Still waffling

[FC]

Originally Posted by JST

I drove a Clubman JCW the othe day. Impressive car; notably faster than the standard car even with the extra weight. I'll post more about it later, but the problem with that car is that the example I drove (which didn't have either leather or nav) was 37K.

Damn. That's steep.

[equ]

Ed, you're right on the first point. It's hard for a sports sedan to take the place of any sports car, and the cayman happens to be a very good one. It's not going anywhere.

On replacing my gf's car... Well, at some point we should. It is unreal that we were keeping and will probably go back to three cars given where we live right by NYC. However, currently, her car is close to what economists will call a free option. It has very little value left to lose ($6k or so) and at 125k may or may not go another 50k or more with not much hassle or cost. So I think it makes sense to keep that for as long as it goes. It's a pleasant commuter, pretty good seats, 30mpg on regular and she likes driving it. It doesn't have side airbags, and that is a minor worry.

An a4 2.0T fits the bill better for a merged car than an s4. Lighter, easier on gas, probably easier shifting around town not to mention less value destroyed with the high miles that she drives (nearly 20k/yr). But I think until the honda croaks we'll keep it and that may be a while.

[equ]

Update:

This phone/internet searching still doesn't work too well... Finally, after going to perhaps the sixth audi dealer in the area, chanced in on a nicely spec'ced a4:

2010, a4 2.0T 6MT, premium plus (hid's, led's, b-tooth, heated seats etc), 18" sport package, bang & olufsen sound, exhaust tips, ibis white on black. Car is at port, if I decide to go for it and we agree on price, I could have it in a week or less. It is basically everything but nav.

On the s4 I would have gotten the nav simply because I wouldn't want to cheap out on a 50k car. It is a nice system, gives you traffic & back camera for $2.5k. But on the a4, I'm trying keep the price down so the spec is close to perfect (white may not be a top choice but it is close. Stay tuned.

What I don't get is why other dealers/salesmen (when they do a region search) never hit on this car. Perhaps someone just cancelled (doesn't seem like a dealer spec).

[FC]

I know I should dig it up myself, but can you cliff-note why you sold you S4 Avant?

[JST]

Edmunds has an S4 test http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=158446, which includes this nugget:

Originally Posted by Edmunds

We worked up to a quick rhythm in the 2010 Audi S4 until we channeled our inner Walter Rohrl and dared to touch the brake pedal with our left foot. That mistake shut down the fun faster than you can say "unintended acceleration," as the electronics cut back the throttle in response. Audi says the electronics' lack of tolerance for an overlap between throttle and brake action is a safety feature. We say it diminishes the S4's abilities when going flat out and takes away a useful driving tool for skilled drivers.

So, no heel and toe? That's double dog lame. I'm also very disappointed that the thing weighs 4,000 lbs; I thought one of the goals was to make it lighter.

[Sharp11]

Originally Posted by JST

Edmunds has an S4 test http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=158446, which includes this nugget:



So, no heel and toe? That's double dog lame. I'm also very disappointed that the thing weighs 4,000 lbs; I thought one of the goals was to make it lighter.

It weighs a smidge more than our Infiniti, which is a class-size larger.

Ed

[FC]

Originally Posted by JST

Edmunds has an S4 test http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=158446, which includes this nugget:



So, no heel and toe? That's double dog lame. I'm also very disappointed that the thing weighs 4,000 lbs; I thought one of the goals was to make it lighter.

Yes that's very lame. And the weight thing sucks. But if the rear leg room is as good as they claim (which bette rbe much better then the E90), maybe it's semi-excusable given the AWD.

For me, signs point more and more to a future of SUV+987S+some kind of sports sedan. I still rather have this new S4 over any non-M E90 (mostly due to LSD, and AWD - and looks in and out). But if used E90 M3's drop enough in a few years, it will be a tougher call.

EDIT: On the review itself, I read it this morning and they still seem to like the car quite a bit. The dealer has one in stock (w/ DCT- or as they list on their website "auto"). I don't have time to drive it today, but I will stop by to snoop around.

[equ]

I did not have issues with heel & toe in my brief test drive. That weight is really porky. The speed is there and shows in the 4.6s 0-60 time. The review misses emphasizing the silky, smooth feel of this car and the golden experience it provides. In real world point-to-point, it will be a near impossible car to catch (and I had no interest in putting it on a track anyway). I'm genuinely surprised by it slaloming slower than the 335i. I was not a huge fan of the drive select that seemed to change character too much, I'd just take the sport diff.

Anyway, none of this matters as I am eating my words on "it being my next car", and not getting this wonderful fast, smooth little piggie. Such is compromise.

[John V]

As far as I can tell, only Porsche models with PSM have the left foot brake shutdown. My '00 986S had eGas but didn't have PSM and it would let me left foot brake as much as I wanted. Ken's '04 S had PSM and it did not allow LFB.

[equ]

So the white on black a4 I mentioned was at port on its way to a dealer. It should be arriving today and I'm going to check it out in person...

On the s4 side (which has lately been losing to the a4 side of this debate) the edmunds 335i comparo is out:

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...hotopanel..1.*

with results as I would expect (and a bit less bmw-slanted than Car & Driver). Just as I was set on the a4 2.0T sport, this throws one last wrench into my decision machinery.


The s4 weight and price are huge. A little of the weight and most of the price difference can be cut by ordering carefullly (the prestige and drive select add little to the car in my opinion) so apples to apples, the prices of the two cars can be made very close. Note that this is not even against the xi (awd being a sort of requirement for me) as that suspension is so bad, the comparison would be near meaningless. Even this comparison is not that fair to the 3er as audi suddenly decided to use the s4 to pick on the 335 instead of them m3. The car clearly slots in between them

Originally Posted by equ

Update:

2010, a4 2.0T 6MT, premium plus (hid's, led's, b-tooth, heated seats etc), 18" sport package, bang & olufsen sound, exhaust tips, ibis white on black. Car is at port, if I decide to go for it and we agree on price, I could have it in a week or less. It is basically everything but nav.