I did it!! new to me S4 avant.. daily driver
03-05-2008, 07:02 PM
#17
Three Wheelin'
Not to play the Mr. Practical role here but with two grown (almost) kids I can tell you the third seat in our old wagon was the best thing we ever had. I too resisted it but I found we used it all the time. Score one for the gentler sex.
03-06-2008, 12:20 AM
#19
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got an allroad-chip it to 310 hp-I love ours-comfy safe and fun to drive plus it almost goes any where
03-06-2008, 01:03 AM
#20
Instructor
Congrats! The contents of our garage preceeded the Porsche takeover of VW & Audi by several years. Overall we're pretty happy with our admitttedly underpowered A6 Avant & would buy one again (plus CR suggests that Audi has addressed many reliability issues; overall, ours has been pretty reliable anyway despite being "Not Recommended" by CR). 
FWIW, we've had good results with Nokian M+S tires on the Audi... It has yet to get stuck anywhere & we've never needed chains (that includes some really miserable winter storms with fairly deep snow on unplowed highways north & south of the 49th parallel), and the Nokians work well in rain too.
BTW, no affiliation with any of the aforementioned.
FWIW, we've had good results with Nokian M+S tires on the Audi... It has yet to get stuck anywhere & we've never needed chains (that includes some really miserable winter storms with fairly deep snow on unplowed highways north & south of the 49th parallel), and the Nokians work well in rain too.
BTW, no affiliation with any of the aforementioned.
03-06-2008, 03:01 AM
#22
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Congrats man!
My wife recently upgraded from her 2.7 allroad to an '02 S6. Man that thing is fast and really fun to drive! Great "sport" seats with big side bolsters, 340hp, a stiff suspension and pretty good brakes. That's roughly the same power to weight ratio as my old 964, by the way. 340hp/4000lbs vs. 250hp/3000lbs Both are damn quick!
It is a tiptronic, but for a wagon I think that's just fine. It's nice to get in and just put it in drive or "S". What a sleeper of a car. I think I've surprised quite a few folks off of the line or when merging. Nobody thinks that plain-looking "A6" wagon is going to be so fast, including the fuzz.
We thought about an S4, but really wanted that extra bit of room that the C5 platform offers. We don't regret the decision even one tiny little bit.
My wife recently upgraded from her 2.7 allroad to an '02 S6. Man that thing is fast and really fun to drive! Great "sport" seats with big side bolsters, 340hp, a stiff suspension and pretty good brakes. That's roughly the same power to weight ratio as my old 964, by the way. 340hp/4000lbs vs. 250hp/3000lbs Both are damn quick!
It is a tiptronic, but for a wagon I think that's just fine. It's nice to get in and just put it in drive or "S". What a sleeper of a car. I think I've surprised quite a few folks off of the line or when merging. Nobody thinks that plain-looking "A6" wagon is going to be so fast, including the fuzz.
We thought about an S4, but really wanted that extra bit of room that the C5 platform offers. We don't regret the decision even one tiny little bit.
03-06-2008, 09:22 AM
#23
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Thanks for the replies!!! I'm stoked about my S4... It's fun.
Both the BMW and The Audi are fantastic in there own right. But there are some differences.
The Beemer:
Lighter, less power until 4500 then you start to feel the wheels, Easier to shift and drive. Less creature comforts, a bit less room. Spongier feel in brakes and clutch. Seems like the AWD is more in the rear wheels. Bullet proof 2.5 strait 6.
The Audi:
Heavier, Lots of power out of the gate. You can get yourself going too fast without realalising it. Harder to drive and shift, More creature comforts, A bit more room, The clutch and brakes are more mechanical feeling like the 993. The AWD seems to drive the front wheels more than the BMW. And the masculine V8 4.2. is fantastic.
I hope this helps....
I've been looking at those as well as an allroad 4.2. Nice purchase!
How's the AWD between the Audi & BMW compare?
How's the AWD between the Audi & BMW compare?
The Beemer:
Lighter, less power until 4500 then you start to feel the wheels, Easier to shift and drive. Less creature comforts, a bit less room. Spongier feel in brakes and clutch. Seems like the AWD is more in the rear wheels. Bullet proof 2.5 strait 6.
The Audi:
Heavier, Lots of power out of the gate. You can get yourself going too fast without realalising it. Harder to drive and shift, More creature comforts, A bit more room, The clutch and brakes are more mechanical feeling like the 993. The AWD seems to drive the front wheels more than the BMW. And the masculine V8 4.2. is fantastic.
I hope this helps....
03-06-2008, 09:25 AM
#24
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Cant' believe they actually discontinued the RS4 (sedan) and replaced it with an RS4 Cabriolet?
03-06-2008, 10:08 AM
#25
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yep.. Sold the Montero and got an S4. Now my garage is like the German triangle.. Porsche, BMW and an Audi. A while back I was considering another suv (LR-LR3) and then I started to think I needed something a bit more fun. I was extremely bored with driving a automatic suv as a daily driver. So my check list was:
last year i actually ordered an S4 avant.................................. and flaked out on buying it. i know, not a nice thing to do, fortunately it sold 6 days after i passed.
whew
but
i äm currently in Switzerland and just drove an RS4 avant.
WOW
very very nice
enjoy
03-06-2008, 12:15 PM
#26
Rennlist Member
I love my S4.
No room on the back seat for anyone but small children and legless items and the V8 is pretty thirsty, but other than that the car is far nicer than the BMW 330 Ci that it replaced. The quattro is perfect for the type of mid-weather band that St. Louis sits in (hot and dry in summer with mixed ice/ wet in winter). I've actually survived the past winters with "summer" tires still on the car and I have a VERY steep driveway.
I had considered replacing the S4 with an S5 (I don't need a back seat/ doors) but the first versions only have a pop-up sunroof (not an opening one) and that's a total deal-killer to me for a daily driver.
No room on the back seat for anyone but small children and legless items and the V8 is pretty thirsty, but other than that the car is far nicer than the BMW 330 Ci that it replaced. The quattro is perfect for the type of mid-weather band that St. Louis sits in (hot and dry in summer with mixed ice/ wet in winter). I've actually survived the past winters with "summer" tires still on the car and I have a VERY steep driveway.
I had considered replacing the S4 with an S5 (I don't need a back seat/ doors) but the first versions only have a pop-up sunroof (not an opening one) and that's a total deal-killer to me for a daily driver.
03-06-2008, 04:10 PM
#29
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Interesting to see so much crossover between Porsche and Audi. I'm curious to know what attracts you guys to the brand.
Audi reminds me of Porsche before the water pumpers, staying true to their roots, engineering and building quality driver's cars (simple, ergonomic design unencumbered by gimmicks like BMW's i-drive), stylish but understated with the world's best AWD system.
I used to love BMWs but I'm less than impressed by their current line up and MB doesn't have any appeal to me.
Audi reminds me of Porsche before the water pumpers, staying true to their roots, engineering and building quality driver's cars (simple, ergonomic design unencumbered by gimmicks like BMW's i-drive), stylish but understated with the world's best AWD system.
I used to love BMWs but I'm less than impressed by their current line up and MB doesn't have any appeal to me.
03-06-2008, 04:16 PM
#30
Racer
To be honest, their racing success is what got me interested. I did a lot of research after that but still, it was the racing success that got me looking in the first place. I also have owned a lot of BMW's over the years and was interested in a change...still wanted German though and I'm too "immature" for a Mercedes...