Bada Bing

A BMW radio spot I've heard over the last week is using the June 2009 Car & Driver comparison test to tout the superiority of the BMW 328i over the A4. They mention that the C&D test found the BMW to perform better in acceleration and handling, get better gas mileage all with an as-tested price over 10 grand lower than the A4. I must say that it's quite an effective ad but I'm not sure why they are running it now 6 months after the comparison test came out. Perhaps A4 sales are taking a bite out of 3-Series sales and they are taking the A4 threat more seriously than before.

I must say that when it comes to providing press fleet cars, BMW is much more adept and competent than Audi USA. For example, for this comparison test they provided a fairly stripped 328i 6MT with essentially nothing more than the sport package, while Audi fielded a Tiptronic A4 2.0T quattro Prestige with ADS with an MSRP of $47-48K. Imagine what would have happended if Audi had submitted a Premium Plus 6MT quattro with 18" sport package and nothing else. The A4 would have accelerated on par with the 328i 6MT, gotten better gas mileage and cost about the same or lower than the Bimmer.

BMW consistently sends in manual transmission cars for magazine testing. They even submitted a 6MT 535i in a more recent $50K sport sedan comparison test (Motor Trend or Road & Track) and came out with a win (A6 3.0T came in second), claiming that they couldn't locate an automatic car in the western USA. Yeah, right! They sell 95% of their 5-Series in this country with the Steptronic transmission and can only find a manual car. But you have to give them credit for being smart to know which configuration wins comparison tests. Audi should take note. Next time they introduce a new model, they should come out with the manual and Tip versions simultaneously and send a mid-trim quattro 6MT with modest options for magazine tests (no ADS or Prestige trim models which kill the value proposition for a 4-banger car).

need_TQM

Agreed on most points -- I think ADS is the key here. It's "new and fancy" so Audi wants the press to write about how ADS transforms the car and thus you must have an A4. It works to some degree, but the problem is that this config moves you to the very high end of the A4 price point so it looks bad vs. the more "basic" BMW.

Agreed however, that they should at least equip the cars with 6MT and sport pkg -- the cost difference is minimal in this config vs. a Tip/non-sport and the stickier tires and better handling would show up in the results of the tests the auto journalists typically run.

markcincinnati

"It works to some degree. . ." What does that mean?

need_TQM

It works to some degree in that the reviews I've read do talk about the trick ADS but then lambast the Audi for being much more expensive than yy brand and putting xx g's less than the competition in the handling circuit, etc.

So providing ADS equipped (thus Prestige trim) press cars gets Audi the ADS blurb they (presumably) wanted, but the cost of prestige+ADS makes them lose the price competition. And providing non-sport pkg (all-season tire shod) cars makes them lose the handling competition.

redherring

Good points raised here about the Audi prices quoted in reviews--I don't think I've read one yet of a B8 that wasn't Prestige trim and as a result almost $50k, thereby costing the car any possible "value" points in a comparison test. The casual reader/viewer is left with the impression that Audis in general are radically overpriced, which I don't think helps sales at all.

The unfortunate offshoot of this is that the P+ car is rarely if ever mentioned, and that trim level, in my opinion, is a screamin' deal for the content by comparison.

Bada Bing

I agree with you completely about Premium + being a good value. My wife has been asking for a lightly optioned BMW 328i automatic. When I build a 2010 328i with Steptronic transmission, Value package ($0, includes leather and USB/iPod adapter) and BMW Assist (to get bluetooth), I come up with an MSRP around $37K. It's the same story on the MB C300. For $37K MSRP, you get automatic transmission, metallic paint and iPod adapter. That's it. For about the same MSRP, I can get her a FWD Premium + A4 which comes with the the following extras: moonroof, xenon lights w/LED DRLs and LED taillights, satellite radio, 17" wheels, power front seats, heated front seats, etc.).

The only problem with this A4 is that for leasing, the residual sucks big time. The residual on the 328i is 63% for a 3 yr/30K mile lease and 58% on the C300 while it's only something terrible like 48% for the A4. As a result, I have to forget about a lease option on the A4. It's a shame!

highaltitude

It’s interesting that the C&D editors couldn’t see past the A4’s pricy unnecessary options as they did in the S4 vs. 335i comparison where the S4 came out on top. Had they done that, I still don’t think the A4 would have come out on top without the 6MT but I think it would have been closer. The smoother, more refined I6 in the BMW is hard to overlook.

In case you didn’t see the comparison read the two excerpts below:

“the $41,125 BMW 335i with its 300-hp, twin-turbo inline-six is the S4’s new, lower-priced doppelgänger. But watch the little print. The BMW doesn’t match the S4’s standard equipment until you add the Premium pack ($2650), the Sport pack ($2150), the Cold Weather pack ($1150), and $995 in iPod interfaces and satellite radio. We also had parking sensors ($750) and keyless access ($500).”

and

“We’ll boil it down: Forget the Audi’s as-tested price of $59,425 and the BMW’s $49,320 tab. This story is about how a $50,675 Audi S4 (the base price plus the performance-vital Audi drive select but minus all the nonessential luxuries we’re assiduously ignoring because we’re trained professionals) meets a $48,470 BMW 335i (base price plus all the requisite options to match the S4’s standard equipment) on virtually equal treads. Before you howl about the Audi’s higher price, recall that it also has standard all-wheel drive. [See sidebar for why we didn’t compare it with an all-wheel-drive 335i xDrive.”

I guess they weren’t ‘trained professionals’ during the A4 comparison…

Bada Bing

High altitude,
I agree that C&D should have done a similar job on pricing as they did on the S4 vs. 335i comparison but Audi of America shares a lot of blame by sending a $48K 4-cylinder car with 211-hp and Tiptronic for comparison tests. I am convinced that if they had sent a $37K 2.0T quattro 6MT Premium Plus with sport package, they would have finished a first or close second. The car I am proposing would have neearly matched the 328i in acceleration, would have beaten it in fuel economy (23/30 for 6MT vs. 21/27 for Tiptronic A4) and would have blown away the BMW in value category. The decision to launch the 6MT version of the B8 A4 5 months after the Tiptronic was a boneheaded move. By the time the manual version came out, B8 was old news.