Hello All .. I'm in the market for a new autmobile and have narrowed it down to either the A4 or the TSX. I drove both and really like the way the A4 drives, but with the same options its priced out almost $8k more then the Acura. I know that I will probably get a pretty overwhelming yay on the A4 and nay on the TSX since this is an A4 forum, but I just wanted to hear what you guys thought of the two cars, more specifically, what you think of the new A4 2.0T. I've never owned an Audi with quattro so one thing I'm a bit concerned about is their reliability compared to the Acura TSX and the cost of maintanence. Also, how good is the quattro to have? How does the quattro drive in the snow/winter weather compared to say a FWD Audi/Acura? I wish it was december over hear in Chicago so I could really see how it drove.

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

I was in your same spot 4.5 weeks ago, I also had in my list of cars.

Mercedes 280 4 matic
Ford 500,
Mazda speed6 (276 hp awd limited edition)
Acura tsx
In the past i had looked at the 325 ix.

Well I have an audi now 6 speed 3.0 quattro.

I have 7000 miles on it in 4.5 weeks.

As for the car and it's reliability.

consumer reports rated it the best mid size luxury car for the last 3 years.
JDM gave it near top marks.


I get good gasmilage, compared to my 01 tahoe. Handling is better than the bmw/mercedes/ford/acura.

Quattro has been around for 25 years. Reliability is not an issue with mainance. Just like any car, some will have problems Others will abuse it and it will run.

Would i take a tsx in trade for my audi with 8 k in cash.

no.

 

I think the TL is more on par with an A4. I am not sure if the AWD TL is available yet -- but if it isnt, it will be very soon... It'd be a competitor for the A4, not the TSX.

AWD in the snow is obviously far better than FWD... that should go without saying.

The new 2.0T is a great engine. Everybody is loving it... a chipped a4 will put down almost 300 ft/lbs of torque, and be buttery smooth while doing it. I doubt if the A4 is on par with honda in terms of reliability though... but it isn't like it will be a terribly unreliable car or anything. Plus audi's have paid for scheduled maintenance... does acura? Factor that into your costs.

I do love the new TL though... now that it has AWD, I'd definately consider it a great alternative to the a4. But as you already said -- this is an audi forum... so there is going to some bias. I would end up in a new 2.0T if I were shopping... but I may want different things from a car than you.

 

The 06 A4 blows the TSX out of the water. Wether its in a race , or in terms of build quailty.
Ive drivin both , the TSX doesnt compare. Both cars stock come with 200HP. But the Acura has low TQ around 170. While the A4 has 207TQ.
Now , if you chip the A4 ($500) it will be putting down about 250HP and almost 300TQ. Cleary that TSX is not really even in the same class.
And the Quattro , you will fall in love with. You will master any road in front of you
It is well worth the price difference.

 

audi quattro is a pretty big deal...cuz its the sickest awd to ever come around on sedans. acura won't win on handling. i'd go audi...love audis hands down

 

Have you seen acura's awd? Heralded as the most sophistocated on the planet.

I dig quattro's simplicity though.

 

I haven't a clue which model the TSX is so I am only throwing in half of my 2 cents (that's a penny I think)

Maintenance... Expensive. Most Luxury cars are. Now that Audi is owned by Volkswagen parts are becoming more available and less expensive but parts still put a pretty big shock on your bill. Hourly cost is probably about the same on either car... 85-100/ hr. But I would say some jobs on the A4 are going to take more time. Honda's (Acura's brother) from what I have seen tend to be accessible. Things like the timing belt and water pump (on the A4) most people here say you have to take off the front end of the car. I have found Spark plugs to be brilliantly engineered, but with brilliance often comes harder to access. Hey how does everyone here like the fuel filter change? [:@] Yeah somethings are a little tough to do. If you are into self maintenance, it is a little harder to work on and you will probably need a few specialty tools. Like I said I have no clue which one is the TSX, but I have worked on a few Accords and a few of the bigger Acuras and I liked the accessibility.

That being said, I own an A6, 10 times more accessible than the A4. Not to say that you should look at one. But rather to say that I do the self maintenance, and transmission, engine, all of it is really stout. Every job I have done on my car is maintenance. And like was said brand new scheduled maintenance is paid up to 60K.

Handling, I have been in a Honda in a good icy snow, it was scary! Partially it is driver error problems, but it seriously scared me from ever driving in the snow. The first time it snowed and I had to drive in it, I am a californian who moved to Montana for a few years, I was concerned about how the Audi would handle, It was amazing. I drove it reasonably (speed) and never got loose or squirrely or anything. Icy conditions, fine. No chains, no cables, no traction devices, just go. And as for snow, get the cold weather package... heated leather seats, heated mirrors, block heater, heated door locks <--- I used this feature, it is cool.

Hey good luck!!!

 

i had a tl, cl, and rl...never going to hondas or acuras again....worst cars ever!!! the tranny in the tl were swapped twice, cl 3X, and the rl well, that was pretty good, not outstanding in any way tho. in the winter if you know how to drive you'll be fine...i drove the ac's 2 fairly bad winters - for jersey, the audi is much better tho, never get stuck, never send it sideways accidentally, etc. and i wouldnt be bragging about acuras reliability, i dont care what consumer reports says, they still pick the tl and cl as one of their best, even tho something like 130,000 people, my brother 1 of them, sued acura because they had to buy trannies out of their own pocket.

 

Well the tranny thing definately sucks. Audi has people paying an arm and a leg for control arms though, and only now are starting to help with grenaded cylinder heads due to premature timing belt failure.

I am tempted by the new TL. I think it is a smokin' car...

 

I looked at both the TSX and the TL before I bought my new A4. The TSX doesn't have the grunt that the A4 has, it lacks interior space and falls short in overall interior refinement. It has prodigious torque steer, suffers from very serious tramlining and handles badly on wet roads. Further, there have been many reports of premature clutch failures and braking component wear. The TL is a better comparison but doesn't have the Quattro all wheel drive system and so lacks the handling prowess of the A4. It's probably quicker in a straight line by virtue of its greater horsepower, but... a couple weeks after I got my A4 I ran across a new TL on a winding local road and blew it away. Wasn't even close. At close to triple-digit speeds I was able to stay on it in the turns, but he kept letting up and falling behind.