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$33,980 (plus 720 destination)
Cold Weather: 700
Sat. Radio: 350
Open Sky: 1100
Bi Xenon: 800
Navigation: 1,950
Bluetooth: 435
Metallic Paint: 450
18 inch wheels: 1,000
Premium Leather: 800
Thanks.
If that is right... $9K extra for DSG, 3.2 V-6 and Quattro....
I'm sure a higher level of standard equipment, as well... but, shewwwwww!!!
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For another $17K, I can have a new S4 Avant just the way I want it. Oh my.
I suppose I could always surrender to my geriatric onslaught and get an IS350...
I'd be tempted to go that directions... Don't you get the Torsen Quattro with the A4, instead of the Haldex? (or did I just mix those two up?).
regards,
kyfdx
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No, I really think if I'm going to go up to the A4 platform, then I'm gonna shoot the wad and get a real Thunderbolt Grease Slapper. It may not be sensible per se, but I think if I'm going to get serious muscle, I ought to do it while I still have reaction times under the ICU inductee levels.
And the 3.2 DSG Quattro is supposed to have an S Line package as standard equiptment. So it should look pretty sweet.
The old 1.8T was just too doggy, especially with Quattro...
I'd take the A3 with 2.0T and Quattro... if that isn't available (and it isn't), I think I'd rather have the A4 2.0TQ, than pay out for the 3.2Q A3..
The S4 isn't even a speck on the horizon for me... Before we'd get that, I'm sure my wife would have us in an A4 3.2Q convertible....
Shewww... I'm all A'd and Q'd out..
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That, my friend, may be the exactly the insight that becomes the King's horse's shoe's nail.
Charge!
Sigh...that blasted european delivery 330i is calling my name again. Argh.
Also, for a factory order they're telling me that it won't be in till January, that seems kind of long for a car without a waiting list. It only took me 4 months to get my Cooper S in 2002, and they were quite a bit more popular.
A 330i is no cheap alternative to anything. BMW's pricey options will have your checkbook working overtime.
The ony excuse one may have is "I don't like larger cars" or "I really like the styling", or "I just have to have DSG". It is legitimate, just outside of "value" department.
2018 430i Gran Coupe
Actually it is. 330i with metallic paint, leather, sport, xenons, 18s, moon, comfort access via ED is 36-36.5k.
BTW, it's not a matter of affording the car, it's a matter of value. A 3.2 DSG A4 with everything shouldn't top 35k, imho. Audi priced the aA3 2.0 about 2k too high but the 3.2 is a good 4k too high starting. It's a fun car but not a car worth almost 40k loaded.
So, what's the rub? I just bought a Razr last week and the Saab isn't scheduled to have BlueTooth anytime in the 2006 model year.
A couple of comments:
1) Assuming that the Saab 93 Sedan has a similar amount of interior space as the SportCombi (excepting rear of the back seats of course), it seems that when compared to the A3, the Saab has more overall interior room (head, shoulders and hips), however, the leg room (my biggest issue as my kids ride in back and like lots of leg room) seems to be substantially greater in the A3.
2) As previously mentioned, the A3 has (or will very shortly have) BlueTooth as an option (although according to some sources it's a standard feature).
3) I think I like the dashboard and console layout and instrumentation of the A3 better, however, I will have to wait for my test drive for a more definitive comparison.
4) The front seat area in the A3 has a more cockpitish feeling than the more spacious feel of the Saab. I'm not saying one is better than the other here, they are just different. I'm thinking that due to the AWD capabilities of the A3, the console is higher up to make room for the drive train, and that is probably what makes the difference.
5) The A3 has a 6-Speed manual, the SportCombi is only a 5-Speed manual, I prefer the 6-Speed.
I'll keep y'all posted.
Best Regards,
Shipo
But... it's a Saab - acquired taste for some and no AWD at all. We all are preaching the same thing: get me 2.0 Quattro, lower price slightly and you have a blockbuster. Will they listen? Of course not.
I suspect it is like previous BMW 318it or MB 230: nobody really wants it except some Hans or Jurgen in the headquarters. So the rest simply goes along and hopes it will die on its own. If they can put some sticks into between the spokes (like overpricing the car), it is even better. Hans/Jurgen will be fired for "wrong concept" and everybody can go back to sleep with their sedans
2018 430i Gran Coupe
Another problems is that higher mpg savings are offset by diesel fuel being generally more expensive than regular gasoline (except some freak periods of some supply disruptions). In Europe diesel fuel is 20-40% cheaper than gas.
Diesel engine is also more expensive to manufacture (high compression ratios require more massive heads) and maintain. It pays off by longevity, but who cares about that when most people in US drive their cars for less than 5 years?
Therefore, it is really a wash in US, unlike in Europe where system is set up to prefer diesels, especially in larger than compact category. In US it is sort of same false economy as hybrid are now (lower at the pump, higher everywhere else).
2018 430i Gran Coupe
You can run the tab to $48,000 for an all wheel drive 255hp 3 series with navi, automatic, active steering, and every option. So it's all relative in the options you pick out. You can get the 340hp V8 quattro S4 w/ navi and almost every option for 54-55k.
But dino pegged me. Not "must have" at all, but seriously compelling: styling inside and out is hard to match IMO, size is perfect and bigger is definitely not better for me (how I ended up looking at the car in the first place), and I'm very hip to this DSG thang.
Well I prefer RWD. Quattro is a massive step backward for me but I would be willing to put up with it in the lighter 2.0T A3. There is only one advantage to Quattro - it's not FWD.
DSG automatics to cheaper manuals.
Prefer a manual anyway. Shrug, so again this is not a bonus.
BMW charges you $1200 for Servotronic steering, it's standard in the A3.
I'd rather avoid BMW's active steering as long as humanly possible. Call me old fashioned but I don't want electric steering and servos.
You can run the tab to $48,000 for an all wheel drive 255hp 3 series with navi, automatic, active steering, and every option. So it's all relative in the options you pick out.
Precisely. I wrote exactly what I want - leather, moon, xenons, sport. Don't want FWD, automatics, navi, AWD, servotronic steering.
For my money the 37-38k of an A3 with the equipment i want - xenons, moon, leather, sport is way overpriced for a car that has a lesser drivetrain and far less agility.
You can get the 340hp V8 quattro S4 w/ navi and almost every option for 54-55k.
That's random. wouldn't touch an S4 for 30k, let alone 50k. Not my kinda car. Overweight, wrong wheel drive, poorly balanced, poor driving position, poor gas mileage and an all around yucky car, imho.
Holding out for a 2.0T quattro..ideally priced sub 30k. Add in the required options, push the price to 32k and I can stomach paying that much for a VW product.
But an R36 Jetta Wagon...Hmm, rumor has it that the R32 is going to Europe and we're getting the Passat/Toureg/Cayenne 280HP engine in the Golf R36, stretch for a Jetta? Plus the wagon version wouldn't look like a Corolla.
Rear wheel drive BMW's are quite fun to drive in good weather, but take your RWD car on the back roads and twisties, or @ 70 MPH down the freeway when it's pouring down raining, and it won't be a massive step back in keeping your car glued to the road. And for those people who live in snow, slush, and crappy weather for 6 months of the year, it ain't a "massive" step back for them.
You're obviously a BMW guy and hate Audi products from your S4 bashing as well. The 4.2 S4 is one of the highest rated and regarded high performace cars by the automotive community & press. The M3 is a fine car in it's own right I give credit wherever it's due. BMW makes some very sweet cars. Sorry you think the S4 is "yucky".
Best Regards,
Shipo
As for back roads and freeway cruising at 70 in inclement weather, I do it now in RWD in perfect ease, comfort and control. Eagle F1 GS-D3s are all it takes.
No, Quattro is a step backward for me, but I don't see many other tolerable options out there right now. Straight FWD is out of the question, especially over 200hp. I've been there before.
As for BGDC's BMW thang, he thinks the steering in my car isn't up to snuff, and it's the most tossable little monster out there, so I take the S4 comments with a large boulder of salt. :P
Mullholland Dr., pink slips, my new S4 Avant, his 330, rain, shine or Santa Ana firestorm; his butt is toast.
:shades:
We'll see as I may still end up in an A3 2.0. I'm deeply in love with Audi's 2.0T. Flipside I'm not totally crazy about the e90 330i but I like it more than everything else under 50k that I've driven.
A3, GTI and Mazdaspeed6 are still on the radar. IS250/350 is a longshot (being a bland buick clone isn't the problem...it's the lack of a manual).
If you are automatically excluded from 20% of the new car market, you just aren't going to bother with it...
When California allows diesels, we'll see a lot more of them..
regards,
kyfdx
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That "bad in rain and snow" stereotype goes back to the 60s when BMWs came with semi-trailing arm suspensions and were in fact dicey on slippery pavement. It doesn't apply to newer cars with modern suspensions, tires, ESP, TC, ABS etc.
Like Shipo I have no problems driving in winter with a set of good snows on my Fiver.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Should be interesting down the road so to speak. Based on emissions I doubt CA restrictions will change, regardless of sulphur levels, which makes more diesel availability tough. But the predicted trend for Europe (again based on emissions) is toward direct injected petrol engines with forced induction, and away from diesel. With the surge in prices, there may be consumer pressure for diesel though, and that should lead to some delightful Sacramento posturing...
RWD: I drove my '65 Olds 98 convertible from Bay Area to Lake Tahoe ski resorts and back on many snowy occasions. No biggie!
Both particulate and NOx emissions can be and have been dealt with in modern Diesel cars that run on low-Sulfur Diesel. I fear VW/Audi can only introduce them in high-selling cars in 2006/07 when the US Sulfur regulations change - probably not in cars like the A3 or the Golf. Looking at their latest non-registration of outgoing models and engines, it is quite clear that they are counting pennies and have set a fairly high sales limit at which point they think conformation testing and registration becomes profitable.
Let's hope that the twin charge engines are successful and make their way here, quickly.
My understanding is that bluetooth is standard after 08/05, or so.
Seeing as though the GolfGTK should be pretty similar to the A3 (right?), what are owners' impressions of the A3 in stop-and-go in the US?
Thanks.
on the foul weather RWD question , ive driven a E46 323i and now 325i E90 RWD and even with the runflats they stick to the road like glue, better than any FWD ive owned. A 83 T Bird with no traction control ect might be different..
DL
I would say for most who aren't interested in stereo wars on the boulevard on a Friday night, a 200+w system, be it Bose, HK, ML or even a couple different Delcos will peform to expectations.
The knock on Bose has never been distortion, but rather frequency response; "no highs, no lows, must be Bose. Hogwash mostly, but not entirely; an average to above-average ear will most likely be completely satisfied. Automotive audio is one of the best marketing gimmicks to ever come along, says I. ;-]
For dedicated brand audiophiles, YMMV, of course.
Another question that's concerned me is whether the bluetooth will be able to be upgraded to version 2.0 in the near future, or if you are stuck with whatever version it has now (1.2?). There's only two bluetooth 2.0 phone out on the market now that I'm aware of (sony ericsson K750 and W800), but that is likely to start changing in the next year or so.
Still find this car to be sweet , even though not an Audi fan at all. Living out eastern LI where there are enough Audis on the road it always looks like a moving dealer supply lot roaming town to town. Now driving a G-35, which here is rare still which does make it nice,. might be better to wait for the next change or the future CX-35?
Thanks, Justin
http://www.germancarfans.com/news.cfm/newsID/2051011.006/audi/1.html
This car is a "Beaut". If these are the styling cues for the new generation of A3s then I cant wait to see the new re-skinned A3 . Unfortunately , I will have to wait another 7 years and may become a bit impatient in counting the next 2,555 days until I see new one, so instead I hope the new A4 in 3 years will resemble the styling cues of the "braking concept".
I
I like the elvoving grille a whole lot more than the current Audi cue. On the Brake it's getting smaller and seems much better integrated to me. I don't need the chrome though.
The A3 is selling like hotcakes or should I say like Bratwurst in Europe!
I once got a Warning Ticket for running w/o a front plate.
Rumors I've seen peg the Shooting Brake as the replacement for the current TT, not the A3.
FWIW a little nit pick, it's not a "Braking concept", since it has nothing to do with
braking, it's a "brake concept" as in shooting brake ( a kind of cross between a
gran turismo and a station wagon.)
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
This rhino-treatment:
just doesn't look as clean and coherent to me as this:
The chrome though doesn't do much for me at all. Matte black? Or maybe stainless mesh? Oooo, yeah, now we're talking!
Dear Audi: one A3 replacement grille in stainless mesh please, and hide the bumper!
:shades:
I love it, but not at the expense of the coupe and roadster...
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93