Drove them both Saturday and the A4 was vastly more fun than the G35x. I expected the G to trounce the A4 but I was stunned to find the opposite. The 6MT in the A4 was phenomenal. Maybe it's the turbo and direct injection but the 4 cylinder felt as quick as the G35x. Now I know what the overused "more refined" description means. I suspect a 6MT may have narrowed the gap but Infiniti chose to ignore us AWD 6MT fans. The icing is that I'll likely get double the MPG from the A4.

 

I'm not gonna be a g homer and tell you how wrong you are. Being in Alabama, I fortunately did not need AWD, so I could get the 6MT RWD. You're right, too bad it's not offered on the X.

Dude, that picture.... that is one gorgeous car. Seems much lower, wider, than my g. Aggressive.

 

double the MPG...!!!! hmm let's see that means like 46 miles a gallon from the A4..LOL..

 

X gas mileage is horrible unless you're driving like an old lady. Do a search and you'll see 12-17mpg.

 

Nice ride man, good luck with it. What did you pay if you don't mind us asking? I would gather any savings in gas would be offset by the price difference between the 2 cars.

Nice A4 nonetheless.

 

PB-

That one isn't mine -- soon though! I was quoted $34,300 for an well optioned 2005.5 A4 6MT which was $1,200 over invoice -- not great but ok. They wouldn't give me enough for my trade-in so I walked.

 

Interesting. I did the same comparo before I bought my G, and the Audi felt sluggish as well as quite a bit less "sporty" in terms of handling, suspension limits, etc....but that may be just because I drive my car to the limit. Nice looking car, definetely, but just wasn't quite as nice as the G to me. Congrats though on your future purchase, I am sure you'll be quite satisfied with it. Its a beautiful vehicle.

 

A4 is the same platform as a Jetta. It's a nice car but it's too damn small for me. We also have a Passat wagon which is essentially an A6 and that's a little more like it sizewise.

 

Thanks for the civil comments. I'm not trolling and have been a fan of the G35 since it came out (see join date). These are just my opinions and my point is that it's really important to take test drives. I know Audi isn't the most reliable car maker but I'm impressed enough to lease one.

 

My Passat (again, basically an A6) has been awesome. Audi's are verrrry popular around here and everyone I know who has one loves it. Based on my experiences I would definitely get one but the 4 is too small and the 6 would be like banging my wife's twin sister. Just not different enough to make it worth the potential cost.

Now an S4 - well, growl...

 

Well, hate to break it too you, but that A4 isn't near what the G35 can do. I use to own a 2003 A4 1.8t with sport package and driven a 2005. The G35 will still kill the A4. It is much quieter (engine wise), more comfortable than the A4, and so on. The A4 is a overweight pig and doesn't handle well either.

 

Cool - a lease is a good idea. Having owned or leased 3 cars from VW/Audi I would never own one out of warranty. They are fun cars to drive though, for sure - just make sure there is no turbo lag between 2nd and 3rd, that's where all 3 of my turbo's have faltered. Enjoy!

 

Actually they are not. The A4 is off a differenet platform.

 

Just my opinion....
In summary, there is always a compromise. Seriously, there is very rarely a jack of all trades in the Auto industry. I was looking for a swiss army knife: A car that would move out nicely, while taking me to Tahoe during a blizzard so I could get first tracks.
I wanted a fair amount of room and a very durable reliable car with a Timing Chain, and not belt.

I have experience with both the A4 and Passat- 1.8t and 3.2 and 2.8-

The Audi interiors are second to none. Period. Hard to find fault.
The new A4 is no exception.
The 2.0t direct injected motor is powerful and reasonably frugal.
The 3.2 Audi got the same mileage as my G35x, around 17 in town.
I'm seeing about 22-26 on the highway

I was an inch away from a 2005 redesigned A4 with Turbo and 6-speed.
For me, the 3.5 liter motor felt considerably more powerful than either Audi short of the S4. The Auto tranny was an issue for me. However, the power actually made this decision somewhat easier for me to make.
In every German car I have owned, I've had a couple of issues that were unsolvable.
My last car, at 50,000 miles was an electrical nightmare- So the Infiniti's "simple nature" actually appealed to me, which I never thought it would. Hell this car doesn't even have a trip computer !! Yet I don't really care.
I like the solid state approach- Maybe a bit dated in some ways, but this car starts the same way every time and I really appreciate that after my last car.
And the Auto, while tragic, is decent in manual mode, though the torque converter does take a lot of the fun out of the car. And that 05 exhaust note is damn near perfect to these ears.

If I were to name 5-areas that I would change, they would be in ordersome of these I can fix myself)

*Improved rear suspension control-ditch some of the floatiness- Would a stiffer roll bar in the rear help here?

*Improve the interior- I wouldn't mind a trip computer- I wouldn't mind better displays for stereo. Some of the kit reminds me of my old Sentra SE-R- I would like a nicer headliner and better carpet. The rear seats should fold down. (Then ofcourse the car would cost as much as the Audi and Bimmer so take it for what it is)


*Better lighting- I'm used to Bi-Xenon projectors and these lights are a bit dim in comparison.

*Larger brakes on the X model- They make 17inch snows, this shouldn't be an issue anymore.

*Tranny- Give me a manual, or at least a 6-speed auto.

With respect to the Audi, the handling is decent, though the car crashes over bumps while still serving up a lot of body roll which. With this came a lot of understeer, as in all quattros. Additionally, while the nicely wrapped steering wheel feels very nice in your hands, it doesn't offer much feel, and you are always correcting mid-turn.
Load the 2.0t down with people and gear and A4 performance drops significantly.

At the end of the day, you'll probably be happy with either, though the frills of the Audi are pretty cool.

I saw the M35-45 and thought to myself, ahhh, they got it right this time around.


The A4, B5 and B5.5 Passat, and A6 use the same platform-Smaller to larger in that order.
The Jetta uses the small car platform which is shared with the Audi TT, Golf, A3, and other Seat and Skoda models. The new Passat will share the latest version of this chassis.

The difference between these platforms is substantial-

 

Thanks, but no need. I found out for myself.