BMW 3 series AWD VS. AUDI Quatro

[MeepMeepsDad]

Seasons Greeting, I'm interested in non-confrontational information about the differences between the Audi Quatro drive system and the BMW AWD system. Lets keep it simple, just how well does one work VS. the other in say snow and rain.

I know that BMW is full time 31%/69% front to back. I think the AUDI is variable front to back based upon traction, wheel spin, phase of the moon, kindness of the driver to stray puppies etc.

I am considering the 325ix in eithher the sedan or wagon. I am also considering the Audi A4 Quatro or A4 Avant(Quatro).

Any help would be appreciated.

[Vertigo]

Faced with a similar choice I chose the Audi. I love BMW but all wheel drive is not their cup of tea. I found the Audi to be much more stable in the wet and it even seemed tighter in the dry IMO. If I was not explicitly looking for an AWD car then I would go BMW hands down. However Audi has been focusing on Quattro for approx 30? years and it shows.

[snorlaxtowncar]

my personal opinion is that the BMW AWD is better. I have had a chance to drive the quattro audi and my 325xi, and I really feel that mibne was a lot more solid in the snow. In the rain, the BMW wins, hands down. The sudi just feels strange when i druve it, and it feels uneasy in the snow.

both cars are great, though; the BMW has an advantage in my opinion in the AWD, but the advantage could just be my personal preferance......

[NISSANSPDR]

The Audi's b/c the BMW's is not even a true AWD system...it's merely a torque transfer system. Bah! Not real...plus...I am not sure...but BMW does not make good rally cars...but Audi DOES! Hehehe...I wont go into the fact that Audi kix butt at the Le Mans series or BTCC where they got banned from for having "too much of an advantage".

[flylwsi]

important though... audi cant spin tires b/c of quattro... that sucks... especially when i drove the s4... i really wanted to spin those things...
and the audi s4 was stable as hell in the rain at 90 in turns...
the a4 is close, but not as good...

however, in all the comparos i have seen the audi comes out ahead... but that is magazines...
also... which motor in the audi? that makes a difference, they have similar tq, but not same hp... but the weight difference makes them very close in times... but the turbo is better to mod... the v6 is so ballsy though, that it is good enough for me at 200hp...

i dont know much on the beemer, but i do know that bmws are always preferential to rwd... i would rather get a rwd beemer and deal with it, than try and add weight with an awd system that isnt as advanced as quattro, and is fairly new compared to quattro have a 20someodd yr history that is strong in performance and reliability

[Watchdog]

Hey Meeps I have a M2 Miata as well. If you get the Audi we would have similar car choices given I have an A4 as well.

I love the Audi. I haven't driven the new BMW 325xi so I can't comment on it too much. If you're looking for performance though, the S4 is the car to get.

From the tone of your post I assume performance is important so I definitely would not recommend you get the 2.8 motor in an Audi. Its not that powerful and expensive to mod. Similarly I don't think you'd be happy with the 2.5 in the BMW. If you go BMW then get the 330xi, its performance is significantly better.

If you decide Audi then S4 if you can afford it, if not then get an A4 with a 1.8T and for about $2k in mods you can boost power by roughly 40 - 50 hp and 80 ft. lbs of torque. So a pretty cost efficient route to bumping power to roughly 330xi levels.

[halfniak]

hey umm there never was an s4 in my country - except the first one. I know about the s4 avant but i was wondering if they ever made an s4 in a4 sedan shape(previous a4 model) and is there gonna be(already in europe maybe) an s4 in the new a4 range? We dont get all the Audis here in SA, you see..only the a3, a4, a6, a8, s6 and s8.