Re: S4 vs. A41.8tq

[Andrew Duane USG/PE <duane@zk3.dec.com>]

Hairy green toads from Mars made William J Murin say:

> With all the ink our favorite cars have gotten in the new EC, with some
> early reviews of the new S4 in C&D and Automobile magainzes, and with my
> having done some tire kicking at the Audi dealer last week; I've started
> wondering about the relative merits of an A4 1.8tq vs the new S4.
> 
> New S4 is rumored to be coming at a $42-44,000 price.
> A fully loaded A4 1.8tq would get to about $30,000 MSRP.
> 
> Assuming that the price differential is $14,000 (maybe a bit more if one
> assumes the 1.8s will be in greater supply than S4s), how much money does
> one have to spend to make the 1.8 roughly comparable to the S4.
> 
> Granted there will always be the V6 twin turbo vs modified 1.8 4 cylinder
> difference, but how much is that difference worth.
> 
> Given the cars in the new EC (Abt A4, Hoppen S6, etc.) how much money
> should (not could) you spend on the 1.8 before you get so much invested
> that it is simply smarter to get the S4 straight from the factory.

Well, this assumes that all you care about is how many horsepower
the car puts on the road. Personally (warning: heresy alert!),
I don't care a bit about that. I drive the same 100Q slug you do,
but I manage to get it around pretty nimbly. Having 100 more horses
would just get me speeding tickets.

The S4 is going to be a different class of car than the A41.8T.
It'll be nicer inside (and out, probably), with better options,
more creature comfort, etc. The 1.8T seems pretty stripped to
bare essentials to me. Some people like that. I don't.

If I had the money, I'd get an S4 (does it come in a wagon?).

-- 

Andrew L. Duane (JOT-7)			duane@zk3.dec.com
Digital Equipment Corporation		(603)-884-1294
110 Spit Brook Road
M/S ZKO3-3/U14
Nashua, NH    03062-2698

Only my cat shares my opinions, and she's too heavy to care.