Red Angel

2008 BMW 535i...

Both vehicles fully loaded come out to roughly the same price point, within a couple thousand (535i might be a couple G's less). My question is how the 300hp turbo 535i stacks up against the 350hp FSI 4.2? Has anyone driven both vehicles recently? I have been leaning towards the S-Line 4.2 FSI for some time now until hearing more and more good things about the 535i recently. Thx.

Egil A64.2s - S6

Any turbo engine has some lag. It does not matter how well you engineer the engine it takes time for the turbo to spool up. That and reliability is the main difference between a turbo and a naturally fed car engine.
Then there is the Quattro.....

Red Angel

Are you saying the 4.2 is faster and more reliable than the 335i? I not sure it is faster (don't think it is) and the jury is out on the reliability of each of these relatively new engines...the 4.2 Audi is about 520 pounds heavier than the 335i which many say is almost as quick 0-60 as the 550, and a superior value to the 550. BMW is also offering up their maintenance in the warranty, which Audi stopped doing. Not saying the BMW is better (I am still leaning towards the 4.2 and currently drive a 98 2.8 A4), but I'm looking for other feedback from folks who have driven both while expecting a lot of Audi bias here as well.

pierreb

the cars couldn't be any more different:

handling
interior
exterior
AWD (we'll assume you aren't looking at CVT)
MMI vs idrive

etc., etc.

just because the prices may be similar, doesn't mean all things are equal.

Egil A64.2s - S6

They are very different cars!!!!

I always say - buy what feels right to you. The numbers just do not explain the difference. As to reliability - some engine designs are stressed more and may result in a higher chance of failure. This does not make sense to you?

I said a turbo car has turbo lag - not that it was slower in 0 to 60 run!

windmill

I drove it back-to-back with a G35 Coupe at a BMW driving event late last year. If I had not known ahead of time that the 335 engine had FI, I would never have guessed by driving it. I wasn't a big fan of the exhaust tone, but the power delivery was faultless, IMO.

Quattro can be a tremendous asset, but so is near 50/50 weight distribution, with both having obvious advantages depending on conditions.

In all, I'd say facing this choice is a very good dilemma to have. You can't lose, either way.

Regards,

windmill

markcincinnati

The cars in this class (as edmunds call them Luxury Performance Sedans) are more alike than they are different.

This does not mean they cannot be distinguished from each other when you are behind the wheel. Their differences are more than simply style. Yet, in terms of content, performance and substance, these two Germans are crossed shopped not because they are radically different performers, but because they are similar in most ways.

Folks -- who do not have a proclivity toward Audi or BMW -- can be objective, of course.

But it seems to me that a lot of folks get down to the way it looks and the way it looks with "me" behind the wheel at $XXX per month for 36 months.

You will not go wrong with either car.

I couldn't ever see myself in a non AWD LPS car. But then again, I suspect there is such a thing as a 535xi, which ought to stack up quite well against the quattro system.

The Audi is nose heavy.

From my point of view, the Audi, other than that issue would be my choice for similar money. A 535xi, however, is probably a fantastic performer.

I drove the 335 with a stick shift and it put me in the mind of the last S4 I test drove.

All this makes me long for Audi to do the turbo treatment on the 3.2 V6.

NoVA_A6

While I was looking at 05's and 06's I drove both a 535i and an 3.2 because I could not find a used 4.2 yet.

I liked both I thought the steering in the BMW was like nothing I've ever driven. I thought it would be a great car but I couldn't find on with AWD.

The A6 drove really well and I thought the technoligy and the power from the 3.2 made sense for me.

I don't think you'll be unhappy with either car.

I'm not sure if you like the M35/45 but that might be an option, my friend has on and it's a great car.

AF 4.2

it should be some concern. If hp wasn't a concern then 4.2 buyers would just go with the 3.2

I had an 05 4.2 A6 and when I went car shopping the BMW 535xi was one of the most competitve vehicles in comparison.

If the origianl poster was comparing the A6 or 535 to a Porsche 911 then it would be totally different cars.

In fact don't think for one second that the engineers of the A6 weren't looking directly at the 5 series as one of their biggest competitors.

AF 4.2

Not sure of the weight differences and my car being an 05 wasn't FSI but I can tell you the 335 is definitely faster (though we're not talking huge differences here) and the turbo lag is non-existent. I have had many turbo vehicles such as an Allroad, RX7 twin turbo, XC90 with the twin turbo's ... the bmw twin turbo is the most repsonive and incredibly responsive.

I am not a fan of the 5 series as far as the interior or exterior. I wanted to love it because in my eye's it was the perfect replacement for the A6 but after driving the 335 I knew it was the car I had to go for.
Strange how BMW did a nicer job on the 3er interior over the 5er.

With that said, I have had many BMW's in the past and a couple of Audi's, they are both awesome brands and my A6 was probably the best vehicle I ever owned. If you never had an Audi before, you will fall in love with the A6 where the 535 might be great but again that interior isn't close in comparison to the A6.

One last thing, the growl from the 8 cylinder Audi is intoxicating ...