Muray

I know there's about 10K price difference, but did anyone cross-shop these two cars before? Why did you pick the S4? I've never driven or ridden in an M3 and was curious. Obviously the M3 will be better than the S4 in outright performance, but overall daily driver duties...how does it compare to the S4?

primetime

Yes, I looked at and test drove a few(also looked at an ISF, C63, CTSV, and GTR... knew the wife wouldn't like the GTR but I tried LOL)... In the end I liked the S4 more.... The engine is more modifiable since it is FI.... I wanted a sedan and like the looks of the S4 better and the interior is better in the S4 as well... Power is close(I'm not talking ratings) and is much more useable in the S with the low end torque. I also like the AWD not that I drive my car in any inclement weather as it is more of a weekend toy. I also have owned multiple Audis so I may be a little biased! LOL Both are great cars there is no bad decision between the two.... later Ron

DrizzTT

Yes, I strongly considered the M3 and thought that would be the car I would get. Drove the coupe and sedan each a few times and loved it. Personally, I liked the M3 more then the S4, but in the end of the day the S4 I ordered came to an MSRP of about $49K whereas the M3 Coupe optioned the way I wanted it came to around $65K. I could have stretched my budget a bit and went with the M3, but the S4 is such a great car that I just had a hard time justifying a $16K price diff to step up to the slightly quicker, slightly more solid-feeling and slightly better handling M3. In the end I'm more then happy with my Audi...love it! Maybe when the lease is up I'll get the M3 since it's something I've always wanted...we'll see.

Oh and like primetime (post above mine) I drove the the C63 too. Now that was a beast, and even though it would kill the M3 in a straight line I still liked the Bimmer more. Again, it was another $15K or so price difference once optioned out. The great thing about our S4s is that it comes standard with so much that the others still charge for even at their premium price!

DrGP

Check out this thread. This issue has been discussed before. M3 if you want a race car for the street. S4 if you want a better daily driver that you can track. https://www.audiworld.com/forums/sho....php?t=2789818

Construct

Yes. Couldn't afford it. Very happy with the S4, but when I see an M3 coupe from the rear 3/4 angle on the freeway, there are slight pangs of regret. Wish the S4's exterior was sexed up a bit more like the M3's is.

legbend

I did... it didn't feel like it was worth the extra $$. I'm sure if I were test driving them on the track I may feel different, but around town... eh...

I had a run in with an E90 M3 a few days, I got him off the line and he didnt catch me by the middle of third... I beat him to the merge. His car sounded better though

rktskicar

Go drive an E92 M3 and check it out for yourself. It would not work for me as I need AWD.

Bruce

lacartus

Succinct and to the point.

As rktskicar said: drive the M3...and the S4

I drove the M3 and decided it's not worth the money to me (even used).

Sandy S

I considered both but I really needed something for winter too. Audi quatro wins every time in New England.

questionlp

I considered an M3 coupe, along with an 335is coupe, S5 and S4 when I was researching and opted against the M3 and 335is mostly due to the lack of AWD, but also due to cost (M3 coupe would have been $6000 more than I wanted to spend, though the 335is would have costed less) and ergonomics. I couldn't get myself into a comfortable enough driving position in either (while my current car isn't perfect, it is more than good enough).

You can see what I chose in my sig, but I would go for the S4 if you want a better daily driver. The 335is would be a competitive track car and closer to the S4, but would still lack quattro if that is important to you. I just wouldn't be able to use all of the power and handling of the M3 and therefore couldn't justify the extra cost.