absoluTT A3

Relatively new car, with 9k miles on it. I was amazed to feel a little vibration from the front wheels--North Bergen has a lot of punishing roads, which this A4 must have gone over quite a bit. Anyway:

First off, the ride over rough roads was more controlled and smoother. Not as busy as with the A3. The extra weight from the quattro drive is influencing it, perhaps?

Second, steering sensitivity is excellent. The A3 is a little too light, IMHO. This A4 had good speed sensitivity too. Nice and firm at highway speed, then more relaxed in sharp parking lot cornering. With the A3, I feel like I have to concentrate more to keep it straight when cruising on the highway.

Third, engine noise is not as pronounced. Punching the accelerator does not produce the beehive whine heard in the A3. It's there, but muted enough not to sound "cheap."

Fourth, window switches that feel right! They're just a little tighter than the A3... I don't have to be so careful to get them to do what I want. Why didn't Audi use the same damned switches? They look almost identical. Same size, too.

Finally, at 80mph the A4 runs at 2600rpm, while the A3 runs at 3150rpm. So I guess the quattro drivetrain has different gearing?

But now the bad for the A4:
* Acceleration is NOT as good as with the A3. I expect it's the weight of the quattro. No wonder the quattro A3 has the 3.2 engine.
* A4 does not feel as nimble as the 2.0T A3; more like a soft luxury car with a little "sporty feel" from the S-line package.
* Sunroof is a port-hole. Open Sky rules. Period.
* No paddle shifting. Feels "dumb" without it.
* The controls under the instrument cluster aren't well thought out, IMHO. An annoyance to use them too, reaching around the steering wheel.
* The A3 has a slightly better armrest console... I like the rolling cover for the two power sockets.

I still prefer the A3... I just wish it had the smoother S-line ride and steering sensitivity of the A4. Pointless though it may be, I'll send my feedback to Audi. Maybe they'll add these things to the improvement list. :-/

Craig3Q

Our A4 2.0T Q Tip is a fine daily driver, and my wife commutes in it. I used to drive it on weekends before I got the A3, but although I like driving the A4, and the interior at first seemed nicer than the A3's, now I see the A3 interior as more sporty. The A3 has more sporty ride and handling, too, in my opinion.

Of course, I'm comparing an A3 3.2Q DSG, with it's heavier engine and therefore different balance and road feel, to the A4 2.0Q Tip, and an A3 3.2Q probably handles and rides differently than my car.

formerly dennisA4

It was horrible in comparison (the transmission). My A4 was stick so I never experienced the tiptronic. Yucky. Paddles would be pretty much useless.

The buttons on the A3 don't bother me other than they are too far back on the armrest. They don't seem much different than my old A4 but I guess they could be more sensitive, I don't remember. Not a big diff for me if they are.

I agree, the A3 is most definitely sportier especially with the DSG. And since the temps have gone down I've been able to drive with all 4 windows wide open this week and have noticed that although subtle, we have a pretty nice exhaust note on the 2.0T. I wish it was just a few decibels louder.

People keep mentioning the difference in interior quality and I still don't see it. And I'm the biggest interior stroker for sure. I just wish our seats were full leather. I always liked Audi's "fabric" that they use for the headliner so I don't mind it on the a-pillar.

Now the next gen A4 is gonna have a sweet interior. Love it in the A5/A6.

absoluTT A3

At 80mph, the A4 ran at 2600rpm while the A3 ran at 3150rpm ('D' mode, not 'S'). I guess this is due to gearing differences between the transmissions? And maybe this is why the A3 has a little more punch.

I should clarify my note about interior quality. There's something about the feel of controls and the paneling that feels a little more solid. It's not a striking difference, though. I agree that the A3 has a sportier design. I prefer it. I removed that comment from my previous post.

absoluTT A3

So you would agree the ride is smoother on the A4, while the A3 transmits more road noise in a trade-off for a sportier ride?

I'm wondering if the DRC (dynamic ride control) that Audi has recently introduced provides this kind of ride dynamic (selectable rough road absorbing smoothness or road-feel sportiness). There are times when I'm driving with passengers where I'd like to give them a smoother ride and other times when I'm all up for more road feel and tighter handling.

Craig3Q

But yeah, I agree with you generally. My A3 ride is pretty nice though, and not as jarring on daily drives as the 2.0T with sport suspension seems, based on comments from A3 2.0T folks on the forum here. The weight of the 3.2Q must be a better match to the suspension than on the 2.0T or something, plus as far as handling goes, there's the quattro....

vplaza

Before APR, the A4 was a dog. But after, it keeps up and even passes the A3.

The extra power definitely makes the car feel lighter on its feet. And ours has the paddle shifters since the S-Line, at least in our '06 model, came with paddles. Of course, the Tip doesn't shift nearly as quickly as the DSG, but our A4 has nothing to be ashamed of to compared to our A3.

Both cars put smiles on our faces every time, for different reasons.