Still deciding between a TL, IS, or A4 2.0TQ. I have an I4 Accord now and it's slow....

When I think TL, i think smooth, ok handling, and an "everyone's V6". The IS350 smooth, fast, and luxurious (and expensive). THe A4 from what I've read tells me that it pulls, it's luxurious, and sporty. I have yet to test drive the IS or A4.

I'm looking for a car that's smooth but has awesome handling. When I drive my girl, I'd like to think i'm her chauffer and I want to give her a nice smooth quiet ride. But I also want to have my fun when i'm by myself :P Is the A4 the car for me?

is a fantastic platform. The chassis is simply amazing and the motor is extremly strong and from what I have seen running more then the claim 200 hp. Audi interiors are second to none and have been for sometime.

I am picking one up this week... and here is a list of previous and current Audis owned.

current

03 RS6
01 S8
01 S4
97 A8
92 S4
91 200 20v quattro
90 90 20v quattro
84 4000 quattro

I can say the A4 2.0t is an amazing car for the money... I am looking forward to picking it up. I would get an S-Line as the suspension is a bit more sporty.

Considering that the A4 has a turbo and not Japanese. I'm sure there are reliablity Audis out there and crappy Japanese cars otu there, but in general from the big picture it's the other way around.

If I go with the Audi, i'm definately going to chip it, it's a no-brainer right? I'll look into keeping it for at least five years, and if it's still reliable, a little longer than that.

I came from a VW 2.8L v6... in my old Passat. That is what I was comparing the A4 to when I purchased it. I was very skeptical about the 2.0T - because I hadn't ever experienced a great 4cyl before.

I was very suprised on my test drives. The 2.0T seems like a great engine so far and doesn't have much of the typical 4cyl feel.. hard to explain. To put it bluntly, it is much more torque-y and much quieter than a typical 4cyl. To me, the only time it feels like a 4 is when you're in a gear you shouldn't be!

Good luck!

I think reliability is all luck. I've owned a series of american and german cars through my life and have had great overall experience with all of them. If you take good care of your car, you (in general) won't have anything to worry about. Audi's have a good warranty. How long do you plan on keeping it really, anyway?

-Joe

then that one, mine have been great. Audi's in general have gotten much better with reliability and Audi has a 25 year history with turbos so I would not be concerned about a turbo charged Audi. They have more expereince then just about anyone.

Actually the UrS4 is in my friends hands.

I've had the opportunity to romp on the 3.2 V6 version (AoA driving school) as well as my own chipped 2.0T Quattro and the 3.2 V6 variant is definitely much smoother when you are driving hard. The 2.0T is not unsmooth around town unless you drive that way.

As to whether the A4 is the right car for you, obviously you are going to get a pretty biased opinion from AudiWorld. For a more neutral opinion I would suggest you try 'The Car Lounge' forum at www.thecarlounge.com .

The A4 has surpassed all of my expectations and is a lot of fun so I have no regrets. There is nothing like a fun turbo once you experience 3rd gear boost. In that vein, I think it would be worth your while to check out a Saab 9-3 Aero. Not only is it a fantastic car, but it isn't unusual to get $10K off of MSRP like a friend just did. And if you don't mind driving a VW (I wouldn't mind) you should at least give the MKV GLI 2.0T a drive.

Best of luck with your decision. If you decide on the A4 I think I can say on behalf of AudiWorld that you are more than welcome here. :beer:

I own an A6 and an A4. I'd take the A6 on long-distance drives over the A4 any day, purely on ride quality. On back roads and around town, the A4 is a no-brainer, but be prepared to 'feel every squirrel'.

I drove the TL, but with no AWD, it's a non-starterr. The RL is well, the RL...a bleh car...no personality, over-hyped performance that doesn't measure up during a simple test drive, basic Accord lines, etc. I could go on, but...

I've ridden in Lexus cars, although not the IS. Lexus imo is a Japanese knock-off of MB with even less road feel. Not generally a driver's car in my interpretation of the concept.

Btw, my wife's A4 2.0T 6MT is faster 0-60 than my 3.2 A6...stock. This is most definitely NOT an Accord.

Go drive them all and let us know what you decide!

S4, RS 6, S8... drool

If you want a decent ride, stay away from the Saab 9-3 Aero! A friend of mine bought one - what a rough ride. I would not even consider it unless you have pristine roads where you live.

Why would the A4 3.2 ride better than the 2.0T? Because it's heavier?

My impressions of both cars (when compared to my 2002 325i) are that they don't ride as well nor are they as quiet (from a wind and road noise perspective). PLEASE NOTE that I am trying to bash the A4. I love the styling of the A4 both inside and out. I have been looking at them but not sure I will buy one because of the noise and ride quality compared to the new 3-Series. Believe me, the A4 styling (especially the interior) blows away the new 3-Series.

makes sense since it is more luxury than the A4. He wasn't comparing engines in the A4.

I was further illustrating that point by showing the difference between my A6 and my A4.

I don't see this huge loss of power you're referring too...
http://forums.audiworld.com/a4b7/msgs/58691.phtml

If you get the 2.0T with Tiptronic, it has terrible idle vibration.

The consensus for the 1.8T and tip tranny was that automatic transmission and a turbo 4-cyl. don't really go well together.

I'm pretty sure the same can be applied to the 2.0T.

like it was a dish towel and then wonder why?!!
I suspect the Japanese cars are better as far as overall issues. However, a lot of these Japanese cars are not coming into some performance options that make a car become more expensive and prone to some reliability issues. Let's face it, a 100 hp Toyota Camery that didn't brake well, didn't handle well, didn't have performance from the engine or chaises but was reliable. Based on new information from JD Powers and others, the reliability has dropped but now the car handles, performs and brakes well.

I too am looking at the B7. I drove an S4 yesterday and honestly was not impressed with the performance compaing it to my B6 1.8t with Garret turbo and other mods.
Now I want to get the B7 and address the performance side of things when more options are available. Looking at an everyday 350 HP 4 cyl.

It sounds like what you want is a V6. The 2.0t A4 and the 3.2 FSI A4 are like completely different cars. Really, really different because of the turbo in the 4 cylinder car.

You say you want "a nice smooth quiet ride. But I also want to have my fun when i'm by myself." It depends on what your definition of "fun" is -- if it is spirited driving then you probably want the V6. If it is drag racing then you want something with a turbo that you can tune. The 2.0t is miles ahead of the 1.8t in terms of smoothness. But it is still a complete joke in terms of smoothness and refinement compared to a real V6.

its base is about 33k and optioned out it should be no more than 38k. It will blow the IS out of the water in both performance and price and should offer similar performance numbers to the S4. If you want an ultrasmooth engine get a used B6 or B7 S4 though...it is by far the smoothest engine I have ever experienced. The only problem is u should not expect more than 17 MPG with it.

just my 2 cents

But I just swaped a car for an A4 2.0Tq. So I will be going to work on it soon.....

STaSIS Motor Sports suspension
STaSIS Alcon brakes
STaSIS center diff

and some other goodies.

It's very smooth, maybe not as linear as the V6, but look how flat the toruq curve is....it comes in early and makes power through a nice linear curve.....

I'll take a tuned 2.0T over the 3.2 anyday!

Is it perfect?

No

But the B7 TIP/2.0T package makes things much more livable than the B6 TIP/1.8T package ever was.

Seriously. It is a function of the turbo, plain and simple. The 2.0t is much smoother than the 1.8t but comparing it to a factory tuned V6 is apples and oranges. Drive them both. Entirely different power delivery.

9 out of 10 people who post here regularly prefer a tuned 4 banger to a V6, but I would say smoothness and refinement is pretty far down on most of their lists. In fact most of them prefer the turbo *because* of the seat of your pants surge that it offers.

...which it absolutely is not.

It's very linear for a 4, feels like many V6's and tuned makes more torque than some V8's.
have you driven a 2.0 that was APR tuned?
It picks up a ****LOAD of low end torque.

If this was a peaky turbo engine with no torque, I would agree with you 100%, but the power is very linear.