hi all,

need a good, reliable daily drive. as much as id love an R8, practicality and available $$$ make it prohibitive.

so as a new member here, i've come to you guys for help.

my profile is female in early 30's ... married, no kids. i do about 20k kms per year and park in shopping centres daily, where people have little regard for other peoples cars.

i generally keep my cars 3-5 years and dont drive manual so in need of tiptronic or dsg

as you have probably gathered from my other posts hubby is in the market for an rs4 or upcoming m3.

rather than suggest what audi's im looking at, i thought id leave it open and see what you guys suggest. my budget is AUS$90-100k but as I approach the higher end reasoning tends to take me to a 325ci

looking forward to hearing your thoughts

cheers,

julie

 

it is hard to beat the A3 2.0T
It has the looks, the cargo capacity and wont break the bank. Buy it in black, black out the grill, rims and tint the windows. Its about as perfect of a Daily Driver as you can get for under 35k IMO.

 

I would say the new S5. I'm going to be getting rid of my M-Coupe for this car when it comes out. Only problem is that it won't be available with auto tranny til early next year I believe. That car would look really nice next to your husband's RS4 (which btw, I would take over the new M3 ANY day......especially after having had this M-Coupe )

 

a3 2.0t DSG, or a4 1.9tdi...

 

I know this is the Audi forum, but I would personally get a BMW 335 sedan. The A4 is a nice choice as well.

 

i would say either a auto 335 or 328 sedan with paddles, or a a3 if you want a hatchback...

 

appreciating the feedback so far.

interestingly no one mentioned the tt (coupe or roadster)?

hubby did suggest an s5 but thats a lot of money for my type of driving and may '08 delivery in auto is too far away. besides, dings from doors and trolleys and other cars is an occupational hazard for me and i'd hate to have others destroy such a beautiful car.

335ci are nice but if i stretch to that i may as well stretch to the s5 or 335ci convertible, all of which are out of my preferred price range.

a4 is kind of out as it's nearing it model life and i do need my car for 3-5 years, for most of which i'd like the shape to remain current.

so that leaves me with an a3 sportback (no sure which model - 2.0t dsg fwd?), r32 maybe, 325ci maybe?

more feedback please

julie

 

R32 is a great car. That would be my first choice just to drive something different.

 

any idea where the current model r32 is in it shelf life? mk5 right?

 

the BRAND NEW one just came out...fwiw

 

Yup, I agree, the R32 would be nice!

 

A3 is a sleeper!

I am thinking about adding one for the winter.

 

a3 is nice i can't wait till the 3door a3 comes out... looks like they pushed it back to 2010 though

 

A3 DSG - I think it would suit your needs perfectly.

 

i thought we already had a 3 door version of the a3?

will test drive sportsback model on weekend. should i be looking at the tdi or 2.0t model?

cheers,

julie

UPDATE:

drove a3 sportsback 2.0t dsg and tt 3.2 dsg coupe over the weekend.

a3 was a fun drive. comes quite sparse in std trim though, so necessary options would be metallic, roof, leather (cloth std ones look aweful), gps, wheels and audio upgrade which now make this quite an expensive car for an entry level audi. why coudnt audi just make a dsg s3 for people like me? main criticism of the car is that i found it quite loud (especially for rear seat passengers) and still not comfortable with a 2wd audi. would i buy one ... yes!

as for tt, i found it quite uninspiring. car looks gorgeous from the outside and goes very fast (remember girl here and yes i know its no rs4 )but found it to be very loud with this horrible rattle coming from the exhaust (was told that this is how its meant to be as it adds to its sporty appeal), steering too light (yes, i know its speed sensitive but still too light for me at speeds) and visibility poor (how does anyone see out of this car?). why anyone would buy this car over a 325ci makes no senses to me. would i buy one ... no!

julie