BMW has been offering this as a factory option on the E46 328i since 1999 and will add it to the option list for the 323Ci for MY 2000. The new 2000 Maxima SE has option of 17" wheels on 225/50VR17 tires at a very reasonable price (part of some package). Also, the Car & Driver head-to-head test of the A4 2.8Q against the 328i mentioned that the A4 has always felt undertired. Don't you think it's about time Audi offered a more complete sport package with 17" wheels & tires? I am not in favor of deleting the current sport package, but perhaps a more complete, aggressive sport package with sport seats and 17" wheels is the answer.<p>By the way, I am in no way implying that the Maxima SE is in the same league as the Audi A4 (except in price). I only mean to say that if Nissan Maxima SE with a base price under $24,000 can offer 17" wheels/tires, Audi can surely justify offering this option on the entire A4 line. Your comments are welcome.

Thought that would catch a few eyes.<p>There is a limit as to what the buyer who agonizes over whether two cupholders is sufficient and whether Bose is the answer to all his problems will care about. After a woman wandered into a dealer I was visiting the other day and complained that her Honda "never had both cupholders fail, this is utterly inexcusable!" She, of course, had a 97 1.8T with folding, self-destructing cupholders. I've gone through a couple sets of cupholders, but that's not the point. The point is that, given that magical persuasion syrum the bad guys in the Green Hornet always had and a really good hypnotist I couldn't make this woman care whether or not she had 17" wheels. And I know the salespeople there, they could barely convince the woman to calm down about her cupholders, so they weren't about to sell anyone wheelsets or to convince her how much better P-Zeros are.<p>If you want 17" wheels, get them... but consider this, too:<p>Do you want the money you paid for that A4 going to make the A4 a better car, or to finance a brainstorming group at Volkswagen to think up a good 17" wheel style for the A4 (with a couple union members on the committee, of course).<p>There's a point where I'm willing to make some changes on my own so that Audi can spend time thinking about more worthwhile things.<p>Cameron

I have always hated that the BMWs have always seemed so much more sporty. They already look lowered. Not too low, just so that there is no gaping spaces between the tire and fender. I think this is more noticable on the A6 and the 5-series sport package cars. I think that the A6 4.2 will cure some of this discrepancy. I know, we can't get EVERYTHING we want from the factory, and I know we get tons that we don't even notice or think about. BUT, I do wish there was a smaller gap between tire and fender. The main reason is that it looks sportier and the BMW is the main competition. Audi is doing so many other things right though, check those record sales numbers.<p>JD

BMW puts more emphasis on wheels, I agree, but Audi seems to be making an attempt to sell cars w. most all options as 'standard', they could throw it into the sport package, but then the people willing to spend $600 for that might get pissed that it went up over $1,000 and forgo the option altogether (especially for those who buy the car off the lot instead of ordering) and so on and so on..

In the UK, Audi has just released a 180hp 1.8Tq sport with 10 spoke 17 inch wheels (which according to Autosport were from the A8). By the way, the UK did not have a 1.8T quattro before !<p>Numerous UK magazines are reporting a new line of RS Audi's in the same theme as the RS/2 (but built by Audi). This includes reports of 400hp for the RS/4 which is to be based on the A4. These models aim to handily out perform the BMW M cars in cluding the upcoming 340hp M3.<p>Phil H.

I don't think it takes that much work or design to come up with a nice 17" wheel. Audi already has a 17" version of the 5-spoke wheels available for the A8. All they have to do is revise the offset to make it suitable for the A4.