I've driven (and loved)cars with both transmissions. Yes, the Manual is definitely more sporting. But I live in San Francisco Bay area. Stop & go, bumper-to-bumper caused me to abandon a manual for auto for convenience. I'll probably never take a car to a track or go autocrossing. Which tranny should I go with? Is Tip. worth the $?

I got the tip mostly because my wife won't drive a stick...but after living with it for 6 months now, I love it...control when you want, auto when ya don't (and no sore left leg in traffic). <p>Caveat: if you are getting the 1.8T, 1.8TQ, or 2.8Q, & like quick acceleration off the line...better stick with the manual (or chip a tip 1.8T to get some extra horsies). The 2.8Q tip I drove did feel a bit more sluggish off the line than the 2.8 FWD tip I have. If you don't mind...no problem.<p>steve

Totally expected biased opinions. (is there any other kind?) Was thinking 1.8TQ with Tip, and getting a chip to get around 200hp. A co-worker has '97 1.8TQ with manual & chipped to 200. He absolutely loves it. Takes it to the track & autocrosses it. Got a huge grin on his face when he heard I was thinking about getting an A4!<p>Thanks!

My A4 is manual, drove also automatic and Tip. My left foot hurts a lot in the SF bay, but I am coping. The tip is sure more relaxing - both in performance as well as on the driver.<p>The tip will not allow you to do whatever you want: it will not allow you to shift up when it thinks you would under-rev the engine, even though you'd still be above 1000. When you are coming to an off-ramp at 75 and do a "down-down" on the handle, it will take its good time to shift to 3rd, while with my 5speed I can do it as hard as I please.<p>More comfort and less control, but still much more control than with classic auto. Do not get a tip with the 1.8 though, that is not a good combo.<p>I'd opt for an A4 2.8 with 5speed and an A6 wagon with tip :-)<p>- Stan<br>

I traded a tiptronic 1.8TQ for a manual 1.8TQ. IMO there is no comparison, the manual is much quicker and more fun. Even with the Wett chip, my tiptronic car was slower 0-60 than the stock manual.<p>I've not compared the tip vs. manual in the 2.8, but I imagine the performance discrepancy is somewhat less than with the 1.8T.<p>Tom P.<p><p><br>

<br>I'm warming up to my (wife's) new tip. I usually drive a 911, but I must say this thing is pretty cool, and there's reasonable power. Even with the 1.8T / Quattro. Just got back from 700 miles of mountain & hwy driving yesterday. Lot;s of passing, and it goes 85 mph up a 7% grade at 6000 ft. <p>I'm sure manual unleashes more sportiness, but the car is a pleasure to drive nonetheless. I am not disappointed with the power, but will chip it soon anyhow (Wett or Garret)<p>not news... but quattro on snowpacked roads is a blast.

When I bought my A4, I knew I wanted a quattro 30V 2.8. Other than that, I was flexible on everything else. I drove the 1.8 in manual and Tip (just to see what they were like - BTW, I thought hard about the 1.8 5-speed after I drove it), as well as the 2.8 manual (didn't have to drive the Tip, I loved the 5 speed). I live in SoCal and know about traffic. Sometimes I get really aggrivated with the stop and go traffic and wish for the Tip. But all it takes is 5 miles on an open road with the 5 speed to make me forget all of its downside. Its just more fun, not to mention a lot cheaper. I say buy the manual and use the $ you save to upgrade the stereo.<p>PS, the car I gave up was an automatic 5.0 Mustang. I went back to a 5-speed in the Audi. You almost have to.

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