[Aero]

I intended to post this in the AudiWorld.com forum which I am a member of, but........seems like you need the advice:

It was around 11:00 in the morning today, when I went with my family to the Audi dealership. I wanted to test drive the new 1.8T. I have to say, I enjoyed the drive. Nice job with the car. Solid as a rock. Let me say this now, I have always loved Audis. As far as I can remember, I never wanted anything else. My parents used to always tell me, "check out the bmw, the 3 series, just at least test drive it.." I would say, no no no, I like the audis, nothings gonna change my mind. So I had this mentality going into the Audi dealership, agreeing with the dealer. I took a drive. Nice drive, except for the gear shifting, it wasn't as comfortable.

We got back to the dealership, and we talked about a price. By the time I'm done, I would be paying about 31-$32,000 grand for the car, with options like sunroof, no NAV system though. I thought, its okay, I like this car. Then the dealer started comparing it to the Bimmer. He said to go see the bimmer, go ahead, "you'll be back." I said, "fine, what the hell, I'll go see it." We drove about a minute or two to the BMW dealership. I looked around the showroom, and opened the door of a 330. Gray interior. I had to admit, it was beautiful. Absolutely a beauty. I still liked the Audi better though. Then he offered a testdrive. I said sure, why not.

He opens up the door to a white 325 with tan interior (two colors I can't stand in cars). He took it out to a parking lot, talked about how the ABS system covers all for sides of the car, as opposed to just the front. He put it in first, floored it, we were going fast. He slammed the brake. The car stayed 100% level. It didn't lurch down in front at all. "Impressive," I said. I still didn't think it would win me over the Audi. I get in the drivers seat, adjusting the seat, noticing the standard automatic adjustments. Put it in first gear and took off. My god, it took about 10 seconds to convice me this was my car. I couldn't understand. The shifting was precise, it was quick, the clutch was hydraulic, and felt sweet to the touch. The car sounded like a true sports car, and the drive quickly reminded me of an Acura NSX. When we got back, I was in awe. I couldn't belive that this car just beat the A4 in the drive. Then I was like, "this thing must cost a lot more than the 1.8T." Looked at the sticker, cost the very same, almost identical price, possibly a little less than the A4 if I remember correctly, I could be wrong though. Around $26-$27,000. Not only was the drive superb, the car came with leather, nav system, sunroof, power seats, the works, all for about the price of an A4 1.8T. Only drawback is that most everything is an option. Great car for the money. Was I convinced? Yes. I just wan't to say that the A4 is an excellent buy, great car, but the Bimmer comes over it in value, and performance. If it convinced ME, the biggest A4 fan, it might be something worth looking at. For those considering the A4, (which is an excellent car, don't get me wrong, I still love it, I just prefer the BMW now), I strongly recommend giving the 3-series a try, with stick shift of course. Let me add, to get the 3-series coupe in an automatic is an insult to the car. I am not here to discourage anyone from buying this car, I don't wanna get flamed for this, I just want to add an option to your choice of cars, if you are considering it.

-once again intended for the A4 forum, but I hope this helps.
regards,
-Aero