Something tells me you don't fully understand quattro, it rains in New Jersey doesn't it? When quattro was first introduced, it was nearly banned in racing as an unfair advantage. Audi's margin of victory in races with rain/wet roads was quite large because power goes to the wheels that can support the loading. It isn't a locked transfer case like an old Jeep, it is a TORque SENsing center differential that mechanically meters torque front/rear instantly from 1:1 bias to upwards of a 3:1 biasin the B6 and B7. The original diffs would go as high as 5:1, and Audi won several consecutive world rally titles in the 80's with those. It is nearly impossible to spin a wheel without 2" of snow, because the torque is routed to the tire that can find the best traction. Make a 90° right turn from a stop with your foot to the floor in any two wheel drive car and you'll hear tires sqeaking, try it with a quattro and be prepared for a lateral g load. It won't make any tire noise, but you will be accelerating both forward and sideways. It'll do the same thing on a wet road, no spinning tires even under hard acceleration. I'm not saying that you can't exceed the limits of traction, but that the limits are a lot higher than you're used to.

Reliability is similar with both, different since each manufacturer has different issues, but neither will leave you stranded. In 20 yrs of VW/Audi ownership I've had components fail, but I've always driven to a place of my choosing before having to stop (that is, not the shoulder of the highway). The basic parts are sound for either brand. Comes down to personal preference and which one has a better/closer dealer for support. I think Audi has a better interior than BMW, and I'm inside when driving (hopefully).

 

Basicly the way you need to look at it is Audi is a car that needs some love. You will have do the regular maitence on ti and it will love you for a long time. the BMW however is also a reliable car if you take care of it. So it will end up coming down to the drives. 4 wheel or front wheel drive is better in both the rain and the snow, not to mention I have never seen so many drivers walk a way from horrific accidents soley because they were in an audi. Given it is your girl/wife I assume saftey is the main concern this is why I would recommend the Audi. BMWs are safe dont get me wrong but I have seen people walk away from t-bone accidents at 50mph in adui, that is an accident considered fatal at 25mph. So for reason of sheer safety I would go Audi.

 

+1. I've never had any reliability issues with my Audi at all. Take care of it. Make sure you do the scheduled maintainance.

 

Picked up a A4 convert 3.0 Quattro with 17,000 miles every option except Navigation orig warranty and free maint. Not a mark on the car.
Sitting in my garage under a cover waiting for the sun.

Alan

 

You know, I have to agree with TorsenTaxi here. I'm a recent convert myself, coming from cars with VERY high standards in terms of performance and handling. While the car looked somewhat dwarfed in comparison on paper, once you get out there and find out what that quattro system can really do, you'll never go back. Sure on drive pavement in perfect conditions where you're going straight 99% of the time, it may not have any advantage, but as soon as there are any corners, dry, icy, wet, or anything in between, this car fly by all others. I have to honestly say, I've taken turns in just a stock A4 that I couldn't or wouldn't have made with an F355.

 

Tough statement regarding the F355, the last time l drove one was in 2001 and it was the next to last year they were made so it must have been a 1998 and not being a turbo it was quite responsive. If l didn't know better it felt like it was on rails so while l agree a Quattro has it's advantages, nothing except a Z06 can be put in the same class as a F355.

Alan

 

only 3 series i would choose over a4 would be the 330 xi or the new 335, other than those all the other 3 series are not even compairable to audi a4

 

I love the bmw hard vert. New e92's are most def stylin. Very sexy. Im in jersey and the quattro is just amazing, like everyones saying. If it wasnt for the quattro id be rollin in a 3-series right now. Your on an audi website so the answers WILL be biased toward audi. You wouldnt be dissapointed either way at all. Shed love both. If you go bmw just be prepared to not drive it when it snows, or rains hard. Back end dances around.

 

this is an audi forum, when people are stumped as to what to do when something goes wrong they are going to turn here thats common knowledge, but if you look at how dead this forum is (no offense guys but it is a bit slow at times) compared to other car forums you'll realize that audi's are not as unreliable as you think

as for the BMW vs Audi, both are great cars, i have driven both for quite some time (my mom had a 07 330xi and i have 08 b7) but like someone above me stated this is a car for your wife your going to want her in the safest car you can get...having said that both BMW and Audi are bother very safe cars when it comes to accidents but the difference being the option of getting the famous Quattro drive which can help you avoid accidents rather then survive them. to be honest that was the whole reason i bought an audi vs any other car out there....i was hit head on by a woman who blew through a red light at an intersection doing about 50 (she was on her cell fone.....) completly totaled my 06 xterra and from that point on i wanted not only the safest car, but one that would actually help me avoid accidents

go with the audi, maintain it and it will pay you back when you need it the most