Over the years I have had many turbo cars and the surge/lag is one aspect but in modern turbo cars (AMGE63 for example) the management makes it feel like the power is consistent all the way up the rev range. This makes it feel like a tidal wave which is initially very impressive. They have almost managed to engineer out lag. The new VAG group electric turbo pre-boost will probably totally eliminate it.
http://wardsauto.com/engines/electric-turbo-48v-electrics-onboard-new-audi-sq7 It is excellent for overtaking with less risk. But it takes the fun out of driving a little. When I am driving the Series2 the power increases clearly as the revs rise. The acceleration becomes more urgent as red line is approached (and the side exhaust bark is also wonderful). The change in cam profiles can be felt around 4000rpm as it goes harder for the redline.
I think it is this attribute I enjoy. The increasing urgency the harder you push it. You have to work a little harder to enjoy it. Add the manual gearbox and you need to get it all sync'd up to enjoy the seemless run at the horizon. I guess this relates to the other threads around "what defines a sports car". The S2 has the 4.4L with single VANOS (Inlet I think?) so it does have the power bump.
The 4.8 has double VANOS so the inlet and exhaust cam profiles both change as the revs rise leading to a more aggressive change in character. It is also smoother in change over I think, I guess it is all perception. Smooth and grunty up to the change and then committed to whacking the redline afterwards. However the auto box takes the effort out of it, even if you use manual control so it feels more like a GT. You still feel involved but you don't need to work quite so hard for it.
If there was anything that made us keep the Series 2 once we bought the Coupe it was this. The cars are so different in experience and public reaction given how closely they are related. We figure they are holding their value and so are no worse than putting the money in a savings account (full apology for man-maths being used) at 1%.
I have deliberately avoided checking out the mpg on the Coupe as I tend to drive it in a manner that will never be economical. Mostly to enjoy the nut-job madness of the side pipes. I am going to guess greater than 20-24mpg.
The thunder from the sidepipes on both cars makes the death of those irreplaceable carbon resources worth every penny. Big Smiles.
