<br>Is there anyone here that owns both cars who can give there honest feedback about similarties/ comparison, likes and dislikes, about anything and everything? Which car will make me smile bigger as I walk toward it to get in? I'm 32 - soon to be married -no kids, skier, love the looks, sportiness, and quattro of the A4, but the Passat is nice for cushiness, space, and price. With a few short test drives I can't gauge whether I'll be able to live with the fun factor of the Passat or will I need the A4? - the Passat seemed surprisingly close on the fun gauge. I guess I'll have to go test drive again, but any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Having four cars on the platform in the family now (uncle has a silver/black Passat, we have three A4's), I think I'm in a position to give some input. Of the cars, my opinion is that in stock form the fun factor is ordered this way among the cars...<p>1) 1999 A4 1.8T 20v Quattro<br>2) 1997 A4 1.8T 20v Quattro<br>3) 1999 Passat 2.8L 30v<br>4) 1996 A4 2.8L 12v Quattro<p>The 1.8T is fun stock, and the 30v is even more fun stock if it's in an A4. In my opinion, the wiggles that show up in the Passat suspension at speed devalue the driving experience (5spd, stock suspension). Versus the original A4 suspension setup, the Passat and A4 are about even (99 Passat versus 96 A4), but the later A4 stock setups and sport suspension package make the A4 a superior car. The availability of Recaro sport seats in the 1997 A4 pushes the A4 ahead, even in the post-lease used-car market. While tuning is arguably a leveling point, the majority of available tuners for you in the U.S. fit into one of the following catagories:<p>1) hard-core Audi tuner, worked on everything from UrQ's, to 5000's, to 90's, to coupes, to gray-market toys, to A4's, to A8's... they'll change your 2.8's displacement and know a guy who specializes in bulletproofing A8's.<p>2) hard-core VW tuner, worked on everything under the sun, three perfectly restored old beetles sit in front of the shop, every clipping and rumor mentioning a MY2002 Microbus is attached to the shop walls with masking tape, they'll work on an A4 or Passat, but they'd rather race-prepare your GTI.<p>3) all-round tuner, he knows about cars, knows how cars work, does an SL now and then, a 911 here, an old Elan there, occasionally he works on other stuff... he'll be happy to mess around with an A4 or Passat if it turns into a serious project.<p>4) dealer tuner, he wants your future VW/Porsche/Audi business, and will make your current car a better car through a tuning department as a plan to capture future business.<p>A tuner will be able to make your Passat feel like and A4, or make your A4 feel like the tightest thing on earth, but the real question is stock condition. And the A4 wins, hands-down, from an enthusiast point of view. It feels lighter, drives more seriously, has less body roll stock, handles better stock, provides Quattro which is especially relevant if you're a skier, and it appears to fit your needs. Also, though I'm sure the transmission is probably the same, the shifter feel in the A4 seems a bit more positive... but it may be the rest of the car's influence on subjective things like that...<p>Cameron

I've got an A4 1.8T my dad has a passat. Like Cameron I think the A4 both looks a little nicer and interiorly looks richer. The A4 can be got with quattro ,which mine is - Dad's is FWD and so far can't be bought with quattro (maybe later this year)For general driving both are very simillar (I don't have the sport pkg). Haven't pushed dad's to the edge yet on performance but it appears pretty good with a little more roll. We are both chipped and the fwd/standard pulls away a little faster than my tip/quattro. (Both leave most of the other traffic behind quite easily. My auto is geared a little higher I think. 80 mph@3000 rpm.)My 94 Rx7 was much faster. I think you may get more bang for the buck with the Passat and the powertrain warrantty is 10yr/100,000 mile on the Passat. 3yr/50,000 with Audi. On a car with as many valves and computers and my fancy tiptronic trany should you buy one, the 100,000 mile warranty is a definite plus (I wish I had it.) That said though I love the feel of the quattro. It's unlike any I've owned before. I like the tiptronic. I live in San Diego and have to negotiate a lot of heavy traffic and the manual mode works pretty damn good when sporting around.Though it's not perfect. Buying or leasing may offer different choices for you. I bought and am VERY happy with my A4. Either way you won't end up with a bad choice. In my opinion.

Gas mileage on the quattro is not great (neither is the range), no doubt due to the <br>incresed mechanical. If you're putting on alot of miles the savings may pay for a flight away from the snow. (or let the new wife spend----- AGAIN)

My previous car was a 94 Passat GLX, which I traded in for a 98.5 A4 2.8 QM. <br>I really loved the Passat at the time and was considering another one, but was <br>only able to testdrive the 98 1.8T 5sp VW. Couldn't find a 2.8 5sp Passat in the <br>Boston area. Thought that the car was a bit underpowered and the handling<br>was a bit on the soft side. Initailly tested the 1.8T A4 QMS and was immediately<br>BLOWN away by the difference! Couldn't find one (98) in all of New England<br>equipped the way I wanted, so went for the 2.8. I have to say that this is probably<br>one of the best cars that I've ever owned! It just snowed last night in the Boston<br>area and I had a BLAST!<br>The only thing that I miss about my Passat is the additional interior space. The<br>A4 is a little tighter in the shoulder area and a lot shorter in rear leg room (but<br>then again, I don't expect to ride in back!) Don't get me wrong, I still thing the<br>Passat is a great car if you can get a (my preference) GLX 5sp, but the A4 is<br>really a cut above it! Sorry for the long reply. Hope this helps!

The Warrenty on the Passet is ONLY! 2/24,000! That alone would make me choose an A4! A4 has a great warrenty and ALL service is included!<br>Not many auto makers offer that!<br>

I bought the A41.8 QMS and my buddy has the Passat w/ similar options. The Passat has more room for back seat passengers (I never sit back there so it doesnt affect me!) The A4 rides like a tight german sports car and the Passat has more of a family, smooth riding comfort thing. if you do a balloon note, the A4 holds more value and makes up for the higher price. they are both better than everything else in the price range, go for either one and you will be happy.

nt<br>

The A4 (in 2.8 trim) is a more luxurious ride; it does more to impress people, whether you mean for it or not. The all-wheel drive is fantastic, especially in this snow and rain we're going through now in the northeast, but it also holds its own in the dry. The stereo (in Bose upgrade) is far better, the car is quieter, it handles better, and just feels tighter.<p>The Passat is a larger version. It isn't as luxurious (even in top-end GLX form), but the blue dash lighting really gives it a unique feel. The instruments are A4- (meaning that it's the same pod but missing the two readings), it doesn't handle as well (whether you get GLS or GLX you're still looking at 195/55R15's), and it doesn't have that many upgrades to make it "comfortable."<p>The reality, however, is that you can do a lot with a car costing $22700 (my "target price" for a Passat GLS 1.8T with Tiptronic and 'luxury package' (15" alloys, sunroof, rear sunshade). My fully-loaded A4 was about $10K more, and doesn't have the Tip.<p>-josh

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Couldn't stand just virtual relaizing things so I went back to Dealer. Test Drove V6 manual A4 and V6 Tip Passat. Will be getting a 1.8T if A4, & will consider V6 if Passat. <p>Audi - Very smooth, handling was awesome. Took some high speed turns. Love the feeeling of being in a sporty car. Did hear wind or road noise? Thought it might be sun roof, but salesman thought it was due to tires. Found that reaching window buttons somewhat awkward compared to Passat. Speedometer easier to tell exact speed of travel than Passat. Parked two cars side by side and prefered the look of Audi from all directions, although the Passat has a remarkable look to it as well. <p>Passat- More room. More simplistic interior, but very good quality finish work. I mean I was ratttling tings, checking seem stiches, rubber pieces etc. and found Passat as good or even at times better than Audi. I prefered the door handles of Passat over audi and the manully operated climate controls. I wish that could be an option on the Audi. However, the cloth seats of the Audi are far better than the passats. Passat's back seat much more spacious of course & ok for long trips. Audi's back seats ok for 1-2hrs max then rest stop. Passat was quieter at speeds. Much more cush in suspension and body roll, felt less safe on high speed turns, but steering still tight.<p>Audi 1.8 - Optimisic or possible? -5% over invoice w/sport pkg. and Quattro = 23, 350.00<p>Passat 1.8 - 5% over invoice = 20,055.00<p> -add tires, wheels, suspension??????<br> -not sure of cost here?<br>Rough estimate? 2000.00 =total of =22,055.00<p>Difference Passat = bigger<br> Audi = Quattro = 1295.00 more<p>One last question:<p>I currently have a 1988 scirocco that kinda grinds/slips hard into 2nd gear especially when colder (doesn't occurs when warm) and some mechanics say that my transmisson is going - need new synchros or something like that. Will this ever happen to my A4 in ten years? If it happens to my Passat then it's covered under warrantee correct?<p>By the way - thank you for your responses and I'm leaning toward the A4 if I can get that price and especially for a 99.5 - I just feel that it will make me smile bigger when I walk toward it to drive. Driven to the edge of control! It's my turn to Drive.<p>

nt<br>

Price of A4 (5%over, spt. pkg., Quattro)is 24,350 instead of 23,350 like I reported earlier, so the cost difference would be more like 2300.00 between an upgraded Passat and A4.

$1.40 gas won't be around forever.........................<p>

There is only a 1 mpg difference between quattro and non-quattro. This means the non-quattro car will go 15 miles further. Big deal. In the real world your driving style will make a much, much bigger difference than q/non q.

...I believe the 1 MPG difference is due to gearing (lower on the quattro, I believe), and not mechanical loss. Audi testing years ago showed that driving all four wheels was actually more efficient, enough so that the extra mechanical drain was more than made up in the efficiency at the tire. For me to explain this would require too much thought, and would take up a lot of space, but if you want to E-Mail me, I'll do my best, based on the info I have. The A4 has a small gas tank though, for the type of car it is. I like the 18.5 gallon unit on my 90Q. It lasts along time. But then, it also costs a lot to fill up! :-(<p>Charles<br>

Relative to what?

Do you have any comments on sales and service experiences with the San Diego area Audi dealers ??<br>

VW just seems to build an inneficient engine.....adding AWD on top of<br>it makes it more of an issue for those of us who care about MPG/ performance<br>delivered.<p>I normally would want the 6 cyl...but in the case of Audi I will probably<br>get the rougher 1.8 for that very reason.

???

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