Osnabrueck
G-Class Explorer
Sup Klier! Hope alls good in NL.
Naruto - I may be working from home that Friday. I'll keep in touch.
Naruto - I may be working from home that Friday. I'll keep in touch.
Catching Up! / Car shopping!
- Thread starter Osnabrueck
- Start date
NarutoRamen
Kraftwagen König
Got it. Also, clean out your PM. I tried sending you a PM but it said you have exceeded your limit.
Osnabrueck
G-Class Explorer
fixed
NarutoRamen
Kraftwagen König
Sent. 
Osnabrueck
G-Class Explorer
Beemer B773ER
Tire Trailblazer
Yeah I think it's pretty obvious why the 3er Touring didn't win your money. That Audi with those rims look very good.. only a 3er Touring with M-Pack could compete from a visual standpoint.
So how is the car? Pro's and Con's ? Taken it on any nice drives yet ?
Since you live in the Bay Area, you should consider driving up to Lick Observatory...that's one 'fun' road. http://g.co/maps/6p5u8
So how is the car? Pro's and Con's ? Taken it on any nice drives yet ?
Since you live in the Bay Area, you should consider driving up to Lick Observatory...that's one 'fun' road. http://g.co/maps/6p5u8
Osnabrueck
G-Class Explorer
Hey Beem - I'll have to see Lick someday. Living in the city I don't get to the South Bay very often.
Having spent lots of long commuting hours in the car I feel as though a rant is in order... Long story short, love the looks, finish, s-line interior, flat-handling, B&O, Blind Spot Nanny, 8spd transmission. Dislike the 4cyl's character, MMI, firm seats, light variable steering.
This is a car that wants a happy, twisty road where it can rev and run free. I spend 90% of my drive in horrible traffic - and a good portion of that is on harsh pavement in the city. The character of the 4cyl is just doesn't deliver a luxurious drive in these conditions. When the roads are free, the car is a scream in manual mode - the 8spd feels like a DSG. It's also great when it's pouring rain - we had a real deluge a couple weeks back and the A4 acquitted itself well. I often imagine how stupid happy I'd be driving this car back in Germany.
In hindsight, it seems like a non-sport package 3er Touring without the fancies may have been a better choice for the driving I do. It's a great feeling car and the NA6cyl is a smooth way to work through traffic... On the other hand, were that the case, I'd probably be bitching about cupholders and interior niggles.
Hate to say it, but a Lexus ES would probably be the right kind of vehicle for my commute. There's lots of awful pavement, stop and go and nothing good save a couple exciting off ramps.
Having spent lots of long commuting hours in the car I feel as though a rant is in order... Long story short, love the looks, finish, s-line interior, flat-handling, B&O, Blind Spot Nanny, 8spd transmission. Dislike the 4cyl's character, MMI, firm seats, light variable steering.
This is a car that wants a happy, twisty road where it can rev and run free. I spend 90% of my drive in horrible traffic - and a good portion of that is on harsh pavement in the city. The character of the 4cyl is just doesn't deliver a luxurious drive in these conditions. When the roads are free, the car is a scream in manual mode - the 8spd feels like a DSG. It's also great when it's pouring rain - we had a real deluge a couple weeks back and the A4 acquitted itself well. I often imagine how stupid happy I'd be driving this car back in Germany.
In hindsight, it seems like a non-sport package 3er Touring without the fancies may have been a better choice for the driving I do. It's a great feeling car and the NA6cyl is a smooth way to work through traffic... On the other hand, were that the case, I'd probably be bitching about cupholders and interior niggles.
Hate to say it, but a Lexus ES would probably be the right kind of vehicle for my commute. There's lots of awful pavement, stop and go and nothing good save a couple exciting off ramps.
Beemer B773ER
Tire Trailblazer
Oh, it's a 4cyl. ... good on gas mileage but lacks the get up n' go of a 6cyl. ?
What do you not like about the MMI? (just curious)
For a comfortable 'luxury' commuter car, yeah the likes of a Lexus ES probably would be the better choice...objectively. But there will be times when you can have fun with the car, and you'll quickly be reminded why you didn't get a Lexus.
Save the Lexus for when you hit 45 years of age.... right now you're young and can put up with the drawbacks of the A4 in city driving.
What do you not like about the MMI? (just curious)
For a comfortable 'luxury' commuter car, yeah the likes of a Lexus ES probably would be the better choice...objectively. But there will be times when you can have fun with the car, and you'll quickly be reminded why you didn't get a Lexus.
Save the Lexus for when you hit 45 years of age.... right now you're young and can put up with the drawbacks of the A4 in city driving.
Osnabrueck
G-Class Explorer
Well, nothing beats hitting your apex whilst turning into the gas station. It's a fun car.
The engine issue isn't about power - The 2.0T is a very able and, if I understand correctly, pushes the Avant to 60 .5sec faster than the E90 wagon - it's about character, especially in low-speed conditions. The BMW I6 develops power in a very smooth, effortless manner at low speed. The Audi's turbo 4pot on the other hand, exhibits harshness at idle and low speeds and feels burdened below 2k to develop power.
It's a genuine foible if you suffer through nasty traffic - Even though the 328i is slower, it doesn't ACT like it is.
Of course, with all the stop and go I'd probably be suffering even more at the pump with the BMW... Oh well. I'll be curious to see if BMW is willing to equip the F31 wagon with the 35i engine stateside. One can always wish!
As for MMI - There's just so much that it doesn't do. The B&O stereo is outstanding, but there's no graphic EQ, just 'bass' and 'treble' settings. When you're listening to a track or scanning the radio the MMI just sits there and doesn't go into any kind of 'standby mode' to display supplemental information (I realize there could be a setting for it - if so, I haven't found it). The corner buttons that surround the control knob are not intuitive in the least - the scheme reminds me of pre-smartphone UI - I wouldn't be surprised if the UX director cut their teeth at a cell handset OEM. Lastly, the buttons themselves have a very poor, somewhat delicate and high-resistance tactile quality - I don't know the technical term for the type of switch they've used, but it's not what you typically desire in high-frequency use buttons.
On the bright side - The Nav is outstanding. The 3d building mapping in the city is impressive and the binnacle center screen gives great directions. Also - the redundant MMI functions on this screen (playlist, phone, etc) work quite well.
EDIT Another thing that was a big deciding factor is the CPO situation. It was very difficult to find ANY CPO BMW sport wagons that had less than 20k miles and included a CPO warranty. You'd find lots of 'executive fleet' vehicles that had 7 - 12k miles, but no CPO, which usually puts you on the uncomfortably low side of being covered.
The A4, on the other hand, was the perfect scenario. 4k miles with less than a year since purchase with the addition of the CPO warranty giving me another 5+years/96k mi. of coverage. I sure wish it was an S4 wagon, but fee like I extracted as much value out of the transaction as possible...
On another note - The market for A4 Avants and cars in general is REALLY firm right now.
The engine issue isn't about power - The 2.0T is a very able and, if I understand correctly, pushes the Avant to 60 .5sec faster than the E90 wagon - it's about character, especially in low-speed conditions. The BMW I6 develops power in a very smooth, effortless manner at low speed. The Audi's turbo 4pot on the other hand, exhibits harshness at idle and low speeds and feels burdened below 2k to develop power.
It's a genuine foible if you suffer through nasty traffic - Even though the 328i is slower, it doesn't ACT like it is.
Of course, with all the stop and go I'd probably be suffering even more at the pump with the BMW... Oh well. I'll be curious to see if BMW is willing to equip the F31 wagon with the 35i engine stateside. One can always wish!
As for MMI - There's just so much that it doesn't do. The B&O stereo is outstanding, but there's no graphic EQ, just 'bass' and 'treble' settings. When you're listening to a track or scanning the radio the MMI just sits there and doesn't go into any kind of 'standby mode' to display supplemental information (I realize there could be a setting for it - if so, I haven't found it). The corner buttons that surround the control knob are not intuitive in the least - the scheme reminds me of pre-smartphone UI - I wouldn't be surprised if the UX director cut their teeth at a cell handset OEM. Lastly, the buttons themselves have a very poor, somewhat delicate and high-resistance tactile quality - I don't know the technical term for the type of switch they've used, but it's not what you typically desire in high-frequency use buttons.
On the bright side - The Nav is outstanding. The 3d building mapping in the city is impressive and the binnacle center screen gives great directions. Also - the redundant MMI functions on this screen (playlist, phone, etc) work quite well.
EDIT Another thing that was a big deciding factor is the CPO situation. It was very difficult to find ANY CPO BMW sport wagons that had less than 20k miles and included a CPO warranty. You'd find lots of 'executive fleet' vehicles that had 7 - 12k miles, but no CPO, which usually puts you on the uncomfortably low side of being covered.
The A4, on the other hand, was the perfect scenario. 4k miles with less than a year since purchase with the addition of the CPO warranty giving me another 5+years/96k mi. of coverage. I sure wish it was an S4 wagon, but fee like I extracted as much value out of the transaction as possible...
On another note - The market for A4 Avants and cars in general is REALLY firm right now.
Beemer B773ER
Tire Trailblazer
Came across this meme.... just had to post it here. 
Osnabrueck
G-Class Explorer
Hahahahahahaha that's PRICELESS!
Osnabrueck
G-Class Explorer
Continuing the rant... You press the 'INFO' button on the MMI console and a screen pops up telling you to subscribe to Sirius radio. WHY THE HELL WHOULD YOU HAVE A WHOLE BUTTON FOR THAT?!
Beemer B773ER
Tire Trailblazer
Hahaha... now that's a weird one!
What's your opinion of the interior build quality now that the car has a couple of years on it ?
What's your opinion of the interior build quality now that the car has a couple of years on it ?
Osnabrueck
G-Class Explorer
Interior quality is great. Not a single complaint save the MMI switches, which have a somewhat unfriendly tactile quality. Especially love the S-Line touches - the alcantara door inserts and black headliner are awesome.
Wear-wise, the car is one year old and everything appears/smells brand new.
Wear-wise, the car is one year old and everything appears/smells brand new.
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