Quote:
Originally Posted by dondarnell
What did Audi do to you? I had two A4's - 99 and 05, both with the small turbo motor. Both were great cars in every way. And unlike BMW's - you don't look like a doooosh bag poser driving one. (Please note that I am not disparaging BMW, only the losers that buy them for all the wrong reasons - which makes me avoid the brand (you know who you are)).
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I had a bad run with SIXT in Germany that saw me put in a variety of A4s during 2002-2008. I just didn't get it. Notchy, rubbery gearboxes, over-servoe'd brakes, completely lifeless steering, overly hard seats, pedals that are to heel and toe what cough medecine is to an after dinner liqueur, primary and secondary ride like a 2x4 plank and mammoth understeer resultant from engines thrown so far ahead of the front axle that they need numberplates from a different state to those on the back of the car. Compared to a similar vintage 3 series, which in any guise is a well balanced car with nicely harmonised controls, I couldn't for the life of me understand who'd buy an A4. On a side note, the guys you refer to above now buy Audis, and Audis, resplendent with grilles bigger than most domestic garage doors and festooned with more LEDs than the ship at the end of Close Encounters have totally supplanted BMWs as the fast-lane tailgaters in Europe, so over here, it's actually OK to own a BM again and it's Audis that are getting the rolleyes.
Not disparaging Audis (OK... maybe a tiny bit), I do think that the A4 is a pretty car, and I'm a big fan of the Ronin era S8, which is an untypically adjustable, oversteery thing and totally delicious in every way. Or the RS4, which is very tasty. Or the R8, which is surprisingly fun. I'm just not a big fan of cars that assume the owners don't like driving and prefer the default setting on control weights and chassis adjustability to be 'plank'.