saholz

The conclusion is that the 2009 A4 is:


"... easily the best A4 ever. Audi has been an artistic success for a long time, but it hadn't quite unlocked the secret to big-time commercial success in America. With the new 2009 A4, Audi has cracked the code at last."

The BMW 335i is faster, but in all other areas the A4 excelled. Of course, if they wanted a really objective comparison, they would have compared it to the 335Xi, and not the rear wheel drive version.

gk1

My B7 A4 2.0TQ Tip weighs a measured 3760 lbs with a half tank of gas.

This is +100 lbs over its advertised curb weight of 3660 lbs (1660 kg)

The B7 3.2Q Tip curb weight is 3748 lbs(1700kg). Add on the +100 lbs lands you at 3948 lbs. making their quoted 3870 lbs a nice reduction for a larger car. But again no clue on the source of their number.

AFAIK European unladen weight includes something like 165 lbs of driver and some cargo. The B8 3.2 quattro tip unladen weight is listed as 3549 lbs, so we know that's not their source.

Spoonie G

Infiniti's G35, BMW's 335i and Lexus' IS 350 which all boast 300+ horsepower V6 engines and much faster acceleration times."

- That's a quote from the article. I hate to say this, but I told you so.

an0nymous

this should have already been expected that the 3.2 would be slower than the competition just from comparing specs alone. You guys seem like you are surprised.

Hokie_Audi

The 3.2 gets slaughtered by things costing the same price from Lexus, BMW, Infiniti, etc. The price point is what sets parity in this class. And if you need a $55K Audi to beat a $45K BMW that's kinda lousy. Audi needs the 3.0TDI in the lineup *now* as that would be a real differentiator with the added kicker of excellent fuel mileage. Once again AoA and VW America in general leaves me wondering about their engine strategy.

I take the weight thing with a grain of salt though as we don't know what was measured there.

Hokie_Audi

It sounds like the Audi Drive Select is more of a must have option. It also sounds like Edmunds has some idea of what the pricing is going to be. Taking out the $5000 for the 3.2 leaves a fully tarted up 2.0T at around $40K, figure you can get that down below $40k by leaving off the radar cruise. Eye-watering compared to the $28K I paid for my loaded turbo four but thems the breaks in today's dollars I suppose.

ex-quattro PETE

...for someone who only cares about styling and not about performance. And the styling is very subjective too - some people might love it, others may not.

But let's face it, that car is a porker, approaching the weight of a much bigger Pontiac G8. To me, that takes away from the nimbleness/tossability factor. That's one reason why I don't enjoy my e39 as much as my old B5 A4. The B5 was just lighter on its feet. Looks like the B8 (even the 2.0Tq manual) will be even heavier than my e39.

myroad

-- still not sure if drive select will be avail on 6spd tranny

Hokie_Audi

But not that much. Most of my driving is long range high speed interstate cruising which isn't particularly dependent on acceleration. Still an engine with some real ***** would make driving around town a little more enjoyable.

Message to Audi: 3.0TDI. Now. Most Urgent.

Hokie_Audi

autos :-)

I think it's also available on the manuals, there's verbiage relating to it monkeying with shift points on auto equipped cars, implying that the suspension, steering and throttle position tweaks are still available in the manuals.