Cost aside, the new 2008 RS4 has some serious problems along with the entire audi lineup, with the exclusion of the new R8 and S5, that affect handling at high speeds. The audi cars have typically been front heavy, and in combination with the mechanical quattro system that does not utilize any differentials meaning the wheels can not experience a change in power if need be and are only controlled by torque. These two unique features of the audi create an understeering problem, where at high speeds will slam your car into the wall or off the track! The audi’s are notoriously always too heavy reducing their performance, but i guess that is what is required for 4 cup holders in the front seats of the cabin. At the street speeds, this understeering is not noticed as much and audi may appear to keep up with the new M3. However, on the track BMW will outperform the audi any day of the week providing the driver is skilled.

If you are having difficulty wrapping your head around the concept please watch TOPGEAR, where they compare the 2008 RS4 M3 & C63 AMG, or do some more research on why this $15’000.00 CAN less car is outperforming the audi. It all has to do with the balance and agility of the vehicle and the fact that BMW is a rear wheel drive car. Are F1 cars 4 wheel drive? Hells no because there are inherent performance advantages to having rear wheel drive cars and with the exception of the Bugatti Veyron or new Lambo, both of which i would take in a second but go through more gas than your grandma after a whole can of beans due to increasing the engine in order to have the best of both worlds. Also to make this clear, Bugatti and the Lambo both have way more advanced four wheel drive systems that have a larger rear wheel bias than the audi, so dont try argue that too me. Finally, driving the M3 is much more fun since you have to work a little more for the corners at high speed but then again the fear of slamming in to the walls from the understeering audi also gets the heart pumping.

Bottom line, The audi RS4 is a beautiful car and so is the M3. The audi is more practical and much safer accompanied by that higher price tag that goes along with it. It is also much easier to drive and does not require as much skill which is why on the streets you might see them destroy BMWs. I think people need to stop and appreciate what both cars have to offer and stop being so fanatical about their car companies since clearly it is clouding your judgement, A lot of people would be lucky to have either car…

I bought my first Audi this year and took it to the track as soon as the engine was ready for the push. It completly surprised me and I learned that it has more to give than I was prepared to use while maintaining control. The brakes were fantastic, the ESP got in the way a bit, the gearbox was smooth, the clutch just right, pedal placement good and had plenty of power. Steering was tight andthe heavy nose dived into the breaking zone and in general it understeered. Throttle steering was a must and the result was fantastic (lift the power and the feel the front come back in line). Grip and grab in the corners was fantastic and power through the corners used the quattro to thrust fowrad well. All this seems to make sense to me, the Audi has quattro that favors safety and the balance is toward the front.

And the interior is comfortable with a clearn layout and great sound.

I had an instructor for the two days who drives and brought his BMW. He drove the track a couple of times in my car, and I in his. Sometime on the second day he commented “I’m liking this Audi a lot”.

I continue to be pleased with the innovation and engineering that Audi develops in the front lines and how quickly they implement it in the models below. I have not once experienced buyer remorse.

P.S. BMW may have used AWD in the 80′s but it was not Quattro AWD type technology. BMW has only recently been using a simular AWD Quattro type technology in certain models. Audi incorporates Quattro almost exclusively in their vehicles. Correct me if I am wrong on this point. I will re-research it.

Also, if you just compare 0-60 times, then you can determine a winner in a straight. But honestly, how many people that own either an Audi or a BMW just want to go in a straight line? Put both cars on a track (I know the RS4 beat the E46 M3) and get the drivers feedback as to how the car feels (steering feedback, predictability, turn-in, acceleration out of a turn…) and compare the results of the drivers. I think that will yield the winner at least for the drivability aspect.

If you are just concerned with looks and comfort, then get your average Joe on the street to sit in the car and touch the textures and smell the smells and look at the pretty contours and determine whatever the heck an average joe wants from a car. Do pretty looks and pleasant textures and blah blah blah make a car what it is? I am going to have to say NO! It is how the car feels to a DRIVER that makes a car…a car.

So let’s take a poll. How many drivers out there prefer Audi? How many prefer BMW?

I choose BMW.

How much seat time do you have or are these decisions made based on the 10 minute test drive you got because you put on suit and looked grown for once?

I-6 (not V6) vs. V8. We know this. It’s a bigger engine in the Audi. The companies are trying to build the best car they can. Why not compare the M3 to the Honda S2000′s I-4? Because you don’t. What does each car do with what it’s got is the real question. To say Audi needs a V8 to compete (btw there is a move in all the luxury sports car segment towards V8′s for their unhurried, non-stressed, smooth power delivery) and what engine does the E92 (2008 M3) have…

Ok. Apples to Apples? Why bother? They are very different cars. Coupe without a ton of concessions to luxury- more focused. S4- a luxo ICBM, very nice interior (the kind of place you can spend time in during rush hour) but it can kick it into high gear when called for.

0-60 M3 4.4-4.8
0-60 S4 4.9-5.6

How often do you get to go 0-60? I know some guy with a Camaro is fuming right now. Stoplight Assasins.

No need to bring up the fact that neither car can compete with a stock vette- course they’d be a tosser in a vette, so that’s negated.

S4 better in the snow, rain, misty, gravel…we know this. Only a knob races in these conditions…it’s unsafe. However all things being equal- I’d rather not have to worry about my rear end sliding out in the wet.

Buy a winter beater? A second car? Maybe some people just want one car…which leads us to concessions.

S4 is a real car. It can do the track, but how many times do you track? My response to that guy is get a Miata and have real fun in SCCA (or better yet an s2000)

30-50 and 50-70- those are real stats that matter daily. Can you merge- can you beat the truck. The S4 wins on that count…so does the 335i for that matter but…

The M3 is more focused for the track. But it’s too heavy to be a track darling (the CSL however). S4 – you can track it but why? Drop $12K on a 2000 AP1 S2000 and learn to drive if you want to talk about the track.

The new M3 is even more like the S4/RS4 (from what I read). It’s 3800 lbs or so, but has 80 more hp…carrying 400 more lbs. Kills your hp/weight ratio.
Which btw is how you compare different cars. Because while the Lotus Exige is only pushing 200hp, it weighs less than 2700lbs, putting it in the 4′s.

Ok, now some tackhead is going drop a hemi in it. Not the point. A true sports car is light, agile, reactive, makes no concessions…neither the S4 nor M3 fit that bill in my book.

I own an S4. Had the money for the M3 but it wasn’t half as much fun as my old honda s2000- redlining at 9k, top down, feeling every seam in the road- that’s a sportscar…a roadster…and painful to go more than 30 miles in at a time. Now the new S2000 CR is hardcore- no AC, no radio. And I did track it in Jersey. It’s the real muther—–in deal. But a little too hardcore.

For style- the M3 is hard to beat, the lines are great, it’s got balls (to quote an old nissan commercial)
The interior is ok. It’s a GT though, not an all-out sportscar. Two doors are sexier than four though. From a stop, it’ll take an S4. On the highway, it’s a push, with a slight edge going to the S4. I won’t bring the wet/snow into this. The only goal then is to get where you’re going safely. However it’s easier to drive the S4 in bad weather. You can do it in the M3, snow tires will help.

S4 has. A snarl of a V8. The interior is second to none. The seats, recaros, fit like jean’s on Rosario Dawson’s backside. You get in the car and go…fast…no matter what the weather is doing. You can pass and weave at will- less work on the engine than in the M3, but ease and agility goes to the M3. It’s a four-door. Not sexy. Unless you’re the one going in the back seat. Or you need a child seat.

M3 does it all very well. However, unlike the S4 which is extremely utilitarian, there are better sports car choices.

Success is what you set out to accomplsh over how close you came to it- simple.

I think the S4 hits its intended mark more often.

The M3. Has been bested by th M-roadster, Vette and of course 911 (which unless you have the GT2 is heavier than Rosie O’donnel after an all you can eat buffet.)

Edge. Neither, they’re not in direct competition. I had to choose and I bought the S4. It’s more useful. Yes, the M3 looks badass- but for me it’s not a pure sports car. If a M-roadster or coupe or Lotus challenges you in the twisties you’ll figure out what a real sports car is.

Bring on the flamers (LOL). Just my opinion. Just a 30 y.o. surgeon with SCCA experience and a love of cars. I also hate watching you all flail about making piss poor comparisons.

Success- what you set out to accomplsh divided by how close you came to it.

Please tell me you’re kidding. You go from a 2000 “chipped” S4 to a 2006 RS4 and you are comparing it to your old S4. I’m absolutely speechless….I could not believe what I was reading. Big Rab, no one is buying this car thinking about how much gas it consumes…..I mean no one!!! The RS4 is not a commuter car…that’s what Honda Civics are for. That was the worst critisism of a car I have ever read. You basically said this car has more power than I could ever hope to handle while I’m running my errands between the mall and the grocery store…….see sounds ridiculous. Somebody please help me out here.

Last week my chipped 2000 S4 B5 was smacked from behind – imola yellow on a sunny afternoon obviously wasn’t bright enough for the clown to see it, and for the last 5 days I have been driving an RS4, courtesy of the insurer. I have covered 500 miles in the RS4, and it looks and sounds fantastic. Build quality is superb, and the handling is sublime. But it disappoints.

As an everyday car, at sensible speeds on typical Scottish A and B roads, it lacks the punch and aggression of the old S4 unless you screw the nuts off it. The power and torque are developed so high up the rev range compared with the turbocharged S4, the RS4 feels cumbersome and ponderous to wind up when you need to overtake someone doing 40 – unless you like driving around in 2nd and 3rd gear. And don’t even mention the fuel it guzzles, no matter how carefully you drive. I couldn’t believe my luck when I was lent the RS4 – my old S4 is due for replacement and the RS4 seemed like the obvious successor. Not for me. Unless you spend your life on the track or you own an oil well, you buy it for the noise and the good looks.