Video: 2008 Audi R8 Daily Driver

Now we'll give you an idea of what it was like to drive around the city, how livable, comfortable it was, and surprisingly how good it was in winter conditions. We were a little disappointed in the blue color, partly because the optional carbon fiber side blade look doesn't quite go well with it, especially for more than $5,000, but the cars a head turner, it definitely gets attention. You're transformed into an alternate universe when you drive this car where everyone looks something like this, and maybe like that and a whole lot of that. Compared to some super cars, which are a little bit tough to handle, the R8 is actually really simple to drive. Even though you've got 420 horsepower coming out of the VA. The clutch is very light, just about anyone who can drive a manual, can drive it. As for the shifter, it's a gate shifter, and you'll notice, in real practice, it's not that different from shifting anything. The only real possible shortcoming, depending on your perspective is when you go from third to second, because of the gate, you might not be able to do it as quickly. As for the ride quality, it's remarkably good. And then there's of course, a selection here in our car for form setting, a sport setting of the suspension. And the difference is really huge. Some of these cars you'll get an adaptive suspension system like this. You go from comfort to sport, for example, and there's a difference, here, it really is a big difference. It's great to have the option of these two and for the options to be really different. In addition to the heated side mirrors and rear defogger, the rear window itself is over the engine. So it heats up snow slides right off. Bonus. Another really nice aspect of the car, the optional sonar parking assistance. What's great about this is even though the bumper goes very low, which is really prime suspect for hitting a parking block, the sensors are low, and most cars, they tend to be higher, you could very easily grind into this. Also an option in the rear view camera helps mitigate the fact that it's a little bit hard to see out the back. Another bonus. It shows you roughly with the use of those red lines, where the car is going to go, so you're not just backing up blindly. We're very surprised how well the R8 did in snow and ice here in Chicago. Unfortunately, we got it during the winter. It's not just because it has Quatro all wheel drive. This car was fitted with winter tires. These are Pirelli Sottozeros. Now we probably wouldn't have gone for the 19 inch wheels because that makes it an even lower sidewall and easier to damage the wheel. But this makes a big difference in snow and ice, more than you might think. We're not saying here that this is a great car to have in the snow, but it's the difference between getting home and not getting home if something happens you're not expecting, maybe you're driving in the mountains, you hit some snow or ice. This makes sure you're not sitting by the side of the road. So we love the car on the track, the power, the handling, the balance was great. Now, knowing how livable it is, out on the street, we liked it even more. It's terrific. The only things that are... we're not crazy about, minor, the controls for the seat heaters, look and sound a little bit cheap. Also the stereo, if you think about buying this, think about the Bang and Olufsen premium option. We haven't heard that one, but God, the standard system here is terrible. Overall, this car came to us in the winter and we weren't crazy about it. We figured we're not going to enjoy it. In the end, it was a blast. We're sorry to see it go. <v Man>For additional information on this car or any other go to cars.com and our blog Kicking Tires.