Originally Posted by
Shrugged
Hey Guys,
Just wanted to introduce myself - new member from Detroit.
Does anyone have experience going from a e46 330Ci to an A4 2.0T (six speed - sport suspension)?
Was it great? Was it a let-down? Any input would be great.
I'm probably going to lease, and throw an APR chip on it. Are there any other mods that you can do easily on a lease car? A CAI would be fun, but seems like it would void the warranty, or would mean that I have to pull it out every time I go in for service.
I'm a bimmer fanatic, but I
LOVE the look of the A4, and the deals they're giving out right now on the 2008s might be to good to refuse.
Here's my LONG experience.
I had the time, so I went on a crazed keyboard kicking session.
I had an E46 325i sport, manual sedan before getting my A4 2.0T manual.
The E46 coupes drive similarly to their sedan counterparts, although I prefer the BMW sedans to the coupes.
So, that said I REALLY liked my 325i sport. As you know the 3 needs the sport package to make it drive like a BMW should.
My A4 is optioned better than my 325i was. The biggest difference is my A4 has leather and a better audio system, and you get a 6 disc in-dash CD.
Back to driving dynamics. My A4 is a quattro, manual, 2.0T, with the sport suspension and "package" (S-line).
The 3 had better handling, and better ride control. However, the differences are marginal as the A4 is up above the norm as well.
If the BMW rated a 10 the A4 rates a 9.
The steering and feel of what the tires are doing communicates more in the BMW. I also prefer the slightly higher effort BMW steering, not in terms of effort to turn the car, but in terms of the more direct feel of turning the wheel. I know that early E46's suffered from overactive steering boost, but that was fixed before my 2003 325i.
The BMW also has better mid-turn bump control. When entering a turn you feel the tires and suspension. If you hit a bump or dip you feel the suspension simply work, there is no chatter or odd feel.
My A4 does "kick" a bit on mid-corner bumps and dips. You do feel it in the steering wheel, and the feeling sometimes feels like a light "shudder" through the wheel, and as if the wheels did leave the pavement for a split second. Overall, that's that 1/10th difference I was referring to.
The ride on both models is excellent. The A4 has a nicer ride on high speed highway/smooth roads. It feels buttoned down with no hint of float even at a steady 100mph. Same goes for the E46 3 series, although I did feel as if the BMW had a bit more "bouncy" quality to that type of driving.
Over most road surfaces the BMW's suspension tuning is better. It handles little bumps and dips with no odd feel. You feel the tires go up and over the bump smoothly. The A4, sometimes, feels a bit overly aggressive on rebound. The wheel goes over the bump, but instead of smoothly coming back down the bump, the tire tends to want to "slam" back down, which is usually aggressive rebound valving.
Still, these are not extreme differences, but noticeable for me.
It's apparent that the A4 sport suspension isn't that far off for me as I did get the A4 over the E90 330i sedan, which I was testing at the same time.
The A4 is quieter at speed than the E46, and the E90 is quieter than the A4, and it's MUCH quieter than the E46.
Braking is a vastly improved area in the B7 A4. The B5 and B6 had lackluster brake "feel". The pedal had too much useless pedal movement that did nothing, which leads to a feeling of "loose" brakes, or sloppy brakes. The E46 brakes had very little play before engagement, and once engaged more pedal pressure gave more braking. Control was a smidge better in the E46 compared to my B7 A4's brake feel.
Overall, the A4 feels to brake faster, and it's very smooth and linear. The pedal has a nice feel, just a smidge less play would make the overall system better than the BMW's. BTW, the E90 3 series feels very much like the E46 in handling, ride, braking. The E90 is quite a bit quieter and more powerful than the E46. So, I'm comparing the A4 to the E46 and E90 as the E90 was in the line up of my next car.
Manual transmission in both cars is ok, nothing special. The B7 A4's manual is greatly improved over the previous generation. Overall fell is better than the E46. Where the A4 rates a 10, the E46 would rate an 8.5-9
There are 2 main reasons for that. The clutch in the E46 has a very odd friction point. There is excessive off the floor movement before the clutch engages, but the engagement point is hard to judge in the BMW, as it's easier to judge in the A4. The E46 clutch pedal has an easy fix though and make it better than stock. But, the A4 clutch is a bit nicer and more linear. The shift lever moves just as easy in both cars, but the A4 has a more solid 'notch' gate as to let you know, "ah, the gear is selected."
The E46 shifts fine, but is so soft that sometimes you wonder if you actually are in the gear you just put it in. Overall, I like the A4 manual more than the E46/E90, but both work quite well. In the 3 years with the BMW I only had a small number of mis-shifts during hard fast driving.
I've had less in the A4.
Power. The 2.0T is a bit faster and has a torquey'r feel to the 2.5 liter in line 6 of the 325i. The 2.0T feels in between the 2.5 and the 3.0 of the BMW. With software the 2.0T feels nearly as powerful as the 330i.
The E90 330i is more powerful, and the 335i is VASTLY more powerful.
But, comparing the 2.0T and the 330i, you don't lose much in the 2.0T, and with software you're about there and you feel more torque with the software 2.0T.
RWD vs. Quattro AWD. RWD is a lot of fun and lends a certain feel to the driving that is very organic and familiar to anyone who learned how to drive in older cars that have RWD. In the E46 the RWD is nicely balanced as the rear wheels drive and the front wheels steer. That's a major reason why the BMW 3 is so loved. Since the front wheels have no power applied to them, they are left to only steer the front end, thus by nature giving the car a more "neutral" feel with much less tendency to understeer.
The RWD config also lends to better weight placement front to rear.
With traction control and ABS, RWD can do ok in bad road conditions and snow. I drove through 3 Chicago winters on high performance all season tires, and only once had a problem, which was mainly my not paying attention. I never found I needed snow tires for my 3. All seasons worked great as most of the time the snow on the roads was cleared very quickly.
My A4, on the other hand, is a REVELATION. Where as RWD is a surfer standing up to a Bull, Quattro/AWD is a Spanish bull fighter in front of the bull. You KNOW you have more control over the road with AWD.
Even in nice warm dry road conditions, AWD makes driving hard fun as you feel the tires working all around you. It's a different feel than the RWD, but it's just as competent and fun.
As far as other things, I'm more comfortable in the A4 as it has a bit more shoulder room and overall room. However, the A4 seats can NOT compared to BMW's sport seats. I LOVE the BMW sport seats and I miss them a LOT, especially when driving hard in corners. My A4 seats are comfy enough, but have no place in a sport packaged "sport sedan".
Both cars look great. I prefer the E46 over the E90. The A4 is also nicer than the E90. The E46 and A4 both have a classic timeless look.
The new B8 A4 looks like a nice evolution of the B7. The E90 was more of a departure from the E46.
I get a tad better MPG in my A4 than I did in my 325i. Performance software will get you a more mpg when you drive "normally".
Still, I don't notice my mpg going down that much at all even when driving hard.
So far, I haven't had any "let downs" from the A4 compared to my previous 325i sport. I can say my servicing Audi dealer is a lot cooler than my BMW servicing dealer. I didn't buy my BMW or Audi from the local dealers that get paid to maintain them. The BMW dealer wouldn't give me loaner cars, just rides. They said the loaners were for "their customers.
My Audi dealer understands that I'll be back in the market every 3 years, and since I've got a loaner every time, even when they just change my oil, if I go with Audi next time, I'll pay a bit more to buy from that dealer.
But, that's a dealer issue not a BMW or Audi issue. Loaner car programs are dealer provided not manufacturer provided.
Have fun shopping. I always do.
The new B8 A4 is coming soon, and it'll be every better than the B7 A4, more power, better handling.
Either car E46, E90, A4 is sweet. No one should complain about the car they drive if they get to drive a BMW 3 series or an Audi A4 every day.
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks