markcincinnati

It probably doesn't matter what anyone says -- you'll get whatever you want regardless of our opinions or even objective data points. I would imagine you'll get "buy Audi" from most of us here. If you go to BMWWORLD (or whatever BMW centric site you want), I would expect the responses to be "buy BMW."

My wife has a 2008 BMW, before that a 2005 BMW and before that a 1988 BMW (all of them AWD). She has had a dozen Audis and I have had 17 (for a combined total of 29 Audis in our garage.) So, can an Audi lover and a BMW lover find happiness together?

No problem. But both of our current cars were north of $48K, so, it is not difficult to love 'em both. The point is these cars, at this price point offer much to love.

If you want more tech, at a price, the Audi, today, offers ADS which transforms the A4's characteristics dramatically at the push of a button.

Otherwise, anything that can be said, almost, is subjective.

mart242

yeah, in my case my wife preferred the seats and we were buying a new car to help relieve her back pain on long road trips. The a4 is also roomier and with two kids, that's important.

I don't regret the choice at all, but the 328 would have been a great car as well. It feels more "sporty".. and have sport seats with proper side bolstering (the a4 sport seats don't have good side bolstering at all).

jbradle7

Let me start off by saying I'm a big fan of BMW and former owner of a 325 (awesome car) but the B8 still won me over in the end.

*A4 has a very tasteful design, which should still look good in ten years, 3 series seems a bit contrived to me.

*Price... same features on the BMW are thousands more (leather seats, AWD, folding rear seats).

*Interior, love the Audi interiors... BMW feels cold and dated. Also the back seat felt bigger on the A4 and the truck is huge, I have two little kids so that was important to me.

*BMW dealer wouldn't work with me on price for a special order car; Audi did 1% over invoice.

*Audi Quattro has a better reputation and proven history compared to X-drive.

*2.0T ability to tune for more performance, not a lot you can do w/ the NA 3.0.

*Too many Beemers on the road

ThePiombino

I totally empathize, brother! But I've completely embraced this car now. Looking back, I'm 100% certain I made the right choice!

dvon1981

Yeah I did that as well, comparing both responses helps. I've also done a ridiculous amount of research buying new cars. Having some outside opinions can help you look for things you may not have thought of.

bimmers2

[quote=Adrian2401;23984201]Hi. I have owned 5 BMWs in the past 4 years. X3, X5 x 2, 330i and 335i. In my opinion, BMWs are way too problematic.

I've owned 5 bimmers in past 7 years, 2003/X5, 2007/X5, 2005/330i, 2007/325i, 2010/328i. Honestly, no problem except 1 dead battery of 07/X5 and 1 passenger side window of 07/325i. I know I am lucky. But I replaced the 325i with A4/2.0T/Sport because I like the new A4 (chipped) for its style and younger looking (in side out) and its dynamic steering. Hope Audi continue the engineering efforts to beat BMW!

u2jrmw

I was looking at my third A4 this winter (I did end up buying the 2010 A4). As usual I shopped BMW 3 as well.

Reasons For BMW

- Handles like a dream. Never driven a car that comes close, including all my A4s

- Dealership in my town. My nearest Audi is over an hour away. (I ended up doing a deal where if I wanted they would come pick my car up for any service or warranty work).
- Includes 4 year maintenance

Reasons against BMW

- BMW was at that time coming to the end of that platform.
- Exterior of 3 is not to my liking. Front is nice, but back is terrible.
- Interior SUCKS. Just horrible.
- A little more expensive for same equipment
- 2010 A4 LEDs on front... I love pulling up somewhere and seeing my reflection...

Wasn't much of a competition in the end.

MKUltra

I come from a family of Audi owners although we've had some Bimmers now and then. For me, while I like to have a fast and nimble car, I've come to the realization that my days of needing to beat people off the line are over. I much more appreciate the cabin experience (e.g. comfort, sound system, technology) coupled with a smooth and safe ride. Aud has those factors over the BMWs in all regards, plus I think Audis look better.

If you want flat out performance, you should be thinking 335 or S4 anyway. So, if you are willing to accept a still-quick-but-not-rocketlike performance, the A4 is the winner over the 328. BMW interiors are awful. I've been in 335s, 535s, 650s -- they all feel/look plasticky. Even the cup holders are awful.

Quattro is proven and, more importantly, is a flag-bearing part of the Audi technology platform. Audi rests its reputation on Quattro. BMW just offers the x-drive so it can say that its sedans have AWD. I've driven the x-drive in snowy weather -- it's adequate, but I didn't have the same sense of being able to take on the more extreme conditions -- perhaps it's just how the computer handled the ABS, etc., but I did not like it as much. I compare the Quattro more to the Subaru AWD (not coincidentally, another Rally car company).

Ultimately, as others have noted, it's subjective as to what you want out of a car, but for me it was an easy decision.

vikingdave

I believe that a 328xi at sea level will be faster than a 2.0T A4, but I live at 5,000 above sea level. At this altitude normally aspirated engines lose a large percentage of their power (I believe around 20%). Modern turbos can generally compensate for altitude up to about 5,000 simply by creating more boost.

I drove a 328xi and a 2.0T both with manual transmissions and at my altitude the A4 actually felt much more powerful. I believe it would be the other way around at sea level.

I also love the looks of the A4, and the interior roominess. For me I personally think that for what ever reason Audi doesn't carry the same stigma that BMW does where people just look at you funny because you have a BMW.

redherring

These two factors were a lot of it for me--the A4 feels like a significantly larger car, even though its exterior dimensions don't really bear that out. The interior feels scads bigger, and as an XL person (6'4", 240) that's important to me. Coming out of a larger car (Acura TL), I didn't want to go too small on the replacement.

Although I really don't care what other people think, there is some merit to the "BMW stigma" concept. I don't hold BMW responsible for this, either--can't fault them that their marketing is effective. In this they're very similar to Rolex watches, whose marketing budget is many times that of the other Swiss companies. Both brands make quite competent products in their own right, but through astute marketing have successfully positioned themselves as "gotta have-its" among those who aspire to upward mobility. Since a number of these aspirants don't understand that money alone is vastly overrated, these products are often bought by people for the wrong reasons, with no real understanding of their merits. Audi doesn't suffer from that to nearly the same extent--I would submit that the vast majority of Audi owners know exactly what they want and, more importantly, why.