Yesterday, I had the chance to play with the various driving/ESP modes on a closed road (construction). Was pretty interesting because it was a wide area where I could reach some nice speeds without any risk.

Long story short: I always loved Performance mode DRY but always hesitated to use it on public roads because the ESP is set to "sport mode" and can be very tricky at times.

Just out of curiosity, I also turned off the ESP completely (longer press on the ESP button) to see how the car reacts and it wasn't pretty I have to admit, despite the warm tires (aprox. 45°C). Very difficult to "catch" the car because the loss of control comes very sudden and very aggressively (typical mid engined car behavior).

Well, while driving with Performance mode DRY and ESP completely turned off, I pressed the ESP button and expected the ESP to fall back into the previous (Performance mode DRY standards setup) "sport mode". 

What happened however was that I was suddenly driving in Performance mode DRY with the ESP completely turned ON (standard mode). This changes the whole driving experience on public roads: Huge safety improvement plus the amazing setup from the Performance mode DRY (everything set to "sport", dynamic steering without a variable setup, gearbox shifting up as aggressive as possible with some serious "kicks", throttle response highly sensitive, etc.).

So call me stupid but I do not understand why Audi doesn't offer a Performance mode DRY with ESP turned on completely? It would make more sense to press the ESP button if people want to drive in ESP "sport mode".

I didn't know that it is possible to switch ESP back to standard mode with Performance mode DRY, there is no documentation about it and I always assumed that this is a fixed setup. yes

Performance mode DRY with ESP turned on (standard mode) is a game changer in my opinion. So much more fun but with a lower risk, especially when driving on public roads. 

 


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RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche 991 Carrera 4 GTS Cabriolet (2015), Porsche Cayenne S Diesel (2017), Audi R8 V10 Plus (2016), Mini JCW (2015)