RE: BMW M340i Touring vs. Audi S4 Avant

RE: BMW M340i Touring vs. Audi S4 Avant

Author
Discussion

silentbrown

8,850 posts

117 months

Saturday 15th February 2020
quotequote all
Brian Fallon said:
... it's very difficult to justify the BMW's significantly higher price.
Article prices are both wrong.

Court_S

12,984 posts

178 months

Saturday 15th February 2020
quotequote all
cerb4.5lee said:
Put the B58 petrol engine into the Audi and then that would be pretty much ideal for me. I much prefer the way the Audi looks inside and out but I'd prefer a petrol engine under the bonnet.

The speedo/rev counter in the 3 series looks absolutely pony to my eyes. I thought that I liked the shape of the new 3 series but I'm not keen on this at all, I think that the White colour just doesn't suit it. I really like the Blue ones(saloons) I've seen out on the road though.
Yup. The BMW digital dash looks bobbins. I don’t like the colours not the silly shapes. It’s change for changes sake. The LCI2 dials from the previous cars are much nicer in my humble opinion.

But at least it retains buttons and the idrive controller. I could live with the manky screens for that alone.

cerb4.5lee

30,711 posts

181 months

Saturday 15th February 2020
quotequote all
Court_S said:
The LCI2 dials from the previous cars are much nicer in my humble opinion.
yes

They are the ones that look like traditional analogue dials but they are digital instead aren't they? They do look really good to me for sure.

Court_S

12,984 posts

178 months

Saturday 15th February 2020
quotequote all
cerb4.5lee said:
Court_S said:
The LCI2 dials from the previous cars are much nicer in my humble opinion.
yes

They are the ones that look like traditional analogue dials but they are digital instead aren't they? They do look really good to me for sure.
These are the ones in my car; analogue dials with digital info around them (I’ve tuned off the I stand fuel economy graphic though)


abzmike

8,399 posts

107 months

Saturday 15th February 2020
quotequote all
silentbrown said:
Article prices are both wrong.
Accuracy is nice, but doesn’t really matter because no one pays list whether it’s cash, credit or hire.

cerb4.5lee

30,711 posts

181 months

Saturday 15th February 2020
quotequote all
Court_S said:
cerb4.5lee said:
Court_S said:
The LCI2 dials from the previous cars are much nicer in my humble opinion.
yes

They are the ones that look like traditional analogue dials but they are digital instead aren't they? They do look really good to me for sure.
These are the ones in my car; analogue dials with digital info around them (I’ve tuned off the I stand fuel economy graphic though)

I really like those. thumbup

They are a very nice mix of modern and traditional BMW I reckon. cool

Tim bo

1,956 posts

141 months

Saturday 15th February 2020
quotequote all
xjay1337 said:
Court_S said:
Sport220 said:
I’ll have a W205 C 63, thank you very much. And preferably not an Estate, this “Fast Estate” concept has become fully council.
The C63 in my opinion is hideous in anything other than estate form.

I don’t think it’s become fully council; most in the UK seem to dislike estates.
Considering as well that a C63 is a completely different class of vehicle, not really fair to compare.
A different class indeed, and £25k more expensive at base price to boot.

Stick Legs

4,929 posts

166 months

Saturday 15th February 2020
quotequote all
With an F31 X-Drive in the fleet I can't see us changing soon, also hate the Blue & Black leather in the M340i... Looked awful in the Z3 and E39 M5, Noughties nostalgia?

silentbrown

8,850 posts

117 months

Saturday 15th February 2020
quotequote all
abzmike said:
Accuracy is nice, but doesn’t really matter because no one pays list whether it’s cash, credit or hire.
Sure, but an article that's comparing two cars with apparently an £8K price difference between them isn't helpful when the list price difference is only £600.

ETA: Somewhat bizarrely, none of the S4 options mentioned (sports diff, adaptive suspension) can be found on Audi's configurator...

Edited by silentbrown on Saturday 15th February 11:17

stuart_83

1,010 posts

102 months

Saturday 15th February 2020
quotequote all
Hairymonster said:
Skoda vRS 245bhp from mid to high £20k after discount.

The cars in this test would be hard-pushed to lose an enthusiastically driven vRS.
I don't know ... I had a VRS 230 with the LSD for two years, which I had remapped to 290bhp.

It wouldn't see which way my current 440i (with mppsk) went.

Dr G

15,195 posts

243 months

Saturday 15th February 2020
quotequote all
A1VDY said:
Both goppingly ugly cars.
Whoever specified them needs shooting - red with chrome trim and white with bloody blue seats. Oh deary me.

Press offices: paint your cars in colours people actually like, NOT replicating the result of a shart after eating too many skittles.

Court_S

12,984 posts

178 months

Saturday 15th February 2020
quotequote all
Dr G said:
A1VDY said:
Both goppingly ugly cars.
Whoever specified them needs shooting - red with chrome trim and white with bloody blue seats. Oh deary me.

Press offices: paint your cars in colours people actually like, NOT replicating the result of a shart after eating too many skittles.
BMW do have a habit of having manky press cars. I remember a few years ago and they kept releasing new cars in that horrible gold / beige colour which didn’t do the new cars any favours.

Those blue and black seats are rancid. The old coral seats would have looked nice.

ajap1979

8,014 posts

188 months

Saturday 15th February 2020
quotequote all
Ashamedly I really rather like the interior of that BMW, and in particular the blue and black leather combo. Certainly wouldn’t pair it with a white exterior though.

Wills2

22,869 posts

176 months

Saturday 15th February 2020
quotequote all
Hairymonster said:
Skoda vRS 245bhp from mid to high £20k after discount.

The cars in this test would be hard-pushed to lose an enthusiastically driven vRS.
Ah yes, the Skoda vRS for the driver with something to prove to every BMW he sees....

BigChiefmuffinAgain

1,066 posts

99 months

Saturday 15th February 2020
quotequote all
I've been driving M series and Alpinas for the last 20 years.

Tried the new 3 series ( just a 330i ) recently. Nice car but the dashboard is a real mess. Maybe there was a way of configuring it to make it more "normal" but it reminded me of some 80's arcade game.

What were they thinking ?

You throw in that and the very odd bulbous front grills we often now get and you do wonder if something's just gone a bit wrong with the BMW style and taste department ( or whatever the marketing and design team are called ). It's like they're living in some sort of ivory tower, slightly divorced from reality and impervious to what their consumers actually want....

Augustus Windsock

3,370 posts

156 months

Saturday 15th February 2020
quotequote all
Notsofastfrank said:
The thing that strikes me about both of these is the ridiculously high price. Maybe it's all about the monthly cost nowadays. I currently have a 335d touring and was thinking one of these would be its replacement, but based on these prices I won't be anywhere near paying £25k for a year-old one like I did for mine 2 years ago. To me these are overpriced, but then again the list on something like a Golf R or M135i is pushing £40k. Maybe I'm just getting old and out of touch.
Looks wise I think the S4 looks sharp, the 3 series looks reasonable apart from the grille which to my eyes is awful. I think I read the grille has active slats?
I’m with you on this, I too must be getting old as I think they are way overpriced. However I know I will be jumped all over by people saying ‘well if you look at an original ur quattro price, that would be the equivalent of £blah blah blah’. I appreciate that but to me it’s still too much, and the best way to buy is in 3yrs time for me.
Normally I’d have gone for the BMW in the above twin test but I actually like the Audi.
As others have said, current designs from both leave a lot to be desired, the rest of the BMW looks like a KIA or Toyota estate, and the interior is one of those ‘I don’t know what dosage of medication the designer was on but they should halve it’ looks.
A bit like the question ‘why do Japanese cars often have the wipes and indicators on the opposite position to European cars, why do manufacturers insist on having the manual shift on auto boxes configured differently? Surely it would be better for them all to have downshifts in one common direction and upshifts in the other?

xjay1337

15,966 posts

119 months

Saturday 15th February 2020
quotequote all
cerb4.5lee said:
yes

They are the ones that look like traditional analogue dials but they are digital instead aren't they? They do look really good to me for sure.
They are analogue dials but with some fancy backlighting.

They are lovely.

I will be getting them installed on my pre LCI soon.

I'm not a big fan of the newest gauges but it wouldn't put me off buying a car with them attached!

Edited by xjay1337 on Saturday 15th February 12:54

Court_S

12,984 posts

178 months

Saturday 15th February 2020
quotequote all
xjay1337 said:
cerb4.5lee said:
yes

They are the ones that look like traditional analogue dials but they are digital instead aren't they? They do look really good to me for sure.
They are analogue dials but with some fancy backlighting.

They are lovely.

I will be getting them installed on my pre LCI soon.

I'm not a big fan of the newest gauges but it wouldn't put me off buying a car with them attached!

Edited by xjay1337 on Saturday 15th February 12:54
I really, really like them. I think they manage to bridge the gap between modern and analogue well in my opinion.

The physical buttons and idrive controller outweigh my dislike of the new digital dials. I could live with those dials and have the buttons etc instead of touchscreens.

Helicopter123

8,831 posts

157 months

Saturday 15th February 2020
quotequote all
Hairymonster said:
Skoda vRS 245bhp from mid to high £20k after discount.

The cars in this test would be hard-pushed to lose an enthusiastically driven vRS.
Only if the cars in this test were driven by a cretin.

Vickers_VC10

6,759 posts

206 months

Saturday 15th February 2020
quotequote all
Court_S said:
Dr G said:
A1VDY said:
Both goppingly ugly cars.
Whoever specified them needs shooting - red with chrome trim and white with bloody blue seats. Oh deary me.

Press offices: paint your cars in colours people actually like, NOT replicating the result of a shart after eating too many skittles.
BMW do have a habit of having manky press cars. I remember a few years ago and they kept releasing new cars in that horrible gold / beige colour which didn’t do the new cars any favours.

Those blue and black seats are rancid. The old coral seats would have looked nice.
Not sure there is any combo of colour or spec that would save either of those cars, four wheeled version of genital warts. vomit