Originally Posted by joelk01

Had an 08 535ix and now have an '11 A6 3.0T and I severely miss my BMW. Both with auto trans. The seats were much more comfortable in the BMW and the ride was much tighter. I loved the feel of the road thru the steering wheel that I had, too. To me, the biggest weakness in the Audi, however, is the transmission. My car groans to find the right gear whereas the BMW was always in the right spot, especially in low RPMS. I like the look of the Audi much better than my old 5, but there is no question regarding performance and comfort - BMW.

Originally Posted by nielsn

I've probably posted this before, but here I go again (sorry the rest of you who've been subjected to my horrible posts). between my wife and I we've owned 4 bmw's- a 1997 328i sedan 5 speed, 2004 325i sedan auto, 2001 330i sedan auto, and 2001 325iT sport wagon 5 speed- all sport models (seats, suspension, etc.). so one E36, 3 E46 3 series. First and most important- The A6 is NOT a 3 series and never will be. Ok, now that we've established that... it is still a very comfortable, stable and luxurious car. Second, I agree with DirtyVegas- the seats aren't very supportive- especially when compared to an S6, S4 or sport modeled 3 series. However, they are cushy for long trips- probably more so than the S6 seats- we test drove an S6 and the interior is BEAUTIFUL!!, but the seats are a little stiff- not a big deal for a guy, but my wife was a little hestitant. Basically, if we could have speced out an A6 to look exactly like the 2 tone light grey/black S6 interior( down to the last detail) she would have had the perfect A6. the exterior of the S6 not so much- but its her car and her styles, and she likes what she likes I guess. Anyway, just so you know we also test drove lets see- 2009 .... mercedes E350, C350, C300, C63, BMW 535ix, Infity G35x & G45x, Lexus GS350AWD, and 2010 S4, 2009 A4 and 2007 S6. and a 2008 A6 with the 3.2 V6. So I've got a little experience in a few of these cars. The 2009 A6 was one of (not THE fastest for sure-the C63 should be illegal)the fastest cars we drove- VERY quick- in fact surprisingly quick for a little 3.0 L v6 in a 4200 lb. car. that supercharger is insane! The car closest to it in straight line performance and feel was probably the 535xi. as far as cornering, stability and overall handling- the Infiniti G35x was excellent, as was the S6 and C63. all the other "family" sport sedans like the Lexus, A6, 535xi, E350 all handled comparably,IMHO but not like a 3 series. I also agree with Dirty Vegas that the stock non-sport suspension on the A6 is spongy and boring.. I wouldn't say dangerous, but not sporty. So we put eibach sport lowering springs on it and 19 inch rims with Michelen Pilot sport 255 series tires and now it handles like a proper sports sedan- probably not quite like an S6, but we don't have the stiffer valved shocks and thicker sway bars like the S6 does. So, to sum it up. The A6 is a good, fast, luxurious car, that can be made to handle well for low $$$. Read the articles in R&T, C&D and so on... its won at least 2 head to heads with all those other compeitors in at least a couple car magazines- not because it kicks their asses in every category, but because it is overall a very good car- good looking, fast, good mileage, comfortable, huge trunk, lots of ammenities, etc. and for mid 50 grand it better be good, right? anyway, I would suggest driving all the competitors first- like the 535xi (not the 535i - that is RWD), Mercedes E Class, the Infiniti M35 or M45x, the Lexus GS350AWD, Jaguar whatever it is and so on, then see if you still like the A6- I know we do. Now, we'll see how does with reliability- that is the only area where I think Audi might have an achilles heel. we'll see!

Originally Posted by The G Man

BMW also like to keep the rpm high so the tranny is more responsive, the down side to that is the gas mileage. The 2010 BMW 535xi gets 16 MPG in the city and 25 highway, whereas the 2010 A6 gets 18 city and 28 highway. The A6's tranny can stay in the sweet spot as well if you leave it in the sports mode, but then your gas mileage will suffer like the BMW's.

Originally Posted by Maverickrr80

Hello everyone,
I am really interested in the new S5 I am a proud owner of a 2005 bmw m3 and was thinking about switching up and purchasing the new S5 with a trade in. I m curious to see if there is anyone out there who has made a switch like this one? And if so am i crazy for doing this? The reason why im making hte change is initially because 1 the m is greatttt cat I have the competition package but the problem is 1. snow; the car turns into a paper weight on ice skates when it snow and sometimes in heavy rain. however I 've gotten used to the weather and have learned to mange the power and drive it accordingly where its been manageable. But it gets annoying when I have to worry about the wether 2 BMW does not offer an extended warranty after 5 years or 100k unfortunately my car has 45k and I own it completely now so the maintanence is going to fall on my head which i dont mind but the maintanence as you know for m's are in the thousands.

Im going to go for test drive today and wanted to know what to expect and what to look for in comparison or if I should not even do this... thanks

Originally Posted by The G Man

There are not too many cars that drives like a BMW at this price range. Seat comfort is somewhat of a personal thing. I find the standard seats in the 5 series about the same as the Audi's standard seats, maybe the BMW's seat were a bit more more supportive. I like the Audi suspension much better, its a combination of a smooth ride and performance, not tune for all out performance and a rough ride like the BMW. The last gen 5 series's steering feed back is world class, but unfortunately, BMW had to convert to electric steering sooner or later and we all know how that turn out in the new BMW 5 series. BMW also like to keep the rpm high so the tranny is more responsive, the down side to that is the gas mileage. The 2010 BMW 535xi gets 16 MPG in the city and 25 highway, whereas the 2010 A6 gets 18 city and 28 highway. The A6's tranny can stay in the sweet spot as well if you leave it in the sports mode, but then your gas mileage will suffer like the BMW's.

Originally Posted by Maverickrr80

Hello everyone,
I am really interested in the new S5 I am a proud owner of a 2005 bmw m3 and was thinking about switching up and purchasing the new S5 with a trade in. I m curious to see if there is anyone out there who has made a switch like this one? And if so am i crazy for doing this? The reason why im making hte change is initially because 1 the m is greatttt cat I have the competition package but the problem is 1. snow; the car turns into a paper weight on ice skates when it snow and sometimes in heavy rain. however I 've gotten used to the weather and have learned to mange the power and drive it accordingly where its been manageable. But it gets annoying when I have to worry about the wether 2 BMW does not offer an extended warranty after 5 years or 100k unfortunately my car has 45k and I own it completely now so the maintanence is going to fall on my head which i dont mind but the maintanence as you know for m's are in the thousands.

Im going to go for test drive today and wanted to know what to expect and what to look for in comparison or if I should not even do this... thanks