<br>Last Saturday I testdrove a quattro for the first time. Very different from the car<br>I had in Europe (a 90 hp 1.9TDI frontwheel drive). Maybe it's because I've been<br>driving to many US-built cars lately, but I found that the 1.9 TDI had too much<br>body movement in corners but now the 1.8T was just perfect. It did not have<br>the sport suspension which I did order. I always preferred a less comfy ride<br>and more grip. However, I did notice that as opposed to most German cars,<br>the engine did not really like to rev as much. I used to drive an Opel Vectra<br>(136 HP, 2.0 engine) which loved to do 60 in first and 100 in second (kph<br>of course). On the plus side, the Audi seems more happy in the lower rev<br>range. The Opel almost fell asleep below 3000 rpm. <p>Concerning mechanical failures, European Audis (leased to companies)<br>have an excellent track record. Few problems.<p>One other plus side of the Audi is the interior. I absolutely hate American cars<br>because their basic interior design is always the same. Especially the central<br>console with the basic radio/cassettes. Ford, Pontiac, Honda, Toyota, GM... <br>all alike. <p>What I will miss in the Audi (available on the Opel) are the steering wheel mounted<br>stereo controls. Next/previous cd track, radio changes, volume, it was all there using<br>6 easy to use buttons on the bottom half of the steering wheel. <p>The Opel also had a better trip computer (had the same functions) but the display <br>was in a better location. Too bad Opel stopped making 4x4 sedans. But who cares<br>anyway, they stopped importing them ages ago.<p>Overall I think the A4 is one of the few fun cars available in the US which is also<br>practical. Yes, several coupes offer more fun, but the A4 is the perfect compromise.<p>Based on the wealth of information on this site I could limit my expenses.<br>Did not get the Bose - cd changer for example. The Clair one will do nicely.<br>Thanks!<br>