Quote:
Originally Posted by mrad01
That would be good! Then you will realise that the Skoda/VW/Audi S4 is actually just another incorrectly engineered car like all Skoda/VW/Audis.
Just to add a little balance to this, Top Gear magazine just completed a review of the Audi S4, BMW M335 and Merc Csomething...
Here is the final results and finishing paragraph:
1. BMW 335i
2. Audi S4
3. Merc Csomething...who cares
"The S4 didn't win. Dynamically it is a throwback to the previous model, which also felt like each of the four wheels didn't know where the others were going - and the body had another idea altogether. Push any of this versions many buttons and you still get a variation on ordinary. Bring on the RS4. Whatever it costs, it will be better value than this."
This is absolutely a typical Skoda/VW/Audi summary.
No matter what a Skoda/VW/Audi looks like from the outside (and I will admit, some do look hot) that initial "wow" goes away once I get into the tacky interior (those without any design sense use the word luxury) and then I give it back after I (once again) realise I have been fooled by a good looking car with no tactile driver's feedback and a cheezy "buttons everywhere" and "stick leather here, nice shiny bit there" interior which really is terrible to operate.
The best thing you can do is go to a driver comparison day. Get into the Skoda/VW/Audi first and drive it around - and then immediately get into a BMW. I have not seen one person yet who wants to get back into the Skoda/VW/Audi.
When I see an Audi less than a RS model with someone trying to drive fast - the words "OMG, clueless" enter my head. And then after meeting the driver - that's generally true.
I look forward to your "BMW fanboy", "Car snob", "You have no idea" etc etc flames. Already heard them before. All I ask is people THINK rather than go "ooooooh, that's nice looking. My mates will think I'm neato if I turn up in this!"
Just to finish off, here is another quote from Top Gear Magazine:
"The S4's steering is on Valium and about to nod off compared to the BMW it becomes imprecise and shakes itself senseless through choppy bends"
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A lot of good points in here. For years, non-M BMW's had to deal with having less horsepower than the competition, until the 335i. The thing that drew people to BMW's was the way they connect the driver to the road, which probably means different things to different people.
In all likelihood, the 335i will still drive better and feel better than the Audi S4, even though it is slower. I would reserve judgement on the S4 vs. 335i until I actually drive the Audi though. What's exciting to many people is that for a similar price, you get a car that is faster. The Mercedes C-somethings are also faster, in a straight line, but almost everyone in this forum would never buy one, even if they cost less than a BMW, which they don't. Also, no MT is absolute fail.
One interesting thing about the Audi though. Car and Driver magazine preferred the B7 S4 over the e46 M3 because they felt that the steering in the S4 was better. Everyone here knows that they're wrong, but it goes to show that there are some people out there that prefer the feel of the Audi to that of the BMW. For those people, the S4 is an incredible deal if it really drives like the B7 Audi. If the B8 S4 actually has improved what the Top Gear article thinks it hasn't, than it will be an absolutely fantastic car.
Either way, I am excited to see what the S4 has to offer, but I still absolutely love my 335i.