** NEW UPDATE..Audi it is!!! **HUGE Car decision tomorrow! '02 Audi A4 versus '02 Altima!!

[yakko]

Audi all the way.

 

[Sust]

Heh, wow. The guys over at the audiworld forum would have a field day in this thread.
Mosey on over to www.audiworld.com 's forums to see what they argue about all day.

In any case, I voted for the A4 basically because I'm more of a luxury person myself.
I used to be an EMT and a lot of the things that speed can do to you are kinda ugly to say the least.
After seeing that kid whose head was decapitated, I wondered why I had such a thing for speed in my younger and stupider days...
But I digress...
I think the audi CVT sounds pretty cool. The idea of just constantly accelerating without feeling the gears shift is kinda intriguing. Though I'm no big fan of the A4, I would take the A4 over the Altima simply because I dont place that much of an emphasis on speed and torque. Of course if I ever get rich and stupid enough to buy that harrier jet, I'll be smokin everyone on the road.

Since it sounds like you want to get where you're going as fast as possible, you might want the Altima. The altima has all that speed and torque stuff you're looking for, but I should also add that you can change the computer chip inside the A4 so that you can squeeze a good amount more of power and torque out of the turbo. I don't remember the exact numbers, but I'm sure the A4 forum members of audiworld would be glad to help you with that one.

I should also add that you shouldnt buy on the car alone. Though this may sound weird, you should also look at the dealer's history of service. Some guy in GA recently got sued by the dealership he brought his car to because he posted what happened on the vwvortex forums and totally flamed the crap outta them. This also got a bunch of other consumers riled up in his area. It's a whole daytime programming drama. My main point is that your car experience can be TOTALLY soured by a crap dealer. You can talk all you want about which car is better, but if your car is laid up in the shop with your dealer bending you over to stick it to you, you're not going to be thinking about how great your car is anymore.
I highly suggest checking with the locals to find out how reliable/helpful your dealer is when your car needs service(i.e. is there a loaner car available when you need service?) or if there's a damn good alternative to that dealer's service dept.
BTW, the guy from GA won, and the dealership is settling out of court I believe.

 

[flawedecision]

Neither. Neither of them are sexy or good looking. Neither are something I'd want to be forced to drive for 39 months. I'd rather take the bus. And I'm being serious.

My bias is that I won't own anything that was born after 1971.

But that's just me.

 

[Thegonagle]

<< . . .you can change the computer chip inside the A4 so that you can squeeze a good amount more of power and torque out of the turbo. >>


That's probably not a good idea with this transmission. CVTs are not yet known to be able to transmit huge amounts of torque yet. 166 lb/ft is the most torque one of these has ever been asked to work with. I wouldn't go pushing it much further. This will be a lease anyway. The bank generally frowns upon lessees modifying their property.

I stand very, very, very corrected

 

[NFS4]

<<

<< . . .you can change the computer chip inside the A4 so that you can squeeze a good amount more of power and torque out of the turbo. >>


That's probably not a good idea with this transmission. CVTs are not yet known to be able to transmit huge amounts of torque yet. 166 lb/ft is the most torque one of these has ever been asked to work with. I wouldn't go pushing it much further. This will be a lease anyway. The bank generally frowns upon lessees modifying their property. >>


What the hell are you talking about? The CVT is also offered in the 3.0 liter V6 Audi A4 and A6:

220 HP
221 lb-ft

 

[sohcrates]

WEll, it's 8:30 am!

I'm off to the audi dealer in 30 minutes.

MAN, this thread has truly inspired me to be completely CONFUSED about what i want!

All i know is that i think both cars are sexy, and performance really isn't a HUGE issue since i want an automatic (or CVT) and since i won't really be racing or anything.

Any top-o-the-morning advice?

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

I have a VW Passat. The VW group makes Audi as well. Three things to note

1. Audis (and my Passat) have REAL wood trim, not plastic. That more expensive cars don't, is not Audis problem

2. Audis have better road feel than Japanese cars, which in my opinion try to be all things to all people too hard.

3. The 1.8T is one of the most modifiable engines made. You spend a relatively small amount for rechipping and you get a fantastic amount of power in return without having to changing the engine itself. There are people driving cars with more than twice the HP of the stock 1.8 (and without mechanical problems).

 

[CraigRT]

LMAO to myaudittsucks.com

poor guy.. I bed he learned his lesson though!

 

[LittleWolf]

Dude, what are you smoking? Audi and a Altima. :Q
(I do realize that they are in the same ball park figure, but still!)

Audi all the way buddy.

Inspite of more hp, Altima is a low-rent car.

Audi is much more classier, safer and handles light years better. If you can't figure the difference between them, then I guess you are better of buying a Altima. and it aint' about the size, unless that's your top priority.

I can't figure out why Altima's is so hyped up, apart from the more hp and space, that's about it. As for handling, in a recent C&D shoot-out, it was beaten by the Camry and Accord. And guess what, in one of the previous shoot-outs, the Passat (which is a much watered down version of the older version Audi A4) even without a sport suspension beat them all ! So go figure the Altima stands..



OuterSquare
Saying that Altima had skyline derived suspension, is like Honda keeps harping that it's Civic has race inspired NSX engine.
Hell, expect for some very basic elements, there won't be much similarities. It is all marketing hype.


RGN

I am not sure what you are trying to say about the power window switches. Again I haven't checked in the Altima, but I can tell you the Audi ones are most intuitive. And if the Altima's are other way, then they suck.


But finally I guess to each his own. Personally I would pick the Audi, hands down.


-j

 

[CraigRT]

Why is the hype on the Altima?

well here is the last paragraph in the preview which can be found here



<< The Altima project was codenamed "Total Knockout" by the product planners at Nissan. We couldn't agree more that this vehicle sets the climax after a string of vastly improved vehicles in the Nissan (and Infiniti) lineup. We've been waiting to say this but we think this truly is the time to say...

Nissan is back! >>



And I agree...

..and to LittleWolf: (Hey hows it going man!) that is BS about being beat out by camry and accord... No question is a better handling car than especially the grandma Camry.. not to mention gobs more straight line power.. I dunno what the Altima is beat out in, but in a performing car, it's certainly not beaten out by Camry and Accord..

 

[LittleWolf]

Yield

Doing good man. Thanks!

Buddy, you are pointing me to a Nissan enthusiast site. Now if they aren't going to praise a Nissan, what else do you think they gonna do?
Want me to point you to a few VW and Audi sites, which glorify the respective cars
And guess which car, Nissan used as a benchmark for the Altima...

I rather prefer a more unopinionated view. And that's doesn't mean the auto rags aren't clean either. Witness C&D always praising a BMW, inspite of some of then not necessarily being better.

Anyhow, I agree than Camry is more like a couch on wheels, but a Accord ain't too bad, trust me. And having just tighter suspensions doesn't mean everything. Road feel, balance etc also all matter when you are rating a car as a whole. The Passat on the other hand has a bit more body roll (due to US spec softer, read "comfort" suspensions), but it's road feel and high speed stability as a whole is much better than others in class.
Many folks here seem to get their pants wet thinking about going 100-110 in a Altima. Guess what, the Passat V6 (which essentially is a 6 year plus old design now) easily does 120-130 without even breaking into a sweat. And yeah, the top speed is more like 145+ in a Passat. If you get the Euro VW suspensions (yes they are available at a VW dealer in US), it just kicks all the other car's ass big time.

The reason I brought Passat into the conversation is since, it is more in same class as Altima/Maxima than the Audi. The I35/I30 is more like in base Audi class.


-j

 

[TheDebater]

Audi, a friend of mine at school as the 1.8T, those are pretty sweet, nicer cars than nissans, think about safety etc too

 

[CraigRT]

omg I just saw this car on the main page and it looks SWEET!!!

I agree with your comparison vehicles, but being a Nissan freak, I still back the Altima that more than holds its own against the competition.. if i were to buy a Camry Accord or Altima, it would for sure be the Alty.. I am a fan of Nissan engines as a whole, and I think the car looks better, and performs better than the others...

Again as other people have pointed out in other threads, I think the Altima is well respected being compared to an Audi which is way out of it's price league.. that shows alot as to how nice of a car the Altima really is..

 

[Emos]

Give both cars a test drive and decide for yourself. If it was me, I would go for the A4 (I happen to have the previous model...very classy car). I think the A4 has classier and more up-scale styling than the Altima (especially the interior). The 1.8T may be less powerful than the Altima's V6 but it's a tuners dream engine (if you're into that kind of thing). A simple ECU upgrade will boost the 1.8T from 170hp, 165 ft/lbs torque to 207hp, 245 ft/lbs torque.
There aren't any upgrades available for the 2002 yet but APR just received an '02 A4 and will start testing. Rumor has it that improvements done to the '01 and '02 1.8T engines will allow "chipped" power in the 210-215 hp range!

 

[sohcrates]

Well, i updated my initial post...and BOY it's a doozie!

 

[Emos]

<< so i was forced to settle with the quattro...which i really don't mind >>


*ahem* Quattro is what makes Audi well...an Audi! (at least according to the enthusiasts ) I noticed you lived in Pennsylvania...AWD would be awesome in winter, plus the general handling on twisty roads needs to be be experienced to be believed. If you get Quattro, have you ever considered a 5-speed? It's not too difficult to learn (perhaps get a rental for the weekend and experiment) and you would have a performance edge over the Tiptronic (CVT is only on the FWD I believe).



<< A4 1.8 T, VERY nice blue color, sport package with 17 inch 5 spoke rims, quattro, sunroof, xenon headlights, platinum leatherette interior seating...i'm a happy guy >>


I have the sport and convienence package on my A4...and xenons are incredible for night driving!

 

[StageLeft]

WHY IS CAR BUYING SO DIFFICULT@!!!!! AHHHHH!! EVERY TIME I GO OUT IT'S DIFFICULT!

I know. It's quite stressful. It's because you know they're trying to f**k you and you have to do what you can to fight it. The second a car salesman shows ANY attitude leave right there and then. He deserves nothing more from you. Nissan wouldn't sell me a new sentra yesterday (it's MSRP was 1/3 what I make in a year), so they obviously ain't too hard up for cash; go to Audi. As nice as the altima is the Audi is better.

 

[HamSupLo]

don't go for the Audi! everyone and their brothers have one....and all in the same color: silver! yuck! a guy 6'4 doesn't look good with a little Audi. Pocket in the difference in price and throw yourself a party.

 

[StageLeft]

don't go for the Audi! everyone and their brothers have one....

Yeah go with the cavalier. Hardly anybody has one

 

[OS]

<< Saying that Altima had skyline derived suspension, is like Honda keeps harping that it's Civic has race inspired NSX engine. >>



Except that Honda makes no representation that the Civic engine is based off of the NSX engine, so your comparison fails.

 

[dman]

If the salespeople are pricks, Just go to another dealer. If you want to be treated nicely, go look at infinity's or other luxury car dealers. Entry level american car dealers are a dime a dozen and all the newbies start there. The good sales people quit and/or work their way up the ladder... to Infinity (and other more luxuries places).

Which leads me to my question: The base AUDI is ~$3000 more than the Upper Level V6 AUTO Altima, why aren't you comparing it w/ the Maxima (or the I35)? FWIW, The base maxima SE V6 is STILL $1000 less than the base Audi price and the Maxima has to be much nicer inside than the Altima.

Not that the Audi is a bad choice, just that the Altima is only going to make the Audi look that much nicer.

 

[sohcrates]

Update to original post...Audi it is!

 

[NFS4]

<< Update to original post...Audi it is! >>


WOOHOO!!!! You made the right choice. There IS no comparision, especially with Quattro

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Congrats!! Now take me for a ride

 

[sohcrates]

<< Congrats!! Now take me for a ride >>



heheh

yeah, i went with dolphin gray exterior...simply because it matches the plastic lower body panels better than the blue i was looking at...that did kinda bug me , though, that audi doesn't color match the lower body panels on their a4's....

but with the gray, it makes the car look "lower"...there's no noticeable "stripe" at the bottom.

and the platinum leatherette interior

inside and out, there was a WORLD of difference between audi and nissan...and this A4 is gonna be a car i'm going to hold onto (at least till i'm done paying for it)

oh yeah, and now comes the big question: what kind of vanity plates!!

"quattro" was taken here in virginia...so i might have my plates say "outtie" (a take-off of "audi").