Yea doppelkupplungsgetriebe!!!

Ugly, over-engineered and likely to be over-priced if it comes to U.S.

It won’t come to the US because of unworthy cheap morons like ‘howsmydriving’

At 30k I’d take this S1 over the ass-ugly Bimmer 1-series. This is the first Audi I am looking forward to if they don’t whack the design too much off the concept.

^I second that- that 1 series is a great car but god-damn is it ugly.

This one is angry looking and convoluted copy of Mini. The good news – we are on another side of the pond and probably safe from its blitzkrieg.

The quattro system will not get an 40/60 split, in fact there will not be any quattro/torsen system, it will
bring the Quattro name as the A3, S3 and TT. It will be a Haldex based system as all 4×4 cars to VAG with transvers engine mount.

Strange if they will use the Audi S1 name on the sporty version of the A1, because of the old and legendary Audi S1. It will destroy the cult status of the legend.

Ugly as hell. But then again, German design is a contradiction in terms. Probably attractive for male hairdressers, though.

Oh… look! Another $30,000 car for my $20,000 Cobalt SS to embarass. I’ll add it to the list right beside the Porsche Boxster, Mini Cooper S, and BMW 128.

Mean lookin little basstardo

this looks sweet! bring it so it can own the 1-series in looks

cobalt ss?? what a joke! speed isn’t everything! i wouldn’t even wanna be seen in a cobalt

Looks like an 18 wheeler can fit through the grill area. The rest of the car looks good.

id take a 1 series cause they dont screw around with bullsh!t like dual clutch AUTOMATICS! I can go down and get a 1 series with a 6 speed manual like it should have, ESPECIALLY a car this size. Put a 6-speed manual in the S1 and itll sell much better. This is the type of car that the R32 demographic goes for, and look how much slower the 2nd Gen R32 (DSG only) sold compared to the 1st gen R32 (6 speed only).

Mayer, I totally agree. I think BMW dropped the ball on the 1-series, it’s got an “odd” shape, I think anyway. This one is pretty sweet, although I have to admit that I’ve never been a huge fan of the amorphism of cars. Slanting the headlights so they look “mean”, I don’t get that. Maybe on a Peterbilt, but how friggin’ mean can a tiny car be anyway? It’s a design cop-out I think. Speaking of that (design), why hasn’t anyone come up with a “design” that doesn’t fall back on having big, clear, plastic light-shrouds for the headlights at the upper corners of the front facsia of every vehicle? Xenon bulbs are tiny, and now the LED lights are even smaller. Do they really have to be housed in an old-school light-bulb-looking housing? Didn’t Alfa-Romeo have something with just three “bulbs” set in the front of one of their cars a few years ago? Why make the lights look like eyes, this isn’t the movie Cars where they’re actually alive. Wow, what a ramblin’ fool, sorry about that one gents.

an aggressive looking runt. me likey.

A4, if you compare the same model DSG vs. manual such as the current VW GTI, you’ll see that the DSG is 0.3s quicker than the manual. I suspect that comparing the previous R32 to the current, there are other factors at work such as weight, tires, gear ratios, etc. no human can shift quicker than the dual clutch is capable of. knock it for being less fun and less control than shifting a manual, but performance-wise, you can’t beat it.

This is a competitor to the Mini not the BMW 1 series, which is more of a competitor to the A3. BMW hacks are always anti Audi, which make better cars to look at and sit in. As for the driving it’s getting irrelevant on todays roads you rarely get the chance to have any real fun off a track.

Who cares. It’s another overpriced, unreliable, over-engineered for the sake of bragging rights, tow truck friend pile of crap. Audi and Mazda are the “Brokeback Mountain” of the Auto industry. Their owners like to take it up the rear

N.M.O.F. GM

Brokeback Mountain reference that’s a good one. I agree about Audi but I wouldn’t put Mazda in the same category.

Looks alright and aggressive even though I am not much of an Audi fan. And GM, please go away and die!

No Volkswagen is the Broke Mountain of the industry. Obviously you’ve never been to WEHO.

Volkswagen is just for dorks and punks with no money who can’t afford real cars like the Cobalt SS.

Yeah cause Cobalt SS is nothing but one step above them.

A tired Cavalier ( POS )

Yeah maxcar im WELL aware that a DSG is faster on paper but it just doesnt feel faster. I drove both, each twice, 6 speed 2.0t and DSG 2.0t and its still a god damn automatic. And also, the R32 is offered with a 6-speed manual in Europe, they were just too lazy to bring it here, and the sales numbers show. There are still a few brand new 2008 R32’s left around. The 2004’s were gone twice as fast. Certainly before the 2005’s came around. Cars like this ought to have 6 speed manuals. Fine if you want to offer an automatic option, im all for that, it makes the old farts happy, but people that enjoy their drive want that 6-speed and people that are usually brand loyal to VWAG may start to look elsewhere if they dont smarten up and go back to the manual option like all their cars have had in the past. You couldnt even get an MK4 R32 or a 1.8T MK4 GLI with an automatic, they’re all manuals.

cobalt ss??? you’re a fukin joke!!! I guess morons are the real buyers gm targeted for the cobalt!!

Lol you’re right NMOFGM. Real people want to buy a riced out Cobalt SS with now where near the technology, comfort, and feature an Audi has? And audi scored on the top ten most reliable car makes for 2008 while GM is barely average. You can bag the cobalt SS, but I’m going to get the clean ass with a new Audi while. You’re a joke, just give up.

Tight. I love it. You’re right Ramatai, I was comparing it to the BMW 1-series too and it’s not a head-to-head’r with the 1-series but more with the Mini like you said.

2005 Cobalt SS was not screwed together well. Granted, any older GM had shake and rattle issues. Tyler_is_aero, reliability of my Chevy truck has been indeed average. I’ve dump sizeable money into it. But it has never left me stranded…yet. NMOFGM is a fan boy. American Revolution? Not.

Don’t cheer for Audi and BMW just yet neither. Audis and VWs were notorious for electrical issues and still may veer its way into the newer models. BMW latest selections, such as the 3-Series, for example, have no engine oil dipsticks. You cannot properly measure or change your own oil on one unless it is taken to the stealership. The 3-Series relies on a “add oil” indicator (shaped like a quart of oil) that alerts the driver from the instrument cluster when the oil is “supposively” low. Only problem is, the idiot light icon has not been perfected. Electrical gremlins trigger it to come on for no reason prompting owners to add oil when they weren’t suppose to causing crankcase flooding, blowing out front and rear main oil seals, ruined valve cover gasket, fouled fuel injectors and spark plugs. Interesting Nazi technology.

NMOFGM, a 1992 Mazda Protege is better than your Crapalier Z24, Cobalt SS, and your Cruze. I drove my Mazda through a feet of water repeately during a 6 day widespread flood without any interior moisture accumulation. The Kansei company makes the best door seals. After the disaster, guess what? Only my starter solenoid burnt out. New starter and 0.3 hrs labor of my time and she was ready to roll again.

Hmmm, not a big fan of the design, it just looks like a mini A3/S3. I’m just not digging it. I do like the new A4 (although I’m more partial to the B7) and I’m starting to like the new TT, but this just looks so bland. Granted it’s still better looking than the 1-series, I’d get a 1-series just for the performance and maybe add a subtle body kit to it.

As for the Cobalt SS, it’s a decent car in its own right. I will give it credit for that, but the interior is still kinda cheap (then again, some people want a plain and simple car that’s fun to drive, and if they do more power to them), at least compared to like a jetta or something. Who knows, this might be a decent car, I’ll wait to see some reviews when it comes out. Until then I’m just not a big fan of the car.

As usual with most blogs, tons of garbage and name calling by sniggering anons. Network disinhibition effect. “No more oil for GM”, whatever that means, is someone who sounds like he craves attention, even if he has to load his pants to get it.

I own a Mini JCW hardtop and I eagerly await the day I see one of these babies on a road in the USA, hopefully there will be no traffic and we can have some fun.

Everything anyone says about styling is of no importance to anyone else. That throws out about 50% of the postings on this thread. You should hear what they say about the Mini speedometer (fill it 2/3 with water and put a fish in it, etc., etc.).

I wish people who compare less expensive American cars to ones like this realize why the American cars usually cost less. It’s not the cost of transportation, or the labor – it’s the engineering and quality of materials. It’s like guys who compare 2 Chinese restaurants and favor the one that cost one buck less for the same dish. It’s completely beside the point, “which is better”?

Name me a brand of car which nobody ever had a problem with.