I disagree, Newt. I find the Audi interior overly staid and unimaginative. The overall design of the sedan is equally lacking in flow or artistry, which they try and make up for by adding all kinds of unnecessarily busy pieces of trim. To borrow a quote from Amedeus, "There are simply too many notes."

Before committing to the Infiniti, I had a flirting interest in the Audi A4. So I drove the 2.0T 6MT and came away extremely unimpressed on a variety of levels. Granted, it's not entirely fair to compare the bread & butter A4 with the sport-tuned G37S 6MT... which is why the only way I'd consider Audi is if it were the S4 or S5. But at that point there's an inflated sticker price on the car which just isn't justifiable math.

And then there's the undeniable social ick of today's Audi... which is summed up nicely around the 1:10 mark on this 2009 Top Gear episode:

[youtube]Ld_nn9H-AAY[/youtube]

 

Very nice. My gf has the same car from the previous year. Your shift **** definitely looks different.

 

I can relate to many of OPs issues....especially 3,4,5 & 6. That said, I traded a BMW 530i for the G. Not one rattle in the BMW....but LOTS of other issues (electrical, suspension problems, oil consumption). Candidly, I've lost my appetite for German sedans. I don't think Audi has a particularly stellar track record in terms of reliability....perhaps best to stick with a three year lease if you want to drive German.

 

Nice! Don't tell me you gave the wife the 550 and you're rocking the S4 now? I didn't realize how much bigger the 5er is side by side damn.

 

She's driving the BMW for now. We switch cars between us all the time so it's no big deal.

S4 is definitely a fun car to drive, I am having a little fun with it. Loving that exhaust note. Infiniti should've offered a more aggressive exhaust on the sedan at least the sport models. We all know how good those vq's can sound if tuned properly.

 

Nice audi! I traded in my G yesterday. Awesome car, but too many little things similar to what you had.

 

Nice, what did you get?

 

TL advance sh-awd. The acura sh-awd is hawt!

 

I have had more than a couple of (former) Audi drivers tell me in their minds, Audi is a four letter word. A one-and-done type of car which costs buckets full of money to maintain and repair. Never again. And imho, Audi cars are especially overpriced. The A4 is basically a cheap entry level german car. Right now, the Japs make much better, more reliable cars of much better value. Ten years ago - probably the other way around.

 

Should prove to be a great car...I use to have a Fully Built MTM RS6 and it was very reliable no major repairs but the 200.00 oil changes every 2500 miles were a little much.

 

Not much Audi love around here, IMO they've come a long way since the 5000 debacle. Rochester, have to agree to disagree, IMO they do have some of the finest interiors in their price point, very substantial hardware, great quality leathers, tight fit & finish, and very supportive seating. I'd still be proud to have any Audi from an S4 up to an R8 in my stable
Do agree about the A4, not enough car for the price, but that can be said for any entry level German auto.

 

The s4 is definitely sexy and a nice car.Congrats.(i want one) Hope you are happy and have better luck with this one.

 

Audi's rattle too lol

I'm a member on Audizine.com and I see people complain about rattles in the new Audi's all the time. Build quality my *** even $100K cars rattle. Almost all modern day cars rattle because their held in with nothing but plastic clips and a screw or two. Since the interior is attached to the chassis and takes a lot of stress over time things start to squeak and rattle.

I'll give one thing the Audi S4 has a higher quality interior in terms of feel than the G.

Rattles in a car are usually a hit or miss kind of thing. Some have it some don't.

Nice 5 series. I kept up on the new 5 series on Car&Driver's long term road test. And by the end of the 40,000 mile mark when they were giving it back they said the whole interior was starting to develop randoming squeaks and rattles.


Truth is things like this are just a hit or miss.

 

I test drove an A4 when I was shopping for the G37. Audi's build quality is pretty good, their transmission is surprisingly wonderful, and the handling is amazing.

But I do not want to own a German car out of warranty...

 

^ this. I'm on my 2nd Audi and had 2 VWs and so far, none of them had any major repairs or problems. I think a lot of people "hear" of reliability issues, not from personal experience. Again, "a lot", not "all".