I went to check out some Audi competition this weekend. Below is my review.

I asked to drive an auto BMW 330 with sport package, because that is supposedly what I am looking for...I may be changing my mind on the whole "auto" thing for my daily driver.

The car is nice on the outside. Probably about the same amount of room in the back seat as an S4. However, it doesn't have the horses that an S4 has. I mention this and the salesman starts talking about the 335 twin turbo coming out later this summer. It will still be 40hp short of the new S4, but I am thinking that an aspirated car may have a lot left in it if you add a chip and some other goodies.

The car is nice on the inside with sport seats. I look at one with the Nav package and it looks a little goofy. Nav package means iDrive and I joke about the poor reviews on the iDrive. Salesman says “If you can make it out of the house to the dealership, you can handle the iDrive”. I’m not worried about “handling it”. I’m worried about putting up with it from day to day and it sucking. I like the Audi Nav arrangement better. There is a cool dock for your MP3 player in the armrest. Air works well. Audio sounds nice. Sunroof, rain sensing wipers, Bluetooth, blah blah blah. It is a cushy mobile.

We are close to the interstate so it is time to enjoy some on/offramps. We are approaching an onramp and he tells me to go ahead and get on it and “feel the power”. Well, I shouldn’t drive the 911 to these things because “the power” is anti-climatic – kinda like it is when I’m driving my mom’s Avalon. Anyway, it feels great at 85. You can’t even tell you are doing over 30. Quiet, smooth. Am I driving or sitting at the dentist’s office? What have they done to these cars? Fooking Bavarians.

A lot of my time on this forum I have thought that I didn’t want a highly modded car, especially one with a stiffer suspension. The ride in the BMW is changing my mind. I want to know I’m driving. I don’t mind noticing that I am on the road. If I wanted this ride/feel, I would get some Lexus that Consumer Reports tells me is way better than the BMW. The whole experience has got me leaning towards the last year of a B5. Get one and mod it all to hell and still not have anything close cash wise into it as I would in a new B7. Sure, no Nav, but I actually know where I am most of the time anyway. That is just a cool gizmo.

Anyway, my mind changes all the time about cars. I may have a totally new take next month. My test drive in a BMW only confirmed what I already knew. It is a nice car, but it’s not what I’m looking for.

 

yea i totally agree about not feeling the power. Its just to linear, it needs some torque, but then again they have the M3 which will fix that problem. I think there a S/C for it that would prolly help it out a lil.

Maybe u should keep your car and get something else for a toy. IN this weeks C&D they talk about Lo-cost race cars. They cost about 2,000-8,000 to make and then u can race them. It could be more fun.

 

I'm definately keeping the 911, I'm just looking for a small, sporty sedan. I already have a race car that I can't drive to its limits anywhere, so I am looking for something else for my daily driver. I think the BMW that I drove would be a great ride for the wife that I don't have.

 

daily drivers are boring, but i liked my dads BMW he had a 528, (old body style), and the 540 is quite a fun drive and u can get them as a CPO or a used car for around 12,000 depending, and they have a S/C for that too, plus they come auto and stick

 

I'm still wondering how much the '03 RS6 prices are going to drop when the new S6 (and later the RS version) hits the US market.

I also don't know about modifying the RS6 suspension sense it is a little funky compared to other Audis.

 

As u were saying pturbo, the new 3 series looks good from the outside but the torque of the B5 S4 in another thing all together
Suer the 6 in the 330 revs, doesnt have torque - thouhgt the exact same thing smooth but sooo artificial and un involving!
My thought were possibly to upgrade the B5 S4 to 335i, would be interesting to see what horses u could get out of it after just a chip?
There probably wont be a chip for the 335i for at least a year though

What are peoples thoughts of the upcoming 335i?

 

ims till waiting to find a S4 i can get my hands on, with a nice chip too.

 

pturbo, I thought you had a Cayman S, not a 911..?
993/996? I think I might be getting members comfused..[&:]

 

Haha it's not pturbo with the cayman...

Anyways, just so you know... b5 S4's did have nav as an option... although they are quite rare. I am sure if you start looking now, you'll find one. K04 a B5 S4, and I think you'd have a reliable, comfortable car capable of exhilarating you from time to time.

 

It's a 964 Turbo. It is crazy fast. You always feel "the power", unlike the BMW, but they are two totally different kinds of cars so that comparison isn't really fair.