ken-

bought an A6 Avant instead of another BMW,, b/c I have to admit the 528i touring looks ugly (especially from the rear) and the sedan looks like freakin' maxima.. Besides, I'm getting sick of the yuppie mobile, "the ultimate driving machine" image & attitude of BMW... Yeah, I'm a diehard Bimmer fan,, but it is embarrassing to see too many ******* Bimmer drivers who think they own the freakin' road. If you have to go fast do what porsche owners do, join a club and race your car on a racetrack against other cars evenly matched against yours.. I'm not biased one way or the other, just wanted to see what Audi owners have to say..

Ken-

I think Audis get more coverage b/c their products are newer & more innovative.. auto journalists are fickle people,, they drool over covering the latest products like 2.7 turbo, A6 4.2, S6.. Who wants to read another road test of the 540i?? it's been around since '97!! I suppose when Mercedes introduces its all new E-class, it will win top honors for advertising and magazine coverage in all fairness to other car companies...

Stealth Troll

New mercedes E-Class? I've read somewhere that the New E-class will take Styling queues from the New S-class. When will it come out? Any info online anywhere? I considered the E-320 4-matic when my A4's Lease expires but I was worried about the new re-design.

Take care

Ken-

The production cycle for most German luxury cars run somewhere between 6 yrs-to 8 yrs.. I figure since the current E-class was introduced in '96, it still has several years to go before a makeover.. Personally I think Audi is heading in the right direction in terms of quality, innovation and design while Mercedes although immensely popular w/clever advertising is heading in the wrong direction starting w/ the current E-class.. The new S-class is gimmicky and doesn't have that teutonic, trademark mercedes feel like you're riding in a vault.. It's no longer head of the class in build quality and long term longevity.. P.S. just some friendly advice- don't ever buy the first year model of a new design, they're the most problematic cars.. wait till they get the kinks out in a year or 2,, unless you absolutely have to be the first one on your block to own one...

ken-

it's obvious that the v70 feels quicker.. The engine has fewer wheels to drive... AWD systems tend to make the car significantly heavier,, plus the power is dispersed among four wheels, thus =less power..

Jim M

I hear you on the BMW everwhere you look situation. For me, it was even worse with Harley-Davidson. After getting flipped off for 20 years by everyone on two wheels and four, all of a sudden Harleys were "cool", and everyone starting giving me the thubs up sign, or high-fiving me. Ugh!

Still haven't seen another BMW 328 convertible in my area with Samoa blue color with blue fabric top.

Jim M

While it's a natural comparison to make, I'm not sure the competition for the A6 Avant is the BMW 528 wagon. The BMW is a sport wagon, and the A6 is most definately not. IMO, the Avant Quatro's real competitors in the actual marketplace are more often SUV's like the Jeep Grand Cherokee Ltd., to which the Avant compares very favorably if one is not traveling offroad.

The Avant costs around 25% less than the 528 wagon, putting it in a different price class. It's suspension, brakes and tranny (as you've noted) are not of the "sport tuned" persuasion. It's also an AWD vehicle. It's good at what it does, but it's a much more sedate car than the 528. At 25% less money, it's also predictably less refined in some ways.

Lest I receive a flurry of angry posts, let me say that IMO, dozens of gimmicky "features" and fancy decor does not spell refinement, or else a Cadillac DeVille would be refined, and it is not. Sophisticated mechanicals and design details are where I look for refinement. The A6 suffers from wind buffeting when the sunroof or certain windows are open, it transmits more road noise, but communicates less road feel to the drivers than the 528, has pronounced body roll in corners, and tends to hobby horse a bit over bumpy railroad crossing and the like. The brakes are adaquete, but ordinary, and the Tiptronic can't make up it's mind what it wants to do at times. This is not to say it's not a nice car, it is, which is why I bought one.

As an owner of BMW's, and now an Audi, I can say that while I like both, they are quite different. There are sport oriented Audi models that compete directly with certain BMW models, but the A6 2.8, and especially the Avant, really do not IMO.

jm

Steve R.

Besides some styling changes to the front end, the 2000 E430 will have 4Matic(AWD) as an option for the first time. I believe the latest Road and Track has a first look at the 2000 E Class.

BOB R.

You are quite the trend setter, thumbs up.

Ken-

Samoa blue is one pretty color.. They used to call it Glacier blue,, wanted it on my BMW at the time but they didn't offer it that year.. Sure wish Audi offered that color for our A6 Avant..