Am ordering a 99 A4 1.8t with the 5speed automan, and all the other options. Only thing im not sure on is the Quattro. I drove the non-quattro on a road where I live that is very very curvy. It handled fine. I, living in south Texas, do not see ice, ever, or snow :), most people in rain, driver slower, and careful, so I was wondering what need I would want to spend 1600$ for the quattro? Isn't the traction on this car superior to almost every other Front-wheel drive car?

On my last question, I was asking about the non quattro vs. all other cars.

If you're in Texas, and you are getting the Tiptronic (I'm assuming that's what you mean by automan), I think you will be happier with the FrontTrak. The quattro is awesome, but the added weight of quattro and the tiptronic make the 1.8T a poor performer. Even on the 2.8. the combination of Tip and quattro is a severe performance drainer. Save the $1600 and put it towards the larger turbo and chip or something. Just my opinion :-)<p>Charles<br>'89, 90 quattro<br>'98 A4 2.8 Q-Tip<br>

I live in Dallas and did not get quattro for the same reasons. The FrontTrak handles very well and is very responsive for most driving. If you are ordering a car, I suggest you get the sport package. For the additional $400 you get quite a bit. The steering wheel alone is $160 and is a definite must.<p>Gene<br>98.5 2.8 FrontTrak

I'm in Boston, but even in Texas ...<br>1) Handling on curves - even dry<br>2) Handling in rain<br>3) Very even tire wear<br>4) If you do the larger turbo, added traction on acceleration<br>In short, I believe quattro is one of the major reasons you buy an Audi<br>Jest my 2 cents ...<p>AndyN<br>98.5TQMS<br>

Andrew,<p>I live in Central Texas (Austin), and I believe there's no need for q here. It would be even harder to make a case for q in South Texas. I agree with Chuck, the auto 1.8T has extremely poor performance with q; 0-60 in almost ten seconds. I have a chipped 2.8 (Wett) Tip with 205+ hp and I still found the extra weight of q unacceptible.<p>I'd be more 50-50 on q in North Texas, say in or north of Dallas/Fort Worth.<p>Besides, with ASL (antislip technolgy) on the FWD you're saver than most FWD cars on the road and definitely safer than all RWD cars (i.e. BMWs), I don't care how much traction control do-dads they have.<p>As I've said before, most of the guys in CTAB (Central Texas Audi Brethern) *don't* have quattro and I would say we're all safety conscious driving enthusiasts.<p>Rick<p>PS Spend your dough on performance or appearance mods.<br>

I had the same opinion when I bought my 98 1.8Tm, 5spd... and now I am sorry. I live in Florida, so there is no snow, no ice, but rains are pretty frequent. Then my FWD slips when accelerating if I press it hard(er). Consequently, if I would be buying it again, I would opt for the quattro. In addition, I would get the sport option as well. Considering the added weight, I would add the Neuspeed chip for $200, which would give me a 190 hp, 4x4 sure-footed car.

:-)

nt

of Quattro in South Texas:<p>Pro: better resale value<br>Pro: better handling than FWD with Electronic Differential Lock in rain & mud<br>Pro: you get to put a Q in your signature on the Forum<p>Con: $1600 up front cost<br>Con: with the Tiptronic, you lose a lot of off-the line acceleration from the added Q weight<br>Con: how much rain do you get in South Texas...?<p>steve<br>98.5 2.8FWDTIPSPORT<br>

Afraid I have to disagree with Rick. I live in Dallas and three of my last four cars have been all wheel drive. The best, next to my A4 1.8tq was the limited addition Mitsubishi Galant VR-4. I drove through rain storms that Noah would have parked the Ark for without more trouble than severe acid production in my stomach.<p>It's the same with the Audi. We have real gully-washers in Texas - more so this year down south. While only a fool would drive in the worst storms, when you have to get somewhere and it's pouring, the quattro offers a measure of safety and security that you can't put a price on.<p>Tink

If I was going to get a FWD, then I would have bought a Saturn, since my A4 is more expensive to lease than it was to buy a Saturn. So if you are thinking about FWD, then I would suggest you test drive other FWD cars, and compare. But I'm going to be honest, while you might not need the Quattro 99% of the time, you are buying it for that 1% when you do need it. 4 paws on the floor is much better than 2, ALWAYS. <p>Think if it like this: There is a 1 in 365 chance that you will get in a car accident statistically, so does that mean you pick just one day out of the year to wear your seatbelt? No. Why? Because you aren't wearing your seatbelt for the 364 days you are safe, you are wearing it for the 1 day that you have an accident. I had a BMW 325, I spun off the mountain highways, almost fell off the cliff. At that moment, I wished I had a Quattro. <p>Don't think of it as a purchasing decision, think of it as regret prevention.<p>Albert 1.8t "Q" :-)

If you drive a FWD and a quattro back-to-back on the same test roads and cannot tell the difference in handling feel, then obviously, it's not worth $1650 to you for the upgrade (this would be true of any upgrade, e.g. sport package).<p>It particularly bothers me that Nissan had i.r.s. on the Maxima and the Infiniti G20, but replaced them with beam axles "because we found our customers couldn't tell the difference." Ooh, boy!<p>-- David F.<br>1.8TqMS<br>E30 325is

I live in South Texas (Houston) and have a 98 1.8TQ with sport and tip. My observations: we get some nasty rains here and, having lived in Cleveland, Nashville, DC, and elsewhere, I can tell you that the roads here are slippery as ice when it rains. For that, I LOVE my quattro - don't even know its wet except the car gets dirty. But: the car IS pretty sluggish off the line with all that weight. I am seriously considering the Wett 1 bar chip, which I hope will make that sluggishness go away. It feels almost mandatory if you want spirited acceleration with quattro and tip.<p>Ben C

I enjoy the fact that driving a Quattro doesn't require huge changes to your dirving habits in the rain. The ASR or whatever its called in the Front-Trak doesn't allow wheel spin but it does it at the expense of power. <p>Tires have a breaking point and reducing the force (direction regardless)to each by all wheel drive is the most effective way to increase transient response. The common track tests do not realize the potential as wet/snow/ice conditions are rarely used. The selling point of these tests is maximum performance under ideal conditions. When I move to San Diego, I might decide on a 2WD. Until then, I will drive Quattro, even in South Texas.

...therefore, it is unlikely that it would stop you from spinning off a cliff. Traction is determined by your tire's contact patches, of which there are 4 on both the Quattro and fwd.<p>Lack of stupidity will stop you from spinning off a cliff far before Quattro will. To say that you would have bought a Saturn vs. a fwd A4 sounds moronic. In fact, it tells me one thing for sure: that you have not driven an A4 fwd. It is a wonderful car, and shares 99.9% of what makes the Audi A4 a great car. If you have previous experience with fwd cars, you should throw it out the window. The multi-link front suspension changes everything. Goodbye torque-steer. Other fwd cars really do not compare.<p>Granted, the Quattro is a great system. However, the A4 is still a great automobile without it. It remains a solid, well-engineered German sport sedan. <p>I spent the last few days having an absolute blast driving a 280hp supercharged fwd A4. So if I sound insulted that you would rather have a Saturn, it's because I am.