Audi's 1.8-liter engine revs quickly from lower rpm, accelerating steadily toward 6000 rpm. However, when you hammer it in the mid-3000 rpm range, there is some lag, and it makes you wait.

The engine certainly sounds cool. At idle, it sounds like it's chanting: ohmmm. Just tooling around, accelerating gently, you can hear a light whistle from the turbos. Over 4000 rpm, where you're inclined to keep it so it's ready for action, it's very smooth, and doesn't feel like the engine is revving.

The power peaks at 5900 rpm, though redline doesn't begin until 6600. The rev limiter is interesting in the way it cuts out the engine: not with abrupt misfires, but rather gradually, just making the engine bog and wilt. It's easy to rev to 6500 and shift there, because the engine still doesn't feel like it's screaming, but 6000 rpm is a better place, and soon your ear gets used to shifting there, unexciting though it may be. Sound-wise, 6000 rpm actually feels like a short shift-which is okay, because the gearbox shifts so nicely, you'll want to play with it.

The shift from first to second can be notchy, however. It doesn't like to be made quickly, or at low revs; the trick is spirited acceleration and unhurried engagement. But other than that, the gearbox is always there for you. Reverse, notably, drops right in.

The brakes are racing car quality; not since the BMW M5 have we felt anything so confidence-inspiring. That's in their stopping power; the problem is that the pedal position makes heel-and-toe braking and downshifting cumbersome. Which is not to say that it's impossible, and most drivers will eventually adjust.

The ABS may be the smoothest we've ever seen. Like the rev limiter, they work invisibly. In fact, they give the illusion of not stopping the car that fast. You have to stand on them with all your strength, to get them to make any noise, or to get the tires to chirp at all. We were lucky enough to get some light rain during the test, and we did a panic stop at 60 mph, and we only felt three whumps of the ABS as the car was stopping.

The ride is quite comfortable, not at all stiff, no harshness anywhere. The chassis and suspension will dance a bit when pushed, driving fast over uneven surfaces. If you hit a bump when the front end is already light, you'll know it. The chassis seems to feel the dips more than the bumps. The landing isn't harsh, the car drops and takes a set; but it does deliver that stopping elevator feeling to your butt, if not your stomach.

We took advantage of the drizzle to feel out the all-wheel drive with ESP. Imagine a Formula 1 car on the starting line. We did one drag-racing start, revved the engine to 5000 rpm and popped the clutch, and the wheels briefly spun before biting and pulling the car steadily away-dead straight, we might add. Of course, this description is simplified, as that spin-bite cycle occurred an untold number of lightning-fast times.

We also drove into a second gear turn too fast, with the revs well over 5000 rpm, trying to get the tail out. Predictably, the ESP corrected our imbalance, as we could feel the front wheels pulling us out of it. Generally, you get the feeling that the all-wheel-drive Audi is more driftable than tossable.

Which may be how it should be. It turns into the curves very smoothly and progressively, and responds so nicely when you turn in correctly. It's not a car that rewards aggressive movements of the steering wheel.