Troy

I talked to my dealer yesterday and really wanted him to talk me into the quattro. I admit there is a slightly better feel w/quattro but all he said was that you'll notice it when racing around especially in < ideal conditions. He said the average joe would probably never notice the difference between q/fwd. I don't plan to race around the streets espcially not during slick conditions. I can I justify $1750 for quattro? Thanks and Happy Y2K!

zgrant

You will feel like you are glued to a roller coaster track when you drive. It is unbelievable. If it is snowy it performs better than an SUV as long as you don't have High Performance tires on it. I would invest in it. Better re-sale value and another awesome feature that is a must

Joey

If you can afford it definitely get Quattro. You'll get some of the money back at resale. Over 80% of Audi's sold in the US are Quattro. There is the obvious handling and safety advantage when weather is less than perfect (which it most often is).

TomF

If you check the blue book values, you'll notice that a quattro is worth about $2000 more than a nonquattro used Audi. If you keep your car 5 years or less, then the resale will more than pay for quattro.

The best reason not to get quattro is not cost... if you're getting an automatic transmission, quattro is about 1 sec. slower to 60 than FWD. That may be something to consider.

Tom
1.8TQMS Silver/Ecru

MartinR

Better resale value, and you do notice a difference (slight on dry pavement), very big difference
in the rain- my A4 quattro is much better in the rain than my VW-GTI with traction control - safer, more secure feeling with quattro.

erikp

Other negatives are insurance(some?), repairs, towing, etc. Get it if you live in an area with bad weather, like to drive fast in the rain. Or if you feel having the best grip possible from standing starts and hard turns makes up for the negatives.

DonS

As stated elsewhere, the average driver will probably never be able to tell the difference. I can't in my 99.5 Avant but it has yet to snow (central Mass.) this season. With the Avant you get Quattro, otherwise I probably would have chosen FWD, even though I in a snow belt.
Depends where you live; if you live in a snow area then possibly you can justify it. But then again I never got stuck with front wheel drive or even rear wheel drive (remember blizzard of 78?). On typical dry road conditions there is absolutely no justification for all wheel drive (normal driving habits). And of course there is the gas mileage penalty with Quattro.

Mike A M

I have a '97 1.8T fwd automatic, now 24K miles. I use it mostly for highway commuting and it's a great car. I went without Quattro for the better acceleration numbers listed in the Audi catalog (can't shake my old Chevelle SS days I guess). No problems at all in the few NJ winters I've had it.

Lasse Bauer

So he believes the average Joe won´t notice?
Well, he´s wrong. Trouble with Quattro is, once you´ve gotten used to it, you never notice that the weels don´t spin, the car doesn´t skid and that it´s generally easier to handle in ideal as well as rainy or slick conditions.
I´m a bit biased, since I own a 1.8T Quattro, but if I can still afford it next time, I´ll definately go for a quattro again.
all the best. Lasse Bauer

Q-man

You lose money by not buying quattro. ie NADA Oct 1999 wholesale price for:

1998 A4 1.8T quattro is $21,800. Without quattro it's $19,000. That's $2800 more for what then was a $1650 option. You make money with the quattro. Plus it's a more saleable car. Best of all you get all the virtues of the quattro system including superior traciton and handling in wet, sandy, snowy, etc. conditions.