Comparison Test: 13 Entry-Level Luxury Sedans from popular mechanics.<p> "All this sporty personality, however, didn't keep the narrow BMW from getting<br>its clock consistently cleaned in our handling tests by the all-wheel-drive Audi A4 and the Infiniti I30t. Even the Acura kept up with the Bimmer in our slalom test. <br> And this BMW, like others we've tested, can be a handful at its handling limits. <br>It tried our testers' driving skills around every bend. Lesser drivers in certain<br>emergency situations may have trouble keeping this little sedan on the road." <p>

I put my 98 A4QM in for normal service a couple of days ago and the dealer gave me a new 3 with a 5 speed to drive for a those days.<p>I will admit that that motor pulled very nicely, however once the rain started today the BMW didn't feel near as sure a foot as my A4Q. I was glad that the 3 was a stick so I could truly compare the two cars. <p>I have been through more than one Audi driving school in Germany and an Ice driving school in Austria so don't flame me on the driving ability issue. (Just put that in for the smart a@# in the bunch)<p>The 3 was a fun car to drive yet it was harder to make clean shifts, and yes the shifter was notchy. To shift gears in this car quickly (not speed shifting) I felt like you would have to do some nastiness to the gearbox. The 3 felt good in the dry the first day, and believe me dry is best for this rear driver. Once the rain started today I felt very uneasy driving this car. When its wet and you want to get out in traffic in the quattro you just punch it, in the BMW this might not be such a good idea. I noticed that the car was much less stable in the wet when taking corners as well. <p>Don't get me wrong here, the Bimmer would be a great fair weather car, however in my corner of the world it rains and snows more than a few times a year. I love German cars as a whole yet getting back my A4 was the most fun I've had since Wednesday. <p>Driven many, loves lots, but Quattro truly does rule in the bad stuff.<p>

Interesting comments... There have been many A4 - 3series comparos and each one seems to have differing opinions of handling and overall impressions of the car. <p>The bottom line for folks is to drive both cars (and others) like they normally drive and get the one you like.<p>Tom<br>1.8TQMS Silver/Ecru

I've had BMW w/ stick for years (5 sries). I love the car. But going forward, Audi quattro technology makes decision a no brainer. That Audi could equip a car w/ such a sophisticated, safe, surefooted system and render it mentionable in the same "sporting" breath as BMW is most impressive.

I don't trust the Popular Mechanics guys to be skilled drivers. I think it has become very clear that for the average driver (I'm including myself in this category ;-), the A4Q is quicker, while for the skilled driver (I hope someday to be in this category), the Bimmer is quicker.<p><br>-vik<br>1.8tqms (9 weeks away)

Tires can make as much difference as AWD vs. RWD. I'm just curious. If the 328 has Z tires and your A4 has non-Z tires, then that doesn't say a lot about the rain driving test. It's not a fair comparison.<p>So, what tires are on each car?<br>

If a manufacture like BMW puts junk tires on a car in the $30,000 plus price range they should be ashamed. I assume BMW would put decent rubber on a new 3 series. <p>I am running my winter Perelli 210's for now and they don't grip as good in the wet as my SP 8000Es.