Audi: Buying new A4,330i, G35, CTS, C320

On Tue, 20 Jan 2004 21:47:31 GMT, Bob Libutti <net> wrote:
 

Get the A4. I did just did the comparison (san C320 though). Snow
(when I go skiing) is an issue as is driving in heavy rain. I don't
think any other car maker can touch Audi for road feel and safety that
you get with quattro. And maybe the AWD will help with you hand
jigglies. :-))

I've never liked the C-class and a recent drive of a 2003 model simply
re-inforced my dislikes.The 3-series is a great car overall, and I've driven
several of them, but it's not quite as powerful in terms of total torque
output, and seems to need more revvs to get it's power out. The A4 would lose
to a 330i in a flat out drag race but through tight canyon roads it'd be a very
cloase race. A 3.0 sport package equipped A4 would be my choice, or a 1.8T with
chip.

In article <TlhPb.20948$news.pas.earthlink.net>,
Bob Libutti <net> wrote:
 

Hi Bob,
we have an Audi S4 and a 330xi.

Both are great cars... so I think it depends a little on what you are
looking for.

the 330 has things going for it that the Audi doesnt.. First on that
list would have to be reliability. Not that the Audi is NOT reliable.. I
just have found the BMW to be a little better. Either is going to be
expensive to fix. But the 2000 Audi has had almost $1700.00 worth of
work after the warranty expired. It has almost 69k miles... The BMW has
55k - and NOTHING has gone wrong other than a stalling problem (which
wasnt bad) which the dealer updated the ECU to fix - I think it was a
recall....

If you want to get a Tiptronic. I like the BMW tip WAY better than the
Audi.. but my S4 is a manual...

The audi.. I think its got a better interior. nicer seats... And might
be a little faster. Not sure about the regular A4, vs the S4. The A4 and
330 are very close in HP.

The BMW sounds better. Something about that BMW exhaust.

Close is probably close... but I suspect the BMW is a little more
expensive.

BMW dealers/service tends to be better than Audi dealer/service - on
average

I looked at the G35, and hated the interior. I thought it was cheap. And
no manual with AWD. forget it.

havent driven a C320, but I do like the way it looks and the inerior.
wish it had more power.. I think its only 215HP.. Or somthing like that..

good luck - get something sweet! :-)


Adam

>The audi.. I think its got a better interior. nicer seats... And might 

B5 S4 does 0-60 in 5.5 seconds
2003 330Xi takes about 6.4 seconds, .01 faster than an A4 3.0 Quattro w/ 6
speed.

On 21 Jan 2004 02:08:18 GMT, com (Steve Grauman) wrote:
 

The thing with the MB and all other RWD is that they suck in snow. We
get snow here a few times a year so it may not seem like much but
having lived in snowy places and now a rainy place, AWD, the quatto
version, is superior. We had a three inch 'dump' a few weeks ago and
it was bad. Bad. My wife told me she had a short chat with a guy
parking his 5 series at the bottom of a steady but longish 3-5 degree
hill in our neighbourhood. Tried to get up the hill twice and had to
park it. And given that people coming down the hill won't have much
control, he left his vehicle in a precarious place. And oh yeah, he
couldn't get it home. What a piece of junk. $50K and he has to leave
it maybe a mile from his home.

And the G35X which I tried this past weekend has AWD on demand. Which
is like uhh, third best compared to 4WD and quattro AWD. The Audi
system is the only one with reall AWD all the time. I don't want the
car to figure out when I need the extra pull; the G35X is basically
RWD 99% of the time and worse, there is the 'Snow' switch you have to
toggle. That along with other junk that Infiniti sticks in the cabin
in lieu of useful things found in the A4 is enough to make the
decision easy.

If I can't have quattro, I would stick with FWD.

"Richard Potato" <cu> wrote in message
news:gv.shawcable.net... 
driven 
lose 
a very 
1.8T with 
if RWD sucks, then explain why all PU truck are RWD and the non 4x4s do
pretty well in the snow it's about driving skill not the wheels motivating.

Tha Ghee wrote: 

Well, ask any professional driver and they will tell you RWD is
inferiour to FWD in snow/ice. Here we got snow maybe 4 months (or more,
depending on the latitude) of the whole year (Finland), and at least
based on what I've drove (my dad has a MB, my mom a BMW, and myself an
Audi), FWD is much easier to handle in ice/snow conditions. It also
won't get stuck so easily on uphills, when there's ice on the ground.

And looking how taxis drive, those with even MB won't say RWD is better.

- Yak

The E46 330i will be history in the next months.

The Caddy is unbearable for someone used with German fit and finish.

The G35 is something I found better than expected. However there are issues
with its brakes. In Canada, Nissan decided to extend coverage for it until
60000km, but this measure looks like a plaster. While being there, did you
consider the Acura TL2004. Forget what you used to know about Acura. Big
departure from previous version.

Two of my neighbors have a 2001 C-Class. They seem to appreciate it, even
if I heard horror stories about this car. It is very comfy for such a small
car. The A4 is as much desirable. Somehow more discreet. Slightly better
interior. If you want to try something new, I would get the M-B (or the
TL).




"Bob Libutti" <net> wrote in message
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