Dawdling our way through the Finger Lakes
We punched Skaneateles, New York into the navigation system and pointed the 2014 Audi A7 TDI toward the border.
Final destination: New York City, but only after meandering. That’s the point of driving: stop and smell the roses, or sausages, and soak in some Audi luxury.
Dawdle in an Audi? It goes against everything the brand stands for. But the A7, even with its vast crock-pot of power, is as agreeable at 40 km/h as it is at 120.
Base price is $78,300, but our Technik-trim test model was $96,300. The optional Bang & Olufsen sound system, at $6,500, was more than I paid for my VW Scirocco in 1975.
Technik is code for why have one button when six is better. The menus are deep in the A7, and there’s no buyer’s boot camp to wring the full potential from the impressive technology, such as night vision assistant, lane assist, radar-based cruise control and navigation. Adaptive cruise was my favourite, easy to set up, and a relaxing way to control speed.
Outbound, we avoided the New York Thruway and followed Broadway Avenue through Buffalo. Eventually it turns into Route 20, passing the cabinet of curiosities that is rural New York State.
Audi’s Tiptronic transmission climbs through 8 gears with silky precision. The 240 horsepower and 428 lb.-ft. of torque are the yin and yang of its diesel propulsion.
Reserves of power move the big machine past any challenge, but don’t expect snapping acceleration or stirring exhaust symphonies from the V6 3.0-litre engine. It’s a diesel, the payoff for that slow-burn personality is at the pump. We averaged 8.9 L/100 km.
Route 20 parallels I-90, skirting across the top of the beautiful Finger Lakes. There are few cars, but many diversions that keep us moving not much faster than a resting pulse rate.
We chose the town of Skaneateles for the first overnight and found a postcard-perfect town.
The Audi’s elegant roofline, predator front end, and wide stance give an air of athletic agitation to the big sedan. It’s all pretty polished and attractively arrogant, except for cer- tain views that seem to catch the back end in an awkward slump, like a runway model caught with bad posture. Our day-two destination is Poughkeepsie, but first, more dallying along Route 20. It’s hard to pass by the Petrified Creature Museum without stopping, harder still to blow by the turnoff for Cooperstown and the Baseball Hall of Fame. Northeast of Cooperstown is the fascinating town of Sharon Springs, where crumbling Victorian-era hotels look like the set for American Horror Story. The hotels were built near mineral springs, where spas and bathhouses catered to the Vanderbilts and Macys until they moved on to Saratoga. From sleepy Sharon Springs, we torqued on toward Poughkeepsie, to park the car for the weekend. From there, we hop on the Metro North Commuter train, recently in the news for a fatal derailment. It clacks along the very edge of the Hudson River and the views are wonderful. The first time we took it, Pete Seeger got on, banjo on his back, on the way to a gig. You can get off at Grand Central and take a seat at the oyster bar, or, as we did this time, get off at Yankee Stadium to explore the Bronx. We stayed at the new Bronx Opera House Hotel, a great combination of modern and historic, and close to the Yankee Tavern.
After our shoe-scuffers tour of NYC, we were happy to get back in the A7’s velvety cocoon and glide back along the Finger Lakes.
The sight of a smashed-up BMW on a flatbed made it clear we were close to Watkins Glen. The gates were open and a local club was doing laps. The vehicle tested by freelance writer Kathy Renwald was provided by the manufacturer. Email: wheels@thestar.ca.