Quote:
Originally Posted by MojorisinM3
I'm a long time BMW guy (last 5 cars, 2 M's) and patiently waiting for the 09's or a great deal on an 08.
I drove an RS4 today for the first time (3 test drives in the M3 sedan), and I have to say, there are many areas I live the RS better!
Exterior Styling - love the flared arches + wheels 
AWD
Better build quality and materials
Engine sound is a little more "mature" vs. racy in the M
Exclusivity vs. the M
Drawbacks
Price - still $6k more than the M I plan to buy brand new
No rear seat once I put my drivers seat back - with kids now back seat room is a must if I ever want to take my car when we go out.
Interior is high quality, but can appear a little dated
No "comfort" suspension setting like the M3 for the kids
At the end of the day... for me I'm still leaning towards the M since
$60k is my max and you can get a nice M3 sedan for that price
I did a test drive with the family and it received the WAF for road trips (with EDC on comfort that is)
RS4 can be a little harsh on our rough roads out here
I'm pretty bummed bmw couldnt do a little better on the exterior styling and 18" wheel package on the M3 sedan. I think the coupe is hot, but while the sedan is obviously a great car, its not a "showstopper" with the gotta have it factor.
Opinions? Anybody else cross shop the RS4? |
I didn't like the interior or exterior styling. I didn't like the materials, I thought the interior was too plasticky and too shiny. I didn't like the squarish steering wheel.
Engine sounds good but didn't rank it above or below the BMW.
AWD is a plus and a minus, depends on your priority. I can see why in MI it would be a plus regardless of priority for half the year.
You might want to explore the "build quality" conclusion a little more. Is it just that you thought more highly of the Audi build quality and why is that? From a brand perspective the research I've seen puts Audi build quality below BMW. It may be different for the RS4 vs. the M3, I'm curious why you think so?
The Audi is more exclusive but doesn't cost enough more to justify the exclusivity. Why do you think it sells so poorly despite being relatively comparably priced? This might be an indication that lots of people think the car is overpriced and underachieves.