to know that it wasn't the car that attracted her though!

[MikeB]

Im not sure its worth taking shopping without towing a trailer. Seriously though, I would not like to offer others the opportunity to side swipe it - it is a wide car, 200mm wider than the Disco, and not easy to manoeuvre into tight spaces - lots of tyre scrubbing going on.

And part of the reason I bought mine was so that I would not have to fly. I'm planning on blitzing the roads as far as Italy. And having taken it back from Germany, I can tell you its a beast and a beauty on the autobahns. Mpg on the motorway was around 22 when cruising, a lot less when not.

I took my 13 yr old daughter back from Germany and she loved all the attention - mobile phone cameras, even a zoom lens appeared at a drivers window! Stopping for petrol is also a laugh. Everyone seems to love it - not a bad word said by anyone yet.

Not quite an all occasion car then, but who cares. It is awesome!

[randombloke]

I get around 17mpg but I don't get to do much high gear a-road driving, it's mostly 3rd/4th gear for me on the roads here. On long a-road cruising type runs I've seen it nudge into the low 20's.

Parking at supermarkets depends on the type of crowd it draws and the parking situation. As mikeb noted above, it's very wide and the doors are long so best to park in areas that don't get too busy if possible and try and leave plenty of room drivers side eg end bays. The parking advanced with camera is certainly worth ticking on the options list to help things along - as are folding mirrors. The front boot is certainly small, but it does hold more than it might first seem - enough for regular small shops or a top-up.

I always try to plan routes avoiding speed bumps and steep ramps as much as possible to be on the safe side as it's not always possible to attack them at the right angle when other cars decide to test the laws of physics and occupy the same space at the same time.

it certainly does gets lots of attention which is something you need to fathom for yourself if its good or bad really - some like it, some not-so-much.

[richcliffe]

Thanks for all the comments so far. I really appreciate it. Keep them coming if possible. Feeling much better about ownership now! Been desperate for it to come since ordering, but as D Day approaches, I'm getting the colly wobbles.

[Rogun]

My driveway has a pretty steep slope and it took it on no problem. Its actually not the lowest sports car out there. But I have not taken it over my works speed bumps yet, we'll have to see how it fares there. Kinda strange, but im kind of embarrassed to drive it to work, considering i'd be driving a more expensive car than the CEO. So I just take my motorcycle instead.

[mdc]

My driveway has a pretty steep slope and it took it on no problem. Its actually not the lowest sports car out there. But I have not taken it over my works speed bumps yet, we'll have to see how it fares there. Kinda strange, but im kind of embarrassed to drive it to work, considering i'd be driving a more expensive car than the CEO. So I just take my motorcycle instead.

wut does your CEO drive? Maybe he put all his money into stock, which mean you might have to take the bicycle next because he will be taking his motorcycle... I wouldn’t worry about it, maybe he is not a car person

[Beautiful freak]

Hi richcliffe! Will be interested to know how you get on.... I pick up mine on the 19th (assuming Audi UK can replace the wrong sideblades that have been fitted :-/) and my head's full of the same questions as you! Every time I drive anywhere I'm wondering if I'll feel ok taking the R8 the same route (my current car, which I'll be keeping, is an X5 so not used to worrying about ground clearance etc :-D )