dicib

I've been looking at an A4 for a little bit now, but recently drove the A5 and then the BMW 230i and thought they were both a lot of fun to drive and looked great.

Every car I've had has been a sedan, but both the 230i and the A5 have fold down seats and close enough to the same storage as my current Subaru that I'm considering a coupe. I don't have kids or haul a lot of stuff frequently and if I needed to, I'm thinking about selling my motorcycle and keeping my dying Subaru as a backup. I enjoy driving in general and would rather drive myself plus one friend than catch a ride to pretty much anything.

Have you guys noticed anything in particular that might not be so obvious switching from a sedan to a coupe? Here's stuff I've thought of so far . . .

1. Routine shopping - I don't buy a lot on a regular basis. The trunk has plenty of space and there are hooks/bins to hold groceries/bags/etc.

2. Bigger stuff - Again, the trunks on both the A5 and the 230i seem big enough to hold even larger items. If I move, which has been relatively frequent, I could probably just rent a truck/van and I'm expecting to be in the same region (Northeast) for probably a long time. I don't have a lot of stuff as it is, and everything I do own weighs less than 4 adults.

3. Tank - The A5 actually has a larger fuel capacity than the A4, but the 230i holds about 3 gallons less. I'm driving around fairly populated areas but take longer trips roughly every month. I guess just stopping more frequently . . .?

4. Cabin - I guess I didn't notice it during first viewing, but I've been shopping around for a little while and nothing seems to have as wide a view as my old Subaru. The A5 appeared a little more cramped than the 230i in terms of windshield view even though the Audi body is a few inches wider.

5. Price - The A5 is more expensive than the A4, but the BMW 230i is several THOUSAND dollars less than the A4 and almost $10000 less than the A5! Each of these cars is already pushing how much I want to spend, but the BMW price tag is VERY attractive. Kind of a bummer xDrive doesn't come in manual for the 230i, but my first car was a rear wheel drive station wagon in NY snow so I'm not terribly concerned.

6. Insurance - No measurable difference for the models I'm looking at. In fact, the 230i was cheaper to insure than the A4.

Thanks in advance!

dicib

Bueller . . .?

carman63

Here are my thoughts, from a guy currently driving an S3 and looking at the S5 Sportback. Prior to the S3, I drove a 2015 MINI Cooper S 2-door, and before that I had a 2014 BMW X1. (I'm kind of all over the map, car-wise.)

I think you covered a lot of the main things between a 2-door and 4-door. If you typically don't carry more than 1 passenger, ingress/egress to the back seat probably isn't too much of a concern.

But what about pets? If you have a dog, will it ride in the back seat? How about a pet carrier for cats (or small dogs, I suppose)? With my MINI, a medium pet carrier either rode in my passenger seat, or I had to pop the hatch, drop a rear seat, and remove my parcel shelf, just to get the carrier in. I think in either car you're comparing, a pet carrier could present a challenge to get into the back seat.

If I think of anything else, I'll come back and edit this post (if I can).

BTW, you're comparing the 2-series BMW to an A5. The 2-series will be smaller, have a smaller gas tank, should be cheaper for sure. You should be looking at the 4-series, if you want a more apples-to-apples comparison, IMO.

plat27265

I have been a 2-door coupe guy for most of my driving life. I, too, have no kids nor do I own any pets. I am married so my wife occupies the front passenger seat all the time.

My reason for not buying a 4-door vehicle be it a sedan or CUV or SUV is simply because I have no need for the other two doors. A car that has 2 less doors will have two less moving assemblies that might fail (two more windows, sets of door switches, etc).

In an apples to apples comparison, the A5's competitor is the BMW 420i. The A4's competitor is the BMW 320i. The BMW 228i will cost much less than the A5/A4 because it belongs to a lower (smaller/lighter) range. More like the A3 model range. As carman63 mentioned in his post above, if you are considering a BMW that compares to the Audi A5, it should be the BMW 428i or 428xi.

dicib

Thanks for the responses. I don't have any pets at the moment and don't foresee any in the near future.

I didn't think to compare to the 4-series as both it and the A5 cost even more than the A4, but I understand the comparison given the size of both. Maybe in a few years those will come into view as both are very nice looking cars.

Thanks, again!

Glisse

As others have said, you're not quite comparing apples to apples in the BMW and Audi range. The A3 range is the Audi equivalent to BMW's 2 series. And its VAG sister car the Golf (specifically the GTI vs a 230i), which is more similar in some ways to the A3/S3 Sportback, which I don't think are available in NA. Or drive a Golf R, which probably costs less than a BMW 2 series optioned anywhere near the same level.

If the NE means somewhere in the USA, such as around Maine, and you're coming from a Subaru, are you sure you will be happy with a RWD car for winter?

dicib

I understand I'm not making a direct comparison, but the A3 is hideous and doesn't come with a manual transmission. I also don't like the Golf hatchback design; I'd hate looking at it every time I went for a drive and would probably kick myself for buying it.

Regarding AWD - I've definitely gotten comfortable with my Subaru, but grew up driving a RWD station wagon in Buffalo, NY with LOTS of lake effect snow. I think I'll get by.