Which new Audi is best, and why? (LONG)

[TM]

Jazman,
I've driven the S4, A6 2.7t and the allroad,
but don't own any of them. All of the examples
I've driven have been 6-speed. I've also driven
the A6 2.8 tiptronic, the A8 (32v, not 40v),
the A4 1.8T (150hp, 170hp and chipped) and 2.8-
nearly the whole range. All examples are quattro
as well. We own an A4tqw, 200q20v, 5ktq and NB
at present.

That said, I have some impressions:

S4:
Very fast, like a very fast A4, stiffer suspension,
great seats. Must be almost scary once chipped.

Long shifter throws- 1st to 2nd, 3rd to 4th are the
most noticeable. For some reason, the shifter throws
feel longer in the S4 compared to the A6- maybe
due to the difference in shifter placement relative
to the seat? The other possibility is that I'm
familiar w/ the 5-spd. A4 so it is more noticeable in
a car w/ which I am more familiar.

The steering feel is lousy- lack of feedback is what
kills the current Audis, IMHO. Bimmer has got that
one down, but we'll see with the next gen. chassis A4.

Brakes are nice.

Interior is fabulous- love the Alcantara interior in
the sport interior option.

My preference is for the S4 Avant- combine the utility
with the power.

A6 2.7T:
Again, nice and powerful, although the added weight
makes the power feel less brutal and merely "sufficiently
adequate," in my "power-hungry American" eyes. ;-)
IMHO, the larger chassis car needs to be chipped.

The other drivetrain and brake comments are pretty much
as the S4. The interior is even better in the A6- absolutely
lovely, with even more nice little touches like the little
compartments in the front doors, the rear seat heater option,
etc.

This is my current favorite out of the current Audis, although
the S4 Avant is very tempting- if it were just for me, I'd take
the S4 Avant probably.

allroad:
This wagon is amazingly competent. Cushy ride combined with decent
handling- I could not get the car to squeal its tires in moderately
hard cornering (the car I drove had the optional double-spoke 17"
wheels). The ability to raise the ride height allows you to go through
deep snow and gravel like it's nothing. The drivetrain is the same
as the A6 2.7T and I like it a lot.

The downsides that I can see-
The double-spoke wheels- they may look cool, but they will be a real
pain to keep clean and free of debris and dirt. No thanks, I'll pass.

The air suspension- although it is really neat, I see it as more of
a reliability bugbear down the road. If we get an allroad, we'll also
get the 7yr./100k extended warranty (if that's the longest one that
is offered).

The two-tone interior- I am not crazy about the two-tone interior in
the allroad. The gray-black isn't that bad, but the green? Yuck. Also,
the seats lack lateral support. Being one who loves the twisties, I'd
definitely throw the allroad through the twisties at the lowest ride
height and that's when I want sport seats. Too bad there isn't a manual
seat option that would let me retrofit Recaro seats. I guess the other
option would be to contact Quattro GmbH directly in Germany and have
them ship me a pair of S6 Recaros upholstered in the same two-tone setup
as the allroad. That would be a nice $4500+ option- ouch.


Finally, comments about the tiptronic- I am really disappointed.
The tip doesn't shift as quickly as I would like, so it is really hard
to actually select an appropriate gear. After playing with the tip for
the better part of a day in an A6 2.8, I decided it would be better to
drive the car left in "D." Maybe with the GIAC tip chip, which is supposed
to significantly speed up shifts, it would be much better. For now, I
will leave the tiptronics to others and will stick with the manual
transmissions. I also have to say that generally, I hate automatic trannies
(except in heavy trucks, where it is much easier to drive) because I
feel that the slushbox robs me of some control over the vehicle dynamics.

HTH,
Taka
'86 5ktq (for sale)
'91 200q
'99.5 A4tqw
'01 NB