Q-DawgVFR

Sorry, a bit long-winded, but......

In the market for a vehicle and really starting to get the itch for an Audi again..... but my wife and I also really liked the performance and roominess of the Pontiac G8 GT (I would buy the GXP).

I used to own a '98 A4 2.8QM and thought it was great but could have used a bit more power.

I'm not sure about which car to get: the B6 A4 3.0 QM ultrasport (rarer than hen's teeth, it would seem) or the B6 S4 in a manual.

I've found 2 wicked deals in the last week:
- a bright red 3.0 USP in the USA with under 14K miles (never seen snow and looks brand new.) Cost is $18,000 US but will end up costing me about $27,500 Cdn to import by the time it is all finished.
- a silver S4 located an hour drive away from where I live with premium interior package that is just under 30K KM (roughly 18K miles?) Cost is $35,000 Cdn. I can't find a cheaper one with that low mileage anywhere!

Pretty tempted to go with the more expensive S4 for the following reasons:
power, availability near where I live plus ability to dump my Protege on trade, less risky than buying sight unseen, color silver is preferrable to the red which the wife doesn't care for much.

But on other hand, I think the USA car is cheaper, better shape (looks showroom new vs. excellent used shape of the S4.) And I don't mind the red: I used to drive a bright yellow vehicle and enjoyed the attention and less people cut me off because they could see me better. Better fuel economy would also be a plus for me coming from my miserly Mazda Protege. I plan on upgrading my 4Runner to a newer one in the next couple years or so, and question the need for 3 V8 vehicles in my fleet. (I have a project truck for summer cruising.)

And the red herring in this is the G8. It is the first GM car I have had interest in for quite some time. I have owned GM vehicles before as well as Japanese and German. They all have certain advantages. The G8 has great performance in the GXP with much of a euro feel to it. It is not Audi in its refinement, but is nice. I can't find anything comparable with it for interior room. And I am a family man, so that real world liveability IS important to me. I remember quite well that my old A4 was short on rear seat room, but it won't really be much different than my Protege. Protege has more length behind seat but not as much width I think. The G8 has pretty much everything OK with it but this: price is a bit steep for me, and only RWD (but I have a Toyota 4Runner for rough winter days and the G8 still does better in the snow than my front drive Mazda.)

Just curious what advice you guys have. I'm having a really hard time making up my mind and the wife is sick of me waffling back and forth from this car to that. I just want to make a choice that I can live with and not regret. Is premium fuel really necessary all the time for the Audi cars?

Note: I have not actually been able to drive a 3.0 ultrasport as they are not common. I did drive a 3.2 S-line last year and was more than happy with its power and feel. The S4 was great. The G8 I have only driven in GT form as there are no GXPs in Canada yet. (I loved the G8 GT, but wanted a manual. The auto shifts very nicely in the GT)