Tink

Afraid I have to disagree with Rick. I live in Dallas and three of my last four cars have been all wheel drive. The best, next to my A4 1.8tq was the limited addition Mitsubishi Galant VR-4. I drove through rain storms that Noah would have parked the Ark for without more trouble than severe acid production in my stomach.<p>It's the same with the Audi. We have real gully-washers in Texas - more so this year down south. While only a fool would drive in the worst storms, when you have to get somewhere and it's pouring, the quattro offers a measure of safety and security that you can't put a price on.<p>Tink

Albert

If I was going to get a FWD, then I would have bought a Saturn, since my A4 is more expensive to lease than it was to buy a Saturn. So if you are thinking about FWD, then I would suggest you test drive other FWD cars, and compare. But I'm going to be honest, while you might not need the Quattro 99% of the time, you are buying it for that 1% when you do need it. 4 paws on the floor is much better than 2, ALWAYS. <p>Think if it like this: There is a 1 in 365 chance that you will get in a car accident statistically, so does that mean you pick just one day out of the year to wear your seatbelt? No. Why? Because you aren't wearing your seatbelt for the 364 days you are safe, you are wearing it for the 1 day that you have an accident. I had a BMW 325, I spun off the mountain highways, almost fell off the cliff. At that moment, I wished I had a Quattro. <p>Don't think of it as a purchasing decision, think of it as regret prevention.<p>Albert 1.8t "Q" :-)

qt4lddht

If you drive a FWD and a quattro back-to-back on the same test roads and cannot tell the difference in handling feel, then obviously, it's not worth $1650 to you for the upgrade (this would be true of any upgrade, e.g. sport package).<p>It particularly bothers me that Nissan had i.r.s. on the Maxima and the Infiniti G20, but replaced them with beam axles "because we found our customers couldn't tell the difference." Ooh, boy!<p>-- David F.<br>1.8TqMS<br>E30 325is

Ben C

I live in South Texas (Houston) and have a 98 1.8TQ with sport and tip. My observations: we get some nasty rains here and, having lived in Cleveland, Nashville, DC, and elsewhere, I can tell you that the roads here are slippery as ice when it rains. For that, I LOVE my quattro - don't even know its wet except the car gets dirty. But: the car IS pretty sluggish off the line with all that weight. I am seriously considering the Wett 1 bar chip, which I hope will make that sluggishness go away. It feels almost mandatory if you want spirited acceleration with quattro and tip.<p>Ben C

KeithJ

I enjoy the fact that driving a Quattro doesn't require huge changes to your dirving habits in the rain. The ASR or whatever its called in the Front-Trak doesn't allow wheel spin but it does it at the expense of power. <p>Tires have a breaking point and reducing the force (direction regardless)to each by all wheel drive is the most effective way to increase transient response. The common track tests do not realize the potential as wet/snow/ice conditions are rarely used. The selling point of these tests is maximum performance under ideal conditions. When I move to San Diego, I might decide on a 2WD. Until then, I will drive Quattro, even in South Texas.

MichaelB

...therefore, it is unlikely that it would stop you from spinning off a cliff. Traction is determined by your tire's contact patches, of which there are 4 on both the Quattro and fwd.<p>Lack of stupidity will stop you from spinning off a cliff far before Quattro will. To say that you would have bought a Saturn vs. a fwd A4 sounds moronic. In fact, it tells me one thing for sure: that you have not driven an A4 fwd. It is a wonderful car, and shares 99.9% of what makes the Audi A4 a great car. If you have previous experience with fwd cars, you should throw it out the window. The multi-link front suspension changes everything. Goodbye torque-steer. Other fwd cars really do not compare.<p>Granted, the Quattro is a great system. However, the A4 is still a great automobile without it. It remains a solid, well-engineered German sport sedan. <p>I spent the last few days having an absolute blast driving a 280hp supercharged fwd A4. So if I sound insulted that you would rather have a Saturn, it's because I am.