NickZag

I went to 4 different dealerships and didn't see a single manual transmission car in any model.

highaltitude

With 18" sports package I'll go out on a limb and say my '09 A4 Avant's steering feel/feedback is the equal of that in my 335, perhaps a hair better. The Michelin PS2s I have mounted may have something to do with this.

NickZag

I'd put Audi's steering against any of those other cars in they're all wheel drive versions hands down, but I dunno against a regular 335i. I'll give credit where it's due, BMW's feel very planted and the steering is excellent.

equ

Being a feel fanatic and having owned all of the following: e46 rwd, e39 rwd, e90 rwd and e90 awd... (As well as keeping a cayman to be a reference point on steering for the last 3.5 years)... Let me chime in:

The steering feedback/heft is actually quite good on the xi e90. I'd say better than the b8. BUT, the xi has very sluggish turn-in response to actual inputs. The b8 has decent turn in, decent/high precision but so much power assist that you need to focus to gather that modicum of feel flowing back. Still good, but different. The rwd bmw's are better than either, in terms of both feel/heft and the car actually following your commands (as opposed to the boaty xi's that really need to be set up well in advance for turns). The cayman is on another happy planet.

NickZag

Good assessment. I felt then when I test drove an E90xi and didn't car for the turn in very much, but it did have a good feeling through out. I'm still getting used to it on my B8. The true test will come when I take it out to Sears Point in a few weeks. And the Cayman does have VERY nice steering. It's a great track car.

vtheman

I have both Audi A4 Avant and BMW 328i and here is how I see it:

Exterior design/quality - Audi
Interior design/quality - BMW
Road feel - BMW
Ride quality - Audi
Acceleration- Audi
Noise factor - BMW
Steering feel (city)- BMW
Steering feel (highway) - Audi
Standard options - Audi
Fun to drive - BMW
Fuel Efficiency - Audi
Reliability - BMW
Long trips - Audi

Obviously I like both cars, I also think that the Audi is more of family oriented car due to a forgiving suspension, bigger interior and five star across the board safety ratings. BMW on the other hand is more of a fun to drive car even without the sport suspension, but when the time comes to visit your in-laws 200 miles away or go up to the mountains Audi is the way to go.

av_audi

Does your A4 have the sport suspension? If so, would you consider it to be still softer than the regular 328 suspension? Thx.

Audi S5 TC

According to my buddies at Consumer Reports, True Delta and now (gulp) JD Power and Associates, it is now the Volkswagen/Audi Group that trumps the BMW Group in dependability, durability, quality (including quietness regarding bad noises and, in some cases, noise factor for good noises), reliability, satisfaction and service in North America (this has always or pretty much always been the case overseas-especially Europe and most of all, Germany).

My buddies at CR, JD P&A and TD also say that the fun to drive, road feel and steering feel (city and highway; city just as much as highway, FTW and FWIW) of Audi with Quattro AWD (FWD is garbage for a vehicle of this caliber-that is what we have Civics, Sentras and Corollas for) is now extremely close to that of the luxury vehicles from BMW, Maserati and Porsche and better to far better than all other luxury vehicles.

That makes all of the above 100% true. Anything else is 100% bogus.

As for interior design and styling and quality, Audi (ultra beautiful inside and out and for many years now) trumps BMW here much more to far more than every other conceivable area (which almost every on planet earth knows). I say almost everybody on planet earth because an indescribably small number of people on planet earth are under the delusion that BMW's interior design and styling and quality is better than Audi's interior design and styling and quality is.

I am ultra happy to say that the interior design and styling and quality of all of the ultra beautiful (inside and out and for most of the time BMW has been in business but not for many years now, unfortunately ) pre Bangle/van Hooy Donk BMWs is on par with or very close to Audi's interior design and styling and quality.

Unfortunately, the interior design and styling and quality of all of the [mostly] ultra ugly (inside and out and for many years now) Bangle/van Hooy Donk BMWs is mediocre at the absolute best (mostly pure junk).

snagitseven

A couple of years ago I did the Audi Experience where you drive and compare the C300, 328xi and A4 at the track.

All specs, gadgets and cosmetics aside, IMO the 328xi was close in handling to the A4 but a bit slower (and smaller inside - it felt cramped compared to the B8 and my A6 at the time. Also, the trunk was much smaller) Side by side, the 300 drove like a dog - slower and much more ponderous in hard driving. Definitely sold me on the A4 which I still love after 18K miles.

highaltitude

Some good discussion here. I made a fairly simple claim above without much support for my opinion. I view the steering feel of the B8 on par with the BMW – as a whole. This statement doesn’t come without a caveat. As someone mentioned, the Audi’s steering is overboosted at slower speeds. My 335’s steering is more precise and communicative at these lower speeds. As speed increases the Audi’s steering weights up and provides excellent feedback and I will argue it’s just as good (perhaps a little better) as that of my 335 up to about 8/10s. Perhaps I should credit the non-RFT Michelin PS2s for much of this ‘feel’. My 335 has Bridgestone RFTs which, in a word, are GARBAGE.

Having said all this, would I take the Audi to Willow Springs as I have done my past e46 M3s and my e90 335i? No. Out of the box, the lighter, more powerful and more flickable BMW is much better suited for the track or most road driving above 8/10s.

My previous 6 cars have all been BMWs. For years I’ve been trying to justify an Audi because I love the understated good looks and general interior and exterior designs. But each test drive (e39 530i vs. A6, M3 vs. S4 – twice, e60 530i vs. A6, A4/S4 vs. 335i) I just couldn’t do it. Compared to the BMW I thought the Audis felt nose heavy and were characterized by ridiculous understeer. They just felt heavy and sloppy.

The improvements in the B8 fix most of my previous complaints. The 40/60 F/R torque split combined with the new steering rack and more rearward placement of the engine (better weight distribution) make the car handle much more neutral. In my opinion, compared to the B7 the B8 is in a totally different league from a driving dynamics/x-factor standpoint. The B8 needs the sports package to attain this feel though. The non-sport versions I test drove were much improved but still felt too unresponsive.

equ – on my last trip to Willow I was lucky enough to take a few laps behind the wheel of a Cayman S. Now that car is sensory nirvana.