Ok, I just took the A3 in to the dealer for some warrany work on my AC. They gave me a 2.0T A4 Quattro. I think it's a pretty nice car, but I wouldn't trade my A3 for it!! It seems maybe a little more luxury than the A3, but it really lacks in performance. Man, this car feels slow in comparison to the A3. I also think the ride is smoother in the A3. The cabin noises are quieter in the A4 though. Just wondering if anyone has had this same experience and what you think.

 

i some what agree with you but the a4 with titanium pkg is sexy LOL

 

Well the obvious answer to this question in the A3 forum would be the A3![8D] With the A4 priced so closely cost really isnt an issue. The only reason why I would get quattro is if I lived somewhere where it snows often.

 

No doubt I think the A4 is a SEXY car. I just think the A3 seems quicker and more agile. I live in snowy michigan, and the fwd A3 had no issues in the snow. I really don't know if the added weight of the quattro is worth it. (considering the same engine is being used).

 

I am actually looking at the A4 quattro for my wife - in Florida the state of the roads and the summer rain make it a pretty rough place and the quattro is just great - at least we do not have to avoid crazed A3er from California, we just have 80+ driving from Canada hey!
Anyway, back on the A4, it is meant more as a 'regular' family car - it is close to 1 sec slower than the A3 and over 300 pounds heavier so yes, it is definetely going to feelslower. It is also $3Kmore expensive on similar version. The target audience is definetely going to be a little different than the A3.

 

I've driven the A4 2.0T Q too and definitely like the A3 much better all around. I personally like the interior simplicity of the A3, the better performance and ride too. The Quattro would be very great, but I wouldn't sacrifice my current A3 for an A4 Quattro, unless it was a new S4. But, the S4 isn't worth the double in cash it would cost. Some of the other little options and goodies would be nice for the A3.

Cheers!

 

I've said it before and I'll say it again... the only car I'd rather have over an A3 within a reasonable price is a BMW 335i... not that $10-15k extra is reasonable

 

The A4 2.0T is tuned differently than the A3 2.0T. Like oliver said its over 1 second slower than the A3. The A4 does 0-60 in 7.1 second and the A3 in 6.7sec. The A4 is tuned more for luxury over performance. It's like the A6 2.7T and the S4 2.7T, the S4 is rated a lot faster and if the same mods are done to each car, the S4 would always be faster regardless of weight. Look at the gas mileage of the A3 and A4, the A4 gets 2mpg more in both city and highway over the A3, meaning less power/performance.

As for the quattro vs. FWD in snow they are almost the same. I live in the mountains where it snows half the year and quattro or 4WD is the best thing you can have. FWD is A LOT better in the snow than just 2WD and can perform almost the same as the quattro in the snow. Only issues with FWD is the depth of the snow, if there is over 6 inches of snow on the roads the quattro will handle a lot better than FWD. Stopping on icey hills you would have a better chance in the quattro than the FWD. Bottom line yes the quattro is better but FWD isn't as bad as some people stereotype it.

 

If you drive both the A3 2.0T FWD DSG versus the A4 2.0T AWD Tiptronic you really can notice how much more nimble the A3 feels versus the A4 2.0T Quattro. The A4 2.0T manual/frontrak as you say is 7.1 sec's but the A4 2.0T Quattro Tiptronic is 7.5 secs! (it really is about 1 second slower).