The car is solid, the styling is way ahead of its time for 1996, interior and instrument cluster are nice, comfort features, such as heated seats are great on those cold mornings, 6 disk changer in the trunk

Costs alot to keep up, problems so far, AC Clutch, AC Compressor, AC evaporator, front control arms, check engine light is very senstive goes off over no reason at all, could have used sport seats, seems a little under powered around town, really could use a 6th gear on the highway, engine revs somewhat high for 85mph

i absolutely love my 1996 Audi A4. By far the best styling, for its time. Bought it a little over a year ago with 100K, it now has 120K. Been through a few minor problems so far, and one major. Other than that i cant complain this car has incredible handling, especially with the 17's and Pilot Sport Tyres. Since owning this car there is no way i will go back to anything other than an Audi, thats how much i love it,The car is a little bit of everything, sport sedan, with the luxury features. Looking to upgrade this summer to a 2000 Audi S4..

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BMW 328Ci

-Quattro -comfortable -ride as smooth as a baby's behind -very good throttle response--not the best, but still impressive

You need $$$$$$$ to keep this car up!! And you need your own repair know-how. Routine maitnence takes forever. When I bought this car, I counted on between $1000 to $2000 in yearly maitnence, cause it is an expensive car new. After 5 months, I have spent close to $2,500 in repairs and maitnence, and there is another $1000 waiting to be done (I have no money anymore). -Timing belt/water pump change/tune up cost $950 -Clutch replacement cost $950...bad throw bearing at 90,000 miles. -bad Idle control valve. Cleaned it myself, but that only worked for a week. New one: $200. Pain in the butt to get in and out. -Power steering pump is shot. $500 needed for replacement. -Slow leak in the brake lines. Only God knows what that could be. -Door latch cable came loose. Gonna fix today. Minor pain in the butt. -Climate control display backlights burn out constantly.

Sigh. Got the V6 Quattro version. What a beautiful, great car...when I have it. Most of the time, however, my mechanic has it, which is unfortunate. Although I can't imagine a more fun car to drive, I also can't imagine a car being more of a headache in the repair department. Quattro AWD is beautiful...best feature among many good ones on this car. I will NEVER go back to 2 wheel drive after this! Seats are comfortable, interior is gorgeous and quiet, Bose premium sound is above average, although there's still not enough low-end bass. Problems have nagged me from the beginning, but if you have repair money and a litle technical know-how, you can fix many things yourself. Fun car.

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Noting even half as good in drivability. Nothing even 1/4 the price of repairs.

i like the way it looks,handles and how comfort it is.

very unrealable car. i had galant before with 140,000 didn't even have one problem.

i love the car and always wanted to have one. it basically was dream come true. i love the it looks and the way it handles. i love a lot about this car but there is but. everything has its limit.i had this car for over a year. when i purchased the car it had 39,000 miles. almost after a week my investments have occured. i already spent over $2,000 and i don't think that is the end. the car started jurking on low rpms and i already know that it is going to cost a lot ot fix it. i love the car but i will NEVER buy it again.

Good Handling, power, amenities

Seats have no thought invovlved, no side support for cornering, short seat length no seatside support. You basically flop around when conering and it takes it out of you. I hate the car soley because of the seat and will sell and take a loss. Audi as a company aslo sucks and showed no willingness to work with me.

I like the car but it is absolutely the worst seat I have ever sat in, I feel twisted and can't drive it more than 30 mins. Should have bought the BMW

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Bigwheel

Interior fit and finish. Mix of materials works beautifully. Exterior shape with 17" wheels. Drive feel. Overall quality is fantastic. This is a premium vehicle for not much more than an Accord or a Passat.

None so far.

After twenty years of driving average vehicles, it's a privilege to finally drive a precision German machine. If you appreciate cars, it's understandable why the Big Three are losing market share year after year. Maybe after another two years and ton of repair bills I'll be griping about the poor build quality, but for now, I find excuses to leave the office or house just to spend time enjoying the driving experience. I've had the car two months and have put 10,000 miles on it. Even rush hour doesn't seem as bad inside the A4 cabin. Yeah, I guess if I'd had a few extra bucks I would've sprung for the 3.0, but the 1.8 gets the job done, expecially on the highway where I spend most of the time and I figure I'm lucky to have any A4, so don't push your luck for a 3.0. If I had the opportunity, I couldn't see changing a thing on the car. The seats are comfortable, the streering wheel is great, the dash is beautifully laid out, it seats four adults without a hassle, the trunk is well sized for a sport sedan, the Quattro gives great control in the snow and with the 17" wheels, the car looks like a million bucks. I always thought the 3 Series with the 17" rims was the best looking vehicle around, and maybe the M3 still is, but the A4 is exceptional. I hope I'll still be finding excuses to take it for a spin five years from now when it's finally paid for.

The car looks three times better than a 96 3 series bmw.

The car is slow! and what on earth was audi thinking to put a 12v engine in a 3,000 pound car?

I love the way the car looks. I've spent over 5,000 on this car since I bought. I've spent rougly 1,500 on servicing. But the check engine light comes on every other month. The Abs light turned on for the first time in the summer. One year of owning the car. AFter that it came back on again to tell me the rear sensors went bad. This car needs some fine tuning but its not a car for someone who is not enthusasist. After owning this car I am a regualr customer at my service shop.

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The interior is very well done, the fabric seats are firm, hold you well and are very comfortable. In fact they look and feel better than the leather. The road holding and feel are excellent too, you feel absolutely secure, wherever you point, it goes. I have seen some comments about CVTs and turbo lag leading to hesitation on acceleration. Well the turbo lag is certainly not like the effect felt on the Passat, but there is a certain delay in some circumstances. I do not know if it is the CVT, the turbo lag, or the fly by wire throttle, but if you are crawling along in traffic, then try to punch the throttle to get in to the next lane, there can be hesitation. It seems that the car’s electronics was in economy mode while crawling along and got “surprised” by the sudden request for power. I get round this by moving to Manual mode, going to first and then accelerate – whoosh you’re gone! In all other circumstances the CVT is fabulous, smooth and fast. It looks great and gets lots admiring comments.

The only real disappointment is the standard stereo, its sounds bland and lifeless, not the quality I would expect.

My options for buying a new car this July were between a Passat 1.8T, Honda Accord EX, and the Audi A4 1.8T with CVT. The Passat suspension seemed soft and “floaty”, particularly noticeable when driving the automatic combined with turbo lag. The car would take off all of a sudden, I would back off the throttle, the suspension gave this fore and aft roll and I was doing a lurching bunny hop down the road! I was very close to buying the Accord, it had excellent build quality and fully loaded with toys. Much better put together than the Nissans and Subarus I had previously discounted. Then I test drove the Audi and it was so much fun to drive. It was impossible to leave the showroom without it. This was a heart versus head thing. The Honda was just as well built, and $3,000 cheaper, loaded with more goodies like leather, and sunroof. But it was boring to drive, just no feel of the road. You just get in the Audi and you know its right, just point and shoot, its so much fun it ought to be made illegal.

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If I had to describe this car in one word, it would be: smooth. With the V6, it's got plenty of pull through all six gears (I got the 6spd stick). The engine is free-reving, and never sounds like it's straining. The interior is second to none, with tons of small touches that I was still discovering weeks after I brought the car home (hint: bet you didn't notice the red LED spot lights that shine down on the center console when the headlights are on). To put it simply, the A4 interior is just a great place to be. The trunk is even nice.

As I mentioned, the I A4 is great, but not perfect. It's tight fit for the driver and his pals. I'm less the 6 feet tall, and I still don't have much breathing room. And let's just say I fear for the safety of my right knee-cap in an accident (on your test drive, pay attention to where the key fob is when in the ignition). And at what position is the center arm rest actual comfortable for the driver? If you find it, please let me know. Also, the stock suspension is a little soft when going through the twisties, but that's partially my fault for not springing for the sport package.

I've had my A4 3.0 for about two months and while it isn't a perfect beast, nothing else I drove even came close. I must say that if you are looking at an A4, don't even consider the 1.8t engine. It's underpowered and has horrid turbo lag. And forget about the "mod" chips, bolt-ons and the like. They make the car a bear to drive everyday and void you warranty (I came from a 95 Mustang GT, so I know a bit about bolt-ons...). I had to scrape, beg, and borrow to get the V6, but I'm infinitely more pleased. Test drove the Lexus IS600, which had a bit more aggressive feel (if you're coming from a Mustang GT like I was, that might woo you), but it was too "boy-racer" for me. Not to mention poor winter weather performance (check the many IS websites to read the horror stories). The Infiniti G35 has the same problem. I came very close to getting an Acura TSX, but it's really just an inferior car next to the A4. There was no excitment to be had on the throttle below 4500 rpm. It's interior was cheap-looking in comparison, and let's not even discuss the TSX's sound system (as soon as I hear bass distortion, I'm out of there). The BMW 3 series was nice, but to get the xi model (with AWD) you've got to climb into the $40k range. The A4 was priced right, had great financing, and in my opinion is the best looker of the bunch. Throw in quattro and 4 years of free maintenance??? It's a no brainer. In my A4, I smile constantly while on the road and look for excuses to drive. As Ferris Bueller so aptly put it, "It's so choice. If you have the means, I highly suggest picking one up."

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Lexus IS600, Infiniti G35 sedan, Acura TSX

Peppy, fun to drive, classy great in ALL weather conditions, fun to drive, did I say that already?

I don't know if it's my dealer, I am too picky or what but I expected better quality form a 30k+ automobile. The radio and the front tweeters have been replaced at 25k. The radio stopped changing stations by its self but the tweeter keeps cutting in and out, there must be a short but the dealer says they cannot diagnose that or fix a short. I think its bs. The sun roof cover rattles over bumps which the dealer cannot reproduce to fix. I have the leatherette seats which needed to be replaced because the leatherette started to crack. I had coils go out twice which caused me to get the car towed, twice! The dealer tells me I am the only one who has had this much trouble. HMMMM is it true? I also replaced the shifter knob twice because the chrome keeps coming off and cutting my hand.

This car handles great and is really fun to drive (when it is not in the shop) for a 4 banger thanks to the turbo. The Quattro is amazing and I can see why it was banned form certain races due to the "unfair advantage" it possessed over competitors. The snow here in MI is not to bad but the A4 cuts through the worst storms and snow 1-2'; like a hot knife through butter. The ride is a bid stiff but expected from a sporty car. A bit of wind noise is a little annoying from what I think is just a bad seal from the weather stripping on the front pass. door at 70+mph which the dealer says they cannot fix. The easy fix.. Crank your favorite tunes and keep an eye out for smokey. ;-) I have owned this car for 1 1/2 years and have 42000+ miles on it, so I do love to drive it but I have a few complaints that prohibit me from buying another one though, unless there is a good REAL deal on a 2004 S4 or RS6, see weaknesses. Over all fun car to have at least untill the warranty wears out.

Fit and finish, styling, Quattro, 5spd

Low end torque

Compared with my previous BMW 328, this car was superior in virtually every way. The fit and finish were outstanding. Interior and exterior styling were the best. Handling with Quattro is sticky.

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