Wagoneer

My wife hates the Z and I find that I am only using it to go to the Post Office. The X-Country
is a great car for long hauls but is not fun to drive. The Outback is my wifes car.
Our plan is to sell the Z and the Outback and buy a sporty AWD wagon. Fun to drive,
wife feels safe AND a back seat for our dog! My wife gets the Volvo and we will use it for when we load up for our long trips (like the Clampits on the Beverly Hillbillies).

I like the Audi way better than the Xi Bimmer, and it has a real sports package! I have had great luck with all of my previous cars (including an AWD Celica Turbo). I hope it continues!

cr8n

Every "negative" comment made in the review has also been made in this forum, and quite a few others as well. I am surprised they liked the climate control, maybe it wasn't cold enough to show it overheats the cabin.

Consumer Reports highlights many things that enthusiasts can overlook, like cramped space, fuel economy, and reliability.

Remember that the V6 Passat is the highest rated family sedan they have ever rated ... ever notice how many Passat features have been adopted in the '02 A4?

summersr

I have owned a 99 Subaru Outback Limited and have driven my daughters 2000 Volvo cross country. Both of them were great cars but lack the "sole" of the Audi. My son has a 97 A4, I had a 98 A4 and now have a 02 A4. Have had no problems with the previous A4's and only the fan controller problem with the 02. My dog mobile is a 2000 Grand Cherokee with the 4.7 V8. Haven't had any problems with it either dispite the reviews on reliablity (have had 3 other jeeps in the past with no problems as well).

eafenyes

In our case buying a new A4 is a true excercise of hope over experience. My wife had a 1981 Audi 4000 that was the bigest dog she ever owned with presistent electrical problems. We are hoping they have improved them a lot. However, in the meantime, we have owned lots of boring reliable Japanese cars and we are ready to own something with "soul".

The dealer says that our Crystal Blue, V6, 6sp, quatro, xenon, premium package, ebony cloth should arrive in late March.

Wagoneer

Er, What "fan controller problem"?? Have not seen any posts on this for '02

summersr

Mine was built in August 2001. Was an easy fix. The fan controller for the large radiator fan is not supposed to run at high speed all the time when the climate control is set to Auto or the AC is on. Dealer replaced it and the problem is solved.