We all know Audi has, for at least the last 6 years years, if not more, had THE best interiors of any non-exotic brand. And with the R8...Audi has catapulted into a whole other dimension of awe. Will be an Audi owner for life!

 

The 2.0T has been an unbelievable car. I just ordered my new 328xi a week ago. I am paying the same monthly payment as the 2.0T, But just had to put a little more down on the Bimmer lease. That was the best deal I found this month. BIm disconunted the car $2000 for me.On the other hand, Audiwas quoting me like 550 per month on an A4 3.2 Q stick, and $687/mon on a new A3 3.2 S line lease!
There is no doubt that the 328xi is a true sports car with the utility of a saloon. What an involving experience!

 

From my experience, as a daily driver the E46 3 series I drove for a while did not compare to my older, cheaper, more reliable A4 12v...
My seats were much more comfortable, more side to side space around legs, seemed like better head room as well, never measured. For the same price my stereo killed the BMW's hands down and still bumps hard at almost 90k. Steering feel was lighter at low speeds but still firm enough at high speeds, the bmw's heavy steering got annoying in parking lots, not a big deal though. I by far prefer the climate control and turn signal sounds (once again all little things, but the little things are where they really think about doing different things) The A4 got better gas mileage even with a larger engine with less valves, and the ride was about 20 times smoother while still being able to stick with the 3 series throught the twisties no problem. The bmw has an ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE traction control system. (i know i know turn it off) so its either skiddin around in the rain, or dealing with a retarded traction control system that instead of transferring power to different wheels it would just shut off power for a second and let it surge in again just to take it away a milisecond later when the wheels skid again, giving a very eratic exit to corners. The audi did also have the heated seats an ski bag, which is awsome because I love snowboarding, and it had the AWD to get me up the mountain, and a sunroof that did not destroy itself like the bmw's did.
The BMW however did have the edge only when you really pushed it. The tranny was a little more aggresive and it was slightly quicker in a straight line, however I bet I could easily take an inexperienced driver in a 3 series in a light to light battle.
The a4 also has barely cost me anything on repairs, and the bmw racked up thousands in repair fees, and there is much less help from people on info about bmw's as there is with audis i think..... BETTER FORUMS

My experience with the B5 S4 has been a little different. I bought the car with a lot of problems for quite cheap and I have payed for it in the end and its not as reliable as the a4 but everything I have replaced has been replaced with something better, and that car rips any bmw you can find for that price like nothing, and have people in the back seats while you do it, and I'll be out there doin it rain or shine.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience man. No doubt my A4 has kicked ***, and I have loved this car. Just found a better deal on the 328xi. (and I wanted to try something different) Yea, the x drive in the car I just ordered has large shoes to fill! (Quattro) I am looking forward to comparing the two systems. Not worried about the TCS. I would not have gotten a car without AWD here in the NE (my personal opinion) I got the cold weather pckg with the bimmer, definately a plus with the heated seats and ski bag! Its a new lease, so I am not worried about paying for repairs.

 

I owned an 07 BMW 328i got bored of it because too many people had it. Then I went for an 06 BMW 525i too bulky and is slow when you want to upgrade to bigger rims (I went for 20"s) I thought that with a car like that, it still would keep its power even if it had those size rims (I was wrong!) The 545i is much faster anyways. The ammenties are great! I mean when I back into a parking spot my side view mirror moves down on its own. AmAZING.

Anywho I got bored of the BMW. So I looked at an Audi. I got the entry level, started with the A4. So far I like the drive. I like the feeling of driving. It feels like I'm driving standard, even though I have a tiptronic. Overall, I'm pleased with Audi's drive. However, the interior needs a bit of an upgrade...I really like the BMW's interior trim.

I would say I like both cars equally. However, the drive on the Audi is more fun. The interior of the BMW is better (such as the trim and the radio)

BTW I see BMW's everywhere. Audi's I see a rarity and I think that's GREAT!!!!

I wouldn't mind owning both if I could LoL. My next car would probably be an A5 over than a 545i.

 

I have an A3, my brother drives a BMW. If we go out on social events together we take the A3 ;-)


Mark

 

Its all about the racing heritage for me, and the technological advances throughout the years. If you havent yet, get on youtube and search secrets of speed. These links will take you there. Watch all three parts, and I guarantee you will be beaming with pride. I'm just so proud to be a small carrier of that heritage, so proud to own an Audi.

Secrets of speed l
Secrets of speed ll
Secrets of speed lll

This sums up my feelings toward Audi and BMW:
Engineers drive Audis, the people who hire engineers drive BMW.

I would kill for an E30 M3 though...

 

I have owned an Audi car for fifteen years and have had at least one and usually two BMW products in the garage for the last 25 years. BMW makes superb engines and gear boxes, and sweats the details on the suspension. Then they let it all down with electronic kludge. The new cars with CAN-Bus are simply horrible. BMW chose to use a fiber optic data bus called Byteflight ( developed for them by Motorola ) to manage all the electronic systems in the car. They have no fuses, relays or flashers, everything is controlled by the big computer that runs the i-Drive. It is analogous to a LAN with thecontroller in the i-Drive performing the same basic function as the gateway computer ofa LAN. It is a technological nightmare. Too much code, too many problems. It's Microsoft on wheels. Sadly, their bikes are now just as bad. Even simple problems require a trip to the dealer to hook it up to their "Group Tester One" this $16,000 computer diagnostic device with proprietary software accessible only to dealers and a special device to convert the fiber optic signal to a digital signal the computer can read. Pure BS. ( example, on their bikes now, to correctly bleed the brakes, usually a dirt simple home task, the bike must now be attached to the Group Tester One so it can vibrate the ABS servo and force the bubbles out of the ABS unit, making a simple brake bleed a mandatory dealer service, so I have probably bought my last BMW bike ). This equipment is not sold to independent shops ( there are a lot of Chinese rip-offs available on line so be ware what your local shop tells you it has ) period. BMW is not sharing their code with the aftermarket either, unlike Ford or GM which use a standard SAE J1850 data bus who's code is definitely not a state secret. Where you can obtain software on line for other makes of automobile, BMW's CAN-Bus is a dark secret, and you pay accordingly. That wouldn't be so bad if it also wasn't hideously unreliable.
Now only the M series cars have a dip stick to check the oil level, all other BMW's require you trust a sensor in the sump to tell you when you are a liter low. Mercedes has done the same thing, and these sensors do not work reliably. Mercedes has replaced a lot of toasted engines that ran out of oil because the sensor malfunctioned. Likewise it is possible to over fill the engine because often the sensor comes on when the engine is not low on oil. With BMW's, they will have little computer fits and do things like roll the windows up and lock them, or even lock you in the car. Other times they simply die and have to be flat bedded to the dealer to re-boot the car's controller computer. Pure BS, you can have it. The Germans are into complexity for the sake of complexity, and this is not always reliable. Don't even get me started on the idiocy of i-Drive. Or MMI.
Audi at least has a less tempermental CAN-Bus and the diagnostic tools are not as costly nor are they a dark secret. Since I have relationships with vehicles, they tend to remain in my little stable for a very long time and long term reliability and serviceability are critical characteristics in any purchase. So far the Audi has been very good to me, and the body and interior have held up much better than similar era BMW's. 3-Series interiors until very recently were low rent indeed compared to an Audi 90 or A4, and did not age well. My Audi has far fewer squeaks and rattles than newer and lower mileage BMW's. Mercedes of course has the best quality bodies of the bunch ( tight and rattle free seemingly forever ) and the creamiest rides, but their engines will not take hard use like a BMW or Audi engine. Flog a Mercedes at high speed day in and day out and their engines fail. I have seen this personally. BMW's mechanicals laugh at hard use, and so far so has my Audi.

 

I would have to say that I prefer audi to bmw. I am not dont like the image that comes with the bimmer but with that said if I could have any weekend warrior it would be an e36 m3. After all it is the best handling car ever.

 

It is not very easy to determine which one is better, but I think that it depends moreso on the actual unit you are driving - that is, test out the BMW or Mercedes you are considering as well as an Audi; often times, you'll find that a particular piece feels better than another.

I have heard people on this forum complain about the reliability of Audi's, but for the most part, MB, BMW and Audi are fairly reliable, and anytime you have to take any of them to a shop, you will probably end up paying a large amount on repairs.

Personally, prior to buying an A4, I test drove two 325i's, a C240, a C230 and the 1.8T I ended up buying. Brands aside, I decided based on how the car felt, and it just happened that among the bunch, the Audi seemed to feel like a better car.

All in all, I think it is hard to decide which one is better, so you should definitely make it a point to drive as many cars as you can to get an idea of what suits you better.

As an aside, I also think the Audi interior is better than the BMW/Mercedes.

I also want to add that several good friends of mine have older MB's, and they like to talk about how durable they are and how easy they are to maintain.

Local dealerships and service centers can also make the ownership of a particular brand more pleasant than others, so make sure you ask current owners about how that variable as well.