jdong

I don't know, the fact that the 3-series did better than the Accord and that Audi and Mercedes were pretty damn close to the same top bunch makes me feel this test is a bit weird. These are not the commonly accepted trends in reliability.

Toecutter

The driver sure was having a good time up until the car broke.

av_audi

I hadn't heard of this before, but I suspect this to be a problem for the turbo engine only. BMW is new to turbos, so I wouldn't buy one. Plus, those engines have the fuel pump failure issue as well. With BMW, I think it would be wise to stick to the normally aspirated engines for now.

gunsmoker

Keep in mind that the cars these brands sell in Europe are very different. They are mostly with manual transmission, smaller engines, no all-wheel drive. A lot of diesel engines are being sold and maybe that's not Honda's forte.

audi8k

Since mid 1970, or so ...
(Maybe not in high volumes.)

av_audi

That's what I meant, not for the bread and butter cars, at least as far back as I can remember.

JJohnes

That's what I think too. And not only with BMW but with any other manufacturer, when you have the choise (I don't know about Audi systems though). It seems that in some cases you pay a price (turbo system unreliability) for the performance given by the turbo system

As an exemple CR rates a few Subaru non-turbo models as reliable while the same models when turbo are rated the worst.

canuckian

I purchased a BMW 325i brand new in 1992 and have driven it ever since. I decided that I would like a new car after 18 years and could not decide between a 2011 328i or an Audi A4. After having driven both offerings, I decided on the A4. I think that the A4 has the edge over the 328i in styling hands down. I did not like the run-flat tire offering of the 328i and the lack of room to hold a spare tire should one opt to switch to conventional tires. All things considered, when I compared apples to apples on both models, the Audi seemed like a better value. The bottom line though was when I sat in the 328i versus my 325, it did not seem like that much of an upgrade compared to the feeling I had when sitting in the Audi.
When I took delivery of my 2011 Quartz Grey Metallic A4 Quattro sedan any lingering doubts I had over the decision between BMW vs. Audi were quickly put to rest. I absolutely love the A4 and have zero regrets.

Tillse7en

I just don't understand how Audi can charge the amount for their 2.0t A4 as they do. 211 hp?? Come on.. These great german engineers can't come up with more then that out of the 2.0t? I wouldn't be able to drive that car knowing that at any moment an Accord(V6) could blow my doors off. Even a Hyundia Azera could take the 2.0t A4. Thats said. After paying that much money it would hurt to think about. I guess we are paying for the styling... Right? Don't get me wrong guys the 2.0t is a great engine. My wife has it in her 2009 GLI but we didn't pay anywhere near the cost of a new A4 2.0t. Given that the new 2.0t has a little more HP and alot more Torque but geez they take away the 3.2 V6 making the 2.0t the only option and leave you with only 211 hp??? The new Sonata with the 2.0t makes 274 hp for gods sake. Its like they want you to mod just to keep up with everyone else. Its a damn conspiracy.

jdong

Horsepower isn't everything... I've driven plenty of Honda V6's and Chrysler V8's, and the kick that the 2.0T provides definitely feels more powerful than the Honda V6. Granted it doesn't hold a light to the 5.7L HEMI powerplant I just turned in, but it's hardly a slouch of an engine, and looking at road test numbers between the stock 2.0T and the competition's offering, the 2.0T is highly competitive.