I don't get Audis

[Rawwr]

NB: This is all just personal opinion and not a personal attack on anyone who has bought an Audi.

So over the last week I've been using company pool cars a lot. We have a fair old chunk of nice middle-of-the-road metal in the pool at the moment and so far I've sampled the following:

• '10 BMW 320d SE
• '11 Audi A4 2.0TDi
• '11 Audi A5 2.0TDi S-Line
• '08 BMW 320d M Sport

I cannot for the life of me understand why anyone in their right mind would choose one of the above Audis in preference to the BMWs. The 320d, despite being fuelled by tar, felt considerably more agile than the A4 and easily had a much nicer ride.

There wasn't much in it in the interiors but I think I could comfortably argue that the various buttons and switches in the BMWs were better placed than the mess of the A5.

Oh, and the A5 loses 20 PH points for having an electronic handbrake, of which I'm sure its only purpose is to fill me with enough paranoia that I had to stop twice whilst walking around from the car to make sure it definitely wasn't rolling backwards.

These are my thoughts. Feel free to shout at me and call me a moron and stuff.

[Rawwr]

The Crack Fox said:

Never mind the modest VAG group underpinnings, it's all about the quality of the interior materials, so they say...

Heh, given the amount of praise Audi interiors get I was expecting to be enveloped in an interior created from sculpted swans beaks and eagle down but, no, just lots and lots of grey plastic.

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Garlick said:

I rather like an Audi interior to be honest, not as dynamic as a BMW but there you go.

I don't dislike it but I think it's massively oversold for what it is, and that's ignoring some of the dubious ergonomics.

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taylor172 said:

id want an A5 over a 3 series

08457 90 90 90

[Rawwr]

On german cars, the word 'sport' is derived from the word 'schport', which in english means something carved from granite.

[Rawwr]

I find that people who buy things because they consider them classy are typically the kind of people who wouldn't know what class is if it raped them in an alley behind some bins.

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DickSkruttock said:

The S-Line ride isn't that bad. Most critics have probably never driven one, they just jump on the bandwagen.

It is and I have.

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boobles said:

If you have owned an Audi & didn't like it for what ever reason, ofcourse have an opinion, but for the people who have never owned one please go away & concentrate on you're own car rather than slagging off everybody elses.

To be fair, you don't need to have owned one to be able to spot awful ride. A 10 minute drive should suffice.

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boobles said:

Ive seen people with old Mondeos etc slag off Audis.

Just because someone owns a Mondeo, doesn't mean they don't know what they're talking about when it comes to ride and handling. That's an easy trap to walk into and one which could make you look foolish.

Edited by Rawwr on Wednesday 8th June 14:18

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Harry H said:

Why people buy the pretend sports car Audi's (TT, R8 etc) defeats me completely

Woah, hang on a second there, cowboy. The R8 is a somewhat different kettle of fish.

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boobles said:

It's fine for people to slate an Audi but god forbid anyone suggesting that a Mondeo is also cra*.

I don't believe I've said that about any Audi? I've said I don't get them. I don't get why people hold the interiors in such high regard, I don't get why the ride in the S-Line needs to be so terrible and I don't get why people would choose the A4 equivalent of probably its biggest rival.

But, you know, thanks for making the effort to read my post.

[Rawwr]

boobles said:

& I don't remember using your name as an example.

You didn't need to.

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boobles said:

Oh dear, just realized what car you currently own & previously owned. Seriously dude, don't rip into me or others for our choice of car.

Edited by boobles on Wednesday 8th June 15:16

I wasn't. What bit of this thread aren't you getting?

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Scuffers said:

just to cover the suspension/S-Line issues...

remember, there have been now 3 generations of A4 with S-Line badges (current is the B8), they are not all the same in this reapect.

Yes, some have sports suspension, however, personally, the bigger problem is their insistence on fitting 18/18" rims with 30/35 profile tyres - and usually Dunlops.

now, I have nothing against 18/19" rims per say, or Dunlops, but running this combination with such low profile tyres is going to murder the ride quality on just about anything.

My last A4 S-Line (2.0TFSi Quattro) came with 18" rims shod in 235/35 Dunlops and it was not great on anything other than smooth roads, not terrible, but enough to annoy you over time, I changed the tyres to something softer (in construction), and a lot of the annoying harshness went away (I used Yokohama's Advan Sport).

to be honest, if I were buying one new, I would try and avoid the big rims option.

Interestingly, the S4 I replaced it with has noticeably better ride comfort.

Simon, I'm guessing a part of it is indeed due to this odd fashion of rubberband tyres on massive rims. I had an S3 and S4 (first of the 4.2 ones) on trial way back when and neither of those was quite as jarring as the recent tat I've been forced to endure.

In fact, I was shockingly close to getting the S3.

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boobles said:

The trouble is, I am getting it. Just a shame others have to get defensive as soon as their choice in car is mentioned.

Oh my god, you're actually retarded, aren't you? Read. The. Thread.

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Jesus wept.

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boobles said:

I just don't get people slating something whilst owning something 10x worse.

Why? If you see an F1 driver owning and driving an MPV or a small hatchback, are you going to dismiss their opinion on how a car handles? I've seen what a lot of staff who work for Lotus development drive and it's not a pretty sight but I doubt I'd mock their opinions on how a car rides.