I'm looking to buy a new daily driver, either a brand new 05' S4 or a new 06' IS350. I can get the S4 at invoice or thereabouts.
Peter

 

Audi, no question about it. Much more of a "drivers" car than the Lexus.

Christian

 

+1 what he said ....and no MT avail on the is350 last I read either is a big mistake

 

screw lexus! Plus you can go below invoice. I bought my MY2004 in 2004 for 3k below as the dealership gave me all of their incentive plus invoice. If you can find one you can steal it.

 

S4 no question..unless youre gonna do drifting,LOL awd is not available on the 350 right? only 250?

 

Autoweek did a comparison of the I350 to the BMW 330. You can read it here: http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dl...6002/1012/FREE

My S4 will absolutely stomp an I350 or BMW 330 on the track or straight line acceleration. What is illuminating about the Autoweek article is the electronics in the I350. I am sure they can be reprogrammed, but it is a bad starting point if you are considering purchasing this car.

 

Can't go wrong with the Audi!

 

As the owner of a 350 I must say the S4 is a great car and they are the two cars I was considering, needless to say i ended up with the IS because I got it below list, gets better gas mileage then the S4, has lots of nice options that the Audi does not. Will I miss allwheel drive yes, will I miss that great German feel yes. Do I think you can make a bad choice here no, but gas prices aren't helping a V8 sedan that much, oh and the IS is fast, have yet to race a S4 but give me till this weekend when my buddy gets back we will see how it pans out. thats my 2 cents.

 

Lot's of good feedback here, thanks for the opinions. The only thing hurting the S4 purchase is the fact that Audi's tend to depreciate much quicker (AMHIK - my wife has had an A4 and a TT). In either case, your feedback makes my decision much more difficult.

Keep the opinions coming!

Peter

 

Without a doubt...S4!

 

Yeah but you are not talking about an S-line car. I bought mine for 43K new and it had a 52xxx sticker, I got an offer the other day for 35k with 18,000 miles! So I have lost 8 thousand in 18000 miles, show me an is350 that can do that.

The thing with german cars is as long as you buy a "limited" edition type car meaning S-line, AMG, or M your resale is much better then the regular models. Just something to think about.

BTW I wasn't trying to denigrate the IS-350, it is an amazing car. I drove one when it first came out and I was flat out amazed at how far Lexus has come. Personally I just plain love the subtle things about the Audi that you can't describe or learn on a test drive, but once you drive an S4 for a while you just love the car.

I have tons of friends who love cars and are just amazed by what the S4 is capable of. A good friend of mine on this forum ADIAZ has a Gemballa C4, he on repeated occasions has been amazed by my car. He never thought it was anything special until I brought it out here and it really changed his opinion of Audi I think. The S4 is a car for designed for people who love cars, if you are that type of person, the decision is a no brainer.

 

I would go with the S4, no doubt.

 

tt - you are correct, i've never owned an s-line. Your post makes sense, when I buy the daily (in the next few weeks) I will be sure to post pics here. Thank so much for the help guys!
Peter
p.s. anyone got any good pics???

 

Features I like about the S4:
1. The seats fit very well and offer good lateral support
2. The suspension is firm and tight - very good handling - not what I would expect for a road car. Some people think the suspension is too firm, but I like it and the roads in Raleigh are pretty good so it's not an issue.
3. The engine has v. good low end torque and pulls smoothly to redline.
4. The interior is well laid out with high quality materials
5. A slight deflection of the turn signal up/down produces three distinct signals - great for changing lanes.
6. Audi service has been awesome and I like the idea of free maintenance.
7. In the 8 months I have lived in Raleigh, I have seen only 2 other S4. In contrast, I see lots of 3-series BMWs. Not many IS350s though.

Features I wish they would change:
1. The transmission and clutch feel vague to me. I stall the engine sometimes because I can't feel the clutch engaging. I am so used to my Porsche and I really like that feel
2. Drive by wire has some issues though most of these can be addressed by resetting/relearning the program
3. The brakes are good, but nothing like a Porsche. The pedal is way too squishy. Again, the Porsche brake pedal has a really firm feel that is easy to modulate and inspires confidence.
4. Tire wear seems high. Original set of tires didn't last more than 12000 miles. Maybe it didn't help that I used the car for 2 track events.
5. Gas mileage could be better. I get 22 on the highway at 80 mph and 18 around town. I could do better if I drove slower and kept my foot out of the gas - old habits are hard to break.

 

Here is one, if you PM your email I can send you some good ones from my other laptop. Now the car is lowered and I have some good pics but I can't find them on the net anywhere.