johnjcoyle

Shame to get rid of the Porsche,

But if you are in that sort of market place, you might also want to take a look at the S-Type 3.0 ltr Sport.

Regards,

John

Robby

Those who have said the Audi interior is the best are DEAD ON! I love the interior of my 951 & about the only interior's I've EVER consitently liked BETTER are the newer Audi's- from the TT on up- love the red illumination too...

Funny I like the 951's interior & instrumentation- those were the parts of our cars that got the biggest knocks from car reviews of the day- they ALWAYS dogged the instrumentation, visibility, layout of instruments & their ease of useability, etc- I LOVE the way it all is, but then, the reviewers liked the seats & position & I hate those things in my car- go figure...

Anyway, I would NOT go w/the A4 3.0L- I assume you're talking about late '90's to 2001 or so? I can't comment on the newest 6cyl Audis, but, they were getting so expensive that I would have just paid the extra couple grand & got an S4...

The S4 is every bit as fast as Turbo S & w/chips, will blow a Turbo S away- even if the turbo S has chips- the S4 ran the 1/4 in 13.9 - 14.2- the Turbo S was ALWAYS 14.2- when the first chips came out, EC tested an S4 w/Neuspeed chips & ran a 13.1(!!!)- that's faster than an M5(!). The newer chips are getting that car to ~310HP & ~370TQ- I wouldn't touch the new V8 S4 for this very reason- along w/the fact that the car is heavier & the engine is much of this extra weight putting more weight over the front axle... That's the biggest prob w/the Audis IMO- their weight & WHERE it is... Assuming you can't find a good deal on an S4 (that gives you the Quattro, 6-sp, sport susp, etc & easy chip mod power), then I would go w/the Audi A4 1.8LT over the 330- & don't get me wrong, I love the Bimmers too- but, the 1.8L Turbo A4 can be chipped for lot's more power too, & larger turbo, etc can bring it up to the ~250HP range, PLUS, it's lighter than the V6 & helps weight dist & ease of maintenance, etc- the best thing would be finding one w/the Sport package (again, aside from an S4)... That's my opinion on the subject... If it's b/t the 330 & A43.0, then, I guess I'd have to say the 330, but it would be close- I'd have to research them both a little more...

The G35 is another good one though- haven't actually been in one, so, can't comment on interior, etc, but they look like EXCELLENT cars overall...

The RX8- I thought they looked pretty weird- didn't like them at all- missed the RX7- BUT, I JUST saw one on the road the other day & liked it a lot better than I thought I would- the jury's still out on that one...

streckfu's

I thought of the S4. They're a little expensive a very hard to find used.

v944god

How about an AUDI RS6?

streckfu's

Definately!!

RS6 AND the new M5.....

Tom Pultz

I have not driven the 330 but I have no doubt it's a great car, probably more of a driver's car than the A4 3.0. Being the owner of a 2003 A4 1.8T I can say the A4 has advantages over the BMW in other areas such as stability and interior design. Nothing matches Audi's Quattro system in the rain... which we have plenty of here, and nothing matches the interior in it's class. I believe the BMW is also quite a bit more money.

The A4 V6 has a nice exhaust sound and good power and torque, but it's heavier than the 1.8T so the handling is not quite as good. It could also use more than 220 HP to be competitive with the other makes. Audi should bump it to 3.2 and 260 or 270 HP.

For reliability I'd say it's a toss-up. BMW's are not the most reliable car on the road for sure. As for my A4 I just passed the 10K mile checkup and have not had one single problem. The car is perfect and I love it. Both it and the BMW come with full scheduled maintenance. You can't really go wrong with either one. If I had the money I'd get the new S4 with 340 HP, but 52 large ones is a bit steep.

Drive both, and the rest of the competition before deciding. I thought I wanted an IS300... then I drove the A4. No contest in overall quality. The IS300 was just a Toyota to me.

UDPride

Which Volvo comes with the 300hp engine now?? I get confused anyone more S70 S80 V80 and whatever. Safe car, fast car. Im not big on newer Volvo interiors (flat looking), but I dont know how well they handle. My dads old 740 Turbo could flat out fly though. Worst car ever made in the snow though.

David Ray

Audi A4 is a great car for the money. Get the turbo and chip it. The 330 (and many others) won't stand a chance. I have the A6TT chipped and there's not much that can keep up - plus it's handles incredibly. There's a reason Audi dominates LeMans.

Oh, I have the 944 because it's a Porsche - enough said!!

Robby

Glad to hear the A4's going well Tom... I haven't heard many good things about the new S4 V8 though- from the pics, the interior isn't even as sharp as the old, either- would rather have the TTV6 w/chips- much faster & MUCH less $, since they're used now & started ~$12K less- the A4 1.8L Q w/sport package is the bargain though, unless you're REALLY wanting speed...

I think that's the route I'd go if the S4 were too expensive & these were the choices- I know the S4's are pricey, but you should be able to find one for ~$30K- not sure what you're thinking in terms of price for the 3.0 though, so can't say for sure- I agree w/Tom though about drivng a few cars out there- there are a few really cool cars out there right now & the bang for the bucks been getting a lot better lately...

Sami951

V70 R and S60 R .. just never consider the automatic gearbox, it will come with capped torque and end result is that the damn thing is slower than the old T5 models. I've never driven these cars, closest thing would be a S60 AWD (2.4T engine, 200hp, viscous 4-wheel drive) in which I was once a passenger in... felt pretty decent, but it did have a ****load of understeer. Dunno if these new models have that fixed.

Daddy had a previous generation V70, front wheel drive and N/A engine, it pretty much sucked. The Passat he has now is much better...

Bill Coleman

Since you don't have to put up with much snow, I'd vote for the 330. Here in Michigan I'd choose Audi, although there is a 330xi AWD as well - but it ain't cheap. The other option is to look for a certified preowned S4.

I bought my S4 last year and in my opionion it's the best overall car I've ever owned - performance for summer and with Pilot Alpins on it during the winter I never had to worry about the snow. All that and room for 4, or even 5 if the back seat passengers are friendly!

streckfu's

What years of the S4 had the V6TT? That was a 2.7, wasn't it?

PCinDC

Yes it's a 2.7L V6. It's a destroked, twin turbo'd derivative of the Cast Iron 2.8L found in the NA A4 2.8
Thats the engine used in all B5 Platform S4's. I beleive that was made from 1996 to 2001, but I might be off a year.
It's a much heavier motor than the 1.8T's, but then again, makes almost twice as much power, and with chips and exhaust more than doubles it.

streckfu's

How about this 2001 S4?




By the way, apparently the new V8 S4 beat out the M3 and the AMG C32 according to Car and Driver

What I've found so far is that the 2001 S4s with the 2.7TT are selling in the low to mid $30k range. My budget is $25-28k. The 2002 330 and A4 should make it into that range. Unfortunatly, the S4 remains a little steep.

I'll see how they play out in the coming months.......

Matt H

Down here dealers cant sell the 330Xi's they take on trade. You can get SMOKIN' deals on them...the last one I looked at was about 5K less than the 325i it sat next too and the 330 was a year newer with every option. For the dealer either they sell it low or auction it up north for even less.
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