OH9EH4

so went to the BMW dealership in markham over the weekend. My dad's jealous i got a german car now so he asked me to check out the X5/6 for him...

decided i'd take a closed look at the 328 while i was there. sat inside and everything just felt so uncomfortable. i'm not even joking. was with my honey and even she felt it was uncomfortable. after 1 month of sitting in the perfectly designed a4 interior, i really do understand why people give such high praise for the quality of audi. bmw interior just felt so "non-inviting". the front seats were not comfortable, the dash layout seemed too stretched, and opening and closing the doors gave this loud metal clank that sounded like an american car.

made me happy to know that bmw's quality of interior is not up to par with audi.

poker838

i have both a 2006 3 series and picked up the 2010 a4 just last weekend. they are very different cars.

OH9EH4

Different meaning the audi is much better? What are some of the pros and cons?

poker838

the awd A4 feels very light on its feet, more refined, quieter, more luxurious. the interior is very very nice ... but i find that messing around with the radio etc takes your eyes off the road too much ... not as ergonomic as the bmw.

the rwd bmw feels more planted... more tactile and aggressive (as much as an automatic base model 325 could be LOL). the interior is obviously very spartan, but everything is where I'd expect it to be.

they both have the same size rims (18s) on standard suspension .. the bmw you'll have every reason to swerve from potholes because you will hurt yourself driving over it i honestly dont know how soccer moms can drive loaded sport package 335i's with the 18s or 19s and ride them over Steeles Road like they were in SUV's. the audi you won't feel as much, although it's still a firmer ride...

the bmw has better power delivery and accelerates quicker due to a more aggressive transmission .. althoguh i'm still breaking the audi in. While test driving the demos I found that the Audi's power comes up down low ... great in the City .. on the highway the bmw trumps it .. I'll reserve my judgement on the fuel economy til later on.

edit: btw, i'm not interested in bashing one or the other. they are certainly different cars for people with different driving styles. ... i like them both.

Step

I just went through the same decision process. Up until last month I've been driving a 2004 Civic Si and I was not only looking to upgrade but get a WINTER driving car (aka AWD).

I'm in Ottawa so I ended up going to Otto's BMW on Hunt Club and test drove a 2009 328xi. I liked the car, but my wife and I felt the styling was a little bit too "old man" for us. (I'm 30, she's 27) The steering on the 328 was excellent around corners and the fit and finish inside (apart from the dated-looking wood trim) was pretty nice. The ride was bit too firm though and the ride, although excellent, was a bit stiff.

On the way back to the 416 I noticed the 4 rings on my right and I thought I'd give Audi a try at Mark Motors Audi. I've always been a WRC Rally fan so I knew these guys could probably handle Ottawa's winters. I'd always heard that Audis have shitty electrical systems though so I was cautious. Anyway, long story short...I found the 2006 A4 2.0T I tested to be better looking inside and out, had better pickup and could corner even better than the 328. I ended buying it and I have no regrets. The Audi was cheaper, more youthful, better interior and has a much better AWD system (Quattro vs X-Drive).

OH9EH4

So I just got back from my service at Audi Uptown for slight vibration when driving over 100km/h. They road forced balanced all 4 wheels under warranty. INSTANT change in how smooth the car drives now. Driving down Hwy 7 on about 80 and was smooth and stable.

Highly recommend road force balancing

EdA4

First the roads in toronto are ****, so u will never have a super smooth ride. Now if u dont think your A4 is super smooth, test drive a 1998 VW Jetta VR6 lowered an inch in the front with low profile tires. My VR6 had to be the most uncomfortable ride i have ever driven. I would turn up the volume on the stereo so that I could not hear the thump, thump every time i drove over a crack in the road. I just purchased a 2002 A4 3L, and i cant believe how quiet and smooth the ride is

KingstonAudi

Thanks for the input guys, my wife and I are looking at these two options. I prefer the A4 while she's still undecided. Both rides are pretty similar, the acceleration on the BMW is smoother but the overall ride of the A4 is more comfortable. At highway speeds, both are pretty quiet (I actually found the Lexus to be the quietest). Steering at high speeds in the Audi (2010) stiffens right up and gives you a tighter feel. Didn't experience that so much with the BMW (maybe I was distracted by the shear speed of the drive . These are only from my experiences from driving the cars. Either way, it'll be a tough decision for us on what car we go with.

Toronto8

Vibrations is so normal on Audi's over 125km that I thought it was a alignment problems on all the A4's but what I learn is Audi's are very very finicky on tire/wheels set ups.The stock suspension is really terrible thats why the first major upgrade I did was coil overs.Interior wise Audi trumps BMW imho but like some posters says BMW has a much more responsive tranny than Audi.The main reason I bought Audi is the quattro system.If I wanted a rear wheel drive car I would bought BMW.The funny thing is my insurance is cheaper than my previous car (VW GLi)........

mart242

Terrible? You must not be talking of a new A4 with the sport pack, right?