Blake P

B8 A4 is definitely my next car!

oblu

I'm a pretty big Audi fan (own Q7), and when the dealers destroyed my initial enthusiasm for getting a C350, I resigned myself to waiting to see what the B8 would look like. Now I'm back on the C350 path.

I just don't see it. The B8 looks too much like a B7 for my tastes. It'll probably end up that I won't see a C350 in my driveway before I get to see the B8 in the flesh, so I may reverse course. But for right now I'm just not impressed.

What do all the B8 supporters see that I don't? 3/4 view proportions look weird. The 3/4 pictures I've seen have the character line running from high at the front to low toward the rear, making the butt look droopy. Front end looks exactly the same as a B7 to me. Interior looks like it suffers the same right knee clearance issue that the B6/B7 does. Which doesn't make me happy.

Sounds like they're loading the thing up with content though. Which could be good or bad. Our experiences with the Q7 so far, say that the more gizmos the more time I'm spending at the service dept.

PS. For perspective of where I'm coming from, I don't agree that MB styling is elegant and timeless. In fact until the current S and the new C, my opinion was that the styling was plain and lifeless.

Blake P

I think the B7 looks great, and the B8 is more of a "facelift" than major overhaul, in terms of styling. The front overhang has been shortened and looks better proportioned. The headlights make it look more aggressive. The interior has been redesigned to look much more updated and modern. I don't see any reason to complain. It's a homerun as far as I'm concerned.

oblu

I guess I was just expecting more.

Blake P

Well, the W204 C350 is more ugly!

aowhaus

Being an Audi and VW owner, I think it's styling is quite timeless, tasteful and teutonic. And it's interiors are class leading. I still get looks and complements from my almost 7-year-old B5.5 Passat (though it's modified) and still looks fresh and new and often gets mistaken for a new Audi model.
I agree the design direction of Audis is getting a bit too trendy with many styling updates through it's generation time span, but at least it's not as bad as BMW where it's styling is neither elegant nor timeless, infact I think their designs get dated fairly quickly.

When I first saw the W204 I wasn't really thrilled about it's design. I thought from the side looks really bland and not very German. But eventually the styling grew on me and the more I look at it the more I like it. If the W204 wasn't available with AWD, I would easily gone with an Audi.
I think the C-class will age very well and it's nice to know that Merecedes doesn't do many styling updates or redesigns to their models often, especially when I'm buying right when the new generation is introduced.

So back to the B8 A4, I think it's a nice design evolution. Much sleeker than the B7 and the awkward large front overhang has been remedied as shown here:

Bigcrown

Well, as the owner of a 2006 B7 S4, 2001 E46 M3 Convertible, and a soon to be W204 C350, I have to say that I love all 3 cars, but they do all have their drawbacks.

While there is quite a lot of anecdotes about the unreliability of Audis, I can say that having owned the above mentioned S4, along with an A3, and 2 Audi TTs, I have never had any serious problems with any of the cars- and I've driven a combined 200,000 miles plus on them. Problems I did encounter were small electrical problems: a messed up display on the A3, window issues on the TT, etc.. Personally, I find the interiors much nicer the the MB ones. MBTex standard on C and E class?? WTF... The red hued lighting inside is not AMBER or ORANGE as an earlier poster wrote, and I find it to be quite nice. Much nicer than the AMBER hued interior in my M3.

Yes this is my first post, and I don't want to be labeled an Audi lover, but I just had to share my experiences here on the board. Each brand has their merits, which is why I will soon own all 3

Blake P

All it needs is a drop and some nice wheels... game over!

RLE

I've driven a few Audis and know a few owners for whom I have respect and from that I would say Audi has built and is building some very good cars. Among those cars are an S4 V8, an S-6 V10 and an A8.

Even so, I prefer MB even with all it's problems and the disdain MBUSA shows for it's customers. Just yesterday I looked at a C350 being prepped for delivery and it made me wonder if I bought the right model. Black/black with 18's, just like the picture except unfortunately not a V-6 Bluetec diesel.

The picture was pinched from germancarzone dot com.

EKaru

Spoonie

Can't the same be said about the C-Class? What justifies the C-Class over the Acura TL?

Also, Audi has improved their reliability. Audi Ranks higher than MB BTW.

EKaru

With and without S-line treatment:

ismeto

no talk about too much for this ugly things

Spoonie

Nice interior.

Blake P

B8>e90>w204

csre4

no comparison
dont hesitate.
the c is a beast

want true audi performance?
go rs4
if not stay mb all the way man

Dema

clanosiris ,
Thank you for posting pictures and info. It looks like all automakers go step in step. So new A4 is a really nice car which can compete with big brothers as BMW and Mercedes. Is the new A4 on sale? It would be interesting to test drive it and compare to C.

Blake P

It will be available in the US starting next fall.

am2121

With a grill like that police lasers with pick you up miles away for speeding. Hope Audi buyers put some money aside for speeding tickets. They will need it!

BlackMercBenz

"Do not buy an Audi !!!"

- Scary coming from a friend who drives an '03 A4, bought it brand new.

Blake P

Alot of people would say the same thing about MB, BMW, etc. ...so what.

RBP

If the goal is to impress...then get an Audi R8. It's a little more money, but you still get quatto, a nice interior, decent acceleration and handling although only seating for 2. But damn near everyone will turn to look at you.

Leesi

Dema

You can impress with the same result and spending a little less. Saturn Sky is a good head turner.

RBP

So is a hot pink 1971 Ford Pinto...but I wouldn't want to drive one of those either.