Bmw Touring M vs Audi S4 Avant ???

[hanopp]

Need your opinion. I bought the Bmw 325i Touring shortly after i got married, i had family in mind, you know some extra space ex. The only problem is my wife smashed the bumper within a week after i bought it. The problem is that the Bmw M suspension is so low you can barely get out of the driveway, you have to plan your trips, its lower than Audi R8!! Now, the only other Stationwagon out there that's got the performance and looks is the 2005 Face lifted Audi S4 Avant, 253kw, 0-100 in 5.6sec. The ground clearance is almost double that of the Bmw Touring.. I love station wagons, just a pity there is no M3 Touring. I tried to convince my wife to buy a E46 M3, but she keeps on asking me how r we going to fit a baby chair in the back, not a family car!! the only other option out there S4 Avant?? Who knows the car? positive? Negative?

 

[Gizmo]

I think you are very misled as to what an ///M really is, your car is a sportpack and not a M in any way shape or form. You have Sportpack suspension which is not much different to standard e46 suspension, ie ride height is about the same. M cars sit a little lower than your car so getting an M3 is going to make the problem worse. My advice is don't let your wife drive your car, buy her a 4x4 or something with good ground clearance. Alternatively trade your car in for an X5.

 

[hanopp]

My friend has a E46 M3, my car is definitely lower than E46 M3, i took a measure tape.. maybe the previous owner dropped it?? i don't know, but anyway you are right X5 might be the better all rounder. like the 4.8

 

[Karthik]

My friend has a E46 M3, my car is definitely lower than E46 M3, i took a measure tape.. maybe the previous owner dropped it?? i don't know, but anyway you are right X5 might be the better all rounder. like the 4.8

The E46 Individuals are lower , or well the same to a BMW M3 , Sankekur told me so , also I can see so everytime I open the garage . But if its between a S4 Avant and a 325i Individual , the Audi has my vote .

 

[Andrew]

I don't know how much mileage your wife does, but be prepared to double your fuel budget should you buy either a V8 X5 or the Audi S4 - 18l/100 km is not unrealistic in town for either vehicle.

That said, I have enjoyed my X5 - It handles like a sports car and the performance is adequate

 

[hanopp]

@ Andrew, your X5 looks good. Yes its true, if you want the V8 power, you must make peace with the fact that both the X5 and S4 is alcoholics.

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@ karthik, you get my point, the S4 has better ground clearance, but i am not an audi fan. as Andrew said fuel will be a big concern, but the power will be worth it.

 

[Karthik]

Vital is that if you have a 325i , don't ever test drive a car thats faster because then you have to drive yours again and its just not nice ??? . So if you've driven something faster , yes the 325i is not gonna do it for you , but if you use her in traffic and cruising around not really giving a heavy foot , she's perfect . Maybe a SUV ? I have no idea how you gonna get happy . X5 is where I would go , for that 4.4i or so

 

[hanopp]

i drove my dads 540i V8 for 2 years or so. 210kw, so yes the 325i feels a bit flat. one of the guys at the service shop said i should stay away from a 2nd hand X5.. its trouble, the maintenance is craze when over 120 000km.

 

[Karthik]

True , I say calm yourself down and enjoy your 325i . When the times right upgrade , not necessary now .

 

[Fordkoppie]

M cars sit a little lower than your car so getting an M3 is going to make the problem worse.

I can attest to the fact that an e46 M3 has more ground clearance than an individual/sport e46 330i

 

[Cole]

I have an audi a4, and the ground clearance is definitly better than bmw, however, I find the build quality of the body panels on the audi to be lacking..

when you wash the car, the bonnet and the doors "bend in" (obviously dont stay that way though) but just goes to show that their panels are not as rigid as bmw panels and so its likely to pick up dents far more easily (in weird places like my car has)...

this is a b7 audi compared to e90 bmw.

 

[ASH]

Slightly off the topic, but Topgear did test the (B7) Audi S4 sedan and E46 M3 coupe around their race track, and to my surpise, the S4 was quicker around the track. I saw the episode last week.

It does look a bit sedate though? :fencelook: But will be much safer to handle in the rain for the wife as well :thumbs:

 

[Sankekur]

M cars sit a little lower than your car so getting an M3 is going to make the problem worse.

I can attest to the fact that an e46 M3 has more ground clearance than an individual/sport e46 330i

Your driveway being the testing ground :rollsmile: :biglol:

 

[hanopp]

After thought and investigation, i spoke to an S4 owner, currently on his 2nd engine, another S4 owner on his 3rd engine, looks like audi over engineered, trying to catch up on the brilliant E46 M3, S4's being sold because of MAINTENANCE ISSUES, great car.. this is what one S4 owner had to say!!

" A lot of the first 253 Kw Audi S4 motors had problems mainly with the setup of the motor, engine management and the design of the cats. This was sorted by Audi over time, Audi acknowledged this. There are plenty of 4.2’s running around now even in the R8, S5, Q Series etc. Audi got ahead of themselves trying to catch BMW and over engineered.

Also a lot of chaps had themselves to blame , here was a V8 motor in 2003 that pushed 253kw in a ordinary road car , the first V8 in a sub Compact car. So all sorts of engine management system came out for it, they raced them with race fuel/second hand aviation fuel, then still leaded, blocked the cats the pressure blew back destroying motors"

I''ll stick with the 325i touring for now!!