Zetetic

Let's get beyond the "I gotta have the newest stuff" & "Newer MUST be better" psyche... What would I REALLY be missing by going ahead with a 2008 A4 purchase now instead of waiting until next fall for the B8?

nirad

it's larger and more luxurious and it handles better. it's a better car.

1990V85speed

I'm in the process of leasing an A4 for a company car. I wanted to do a 24 month lease, but the numbers aren't there, so now I have to do 36 months because that's were AoA and AFS want people to be.

So, if I do go that way, it'll be two years without a B8. I'm thinking of leasing a BMW X3 or a Mercedes ML320D for 24 months so that I can get inot a B8 sooner than if I lease a B7 2008 A4. That's how bad I want the B8 A4. It's that much better a car than the current B7.

WAIT FOR THE B8!

RS7

At the motor show I recently went to there was a B8 A4 as well as a B7 A4 and it was interesting to see the differences between the two cars.

The B8 was significantly larger than the B7 in all aspects which was a major benefit. The exterior and interior designs are much more interesting as well, to me.

The exterior has the LED headlights and new headlight design which looks stunning. The shape and lines of the body also looked great.

Inside the design is a lot more advanced and it really does look great. The new shape of the inlays looks fantastic with the sloping inlays on the centre console and the door strips and dashboard strip. The layout of everything is perfect as well. All the buttons, the shape of the speed dials and display area, the MMI, it looks very clean and very modern. Another interesting thing is that the level of quality of materials and craftmanship has also significantly increased in this car which is a major benefit seeing as all of its competitors seem to keep decreasing in quality.

The B7s interior button and MMI layout looks a bit messy in comparison to the B8s clean artistic layout.

Overall, the car really feels like its a huge step up from its predecessor. Its very similar to an A6 or A8 in many ways.

You really have to see and sit in the car to experience all the new features that the car has. I'm sure that everyone here will be very pleased with the B8 A4.

After seeing the B8 I would definitely reccoment waiting to get one of these.

vplaza

^^^ What he said ^^^

Zetetic

So far I've heard a lot of generic comments like "It's better" and specifics that don't really sing to me like "advanced design", "luxurious", "bigger", etc. I choose function over form in most cases so etter handling is a plus in my book.

tboned

advantages (depends on personal opinion) are below...keep in mind that I may be off on a feature or two here or there:

* side assist
* lane assist
* drive-select
* backup camera
* more cabin room
* wider stance & lower = better handling
* MMI
* adaptive headlights (not sure if available on B7)
* LED running lights
* rear ventilation
* FSI engine technology
* etc, etc....

These are a TON of changes, in my opinion.

jwj

tboned mention, there are lots of upgrades. However, the car drives much better. Nose is not nearly as heavy and one can change the paramiters of your driving styles, (throttle, dampers, etc).
With 4 to 6 inches of the engine moved back, your weight distribution is so much better and with a 60/40 rear bias the all wheel drive is a better performer then before.
Now, the real reason for me? 3.0 TDI!!!

JerryS4

Knowing how designers sweat the details in hundreds of areas and spend thousands of hours competing for the best design, cars just get better and better every year. Bugs are fixed and improvements are made as new things are learned. This is especially true when a new platform arrives that took hundreds of millions Euros to develop. Ideas are copied from competitors also.

This phenomenon is clearer to see when one looks back several models ago for almost any make. It is fair to say that cars from 20 years ago just are not as good as cars of today. And in ten years, they will be much better still.

jbn13

I'm already on the list at my Audi dealer for a 2009 A4. For me, the biggest reasons to wait for the B8 car are as follows:


Better weight distribution due to the new front axle location

More room in the rear seat

Better interior/dash layout

Better looking front and rear end (in my opinion)


Those are the main things, but I think the car is just technically better in many respects.