OH #$%@
How the hell did I do that. Must have had Infinity on the brain. Then in that case A3 3.2 all the way. Deffinatly a proven AWD system

 

wow. i never even thought of a is250 when looking at cars to buy. i already have a low mileage, mint e46 bmw that i bought new in '01 so another 4 door sedan never entered my mind....

 

It is amazing how many people are considering both IS250 and A3, me included.
I test drove both before settle with 08 A3 2.0T DSG.

We test drove IS250 first and we loved it. There were a few minor things that bother us.
- back seat leg room is limited. Kind of not expected with the external size.
- the door panels are pretty high, together with the centre console, it somewhat feel like a US car interior. The dash board look very fancy though.
But overall, we like it. Especially the style.

Then we test drove A3 2.0T.....we put down the deposit afterwards.
- the drive is more sporty. we could feel the push.
- and mostly importantly it gives us the solid feeling from german car. My wife won't drive anything other than BMW, and she said A3 give her the exact same feeling (even as a passenger).

To be fair, price is also one of the reasons for me. A3 2.0T is a few thousand less than a IS250 AWD. I won't consider the RWD (which is of course cheaper) because of snow.

And I do expect a few more minor glitches (so far none) than my previous japanese cars.

Both are great car, IS250 is a bit more sedan like (both appearance and driving experience). A3 is more sporty.

Of course I am bias.