# C&D M3, S4, C32 Comparo....Audi comes out on top



## Stuka (Jul 17, 2002)

I have not bothered paying money to subscribe to any of our home grown car magazines for preceisely this reason. Raw and harsh ride along with cloth seats are considered bad in a sports car?:rofl: :tsk: And this is coming from a CAR magazine?:thumbdwn: 

Save your money and vote with your wallet. Buy/subscribe to CAR or EVO, the real car magazines for car enthusiasts, without the "SUV Shootout" piece that you see all the time in our home grown crapola car rags.

Go pick up a copy of Car and compare it side by side to our own car mag, the photography and the writting is like comparing that of WSJ to that of some high school newspaper.:rofl: :thumbdwn: 

Car and Evo all the way.:thumbup: :bigpimp: 

Andy
02 M3 CB/Cloth SMG


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## Guest (Apr 8, 2003)

JPinTO said:


> *The Audi certainly doesn't have the in-your-face looks of the M3! It's a very sedate machine visually, barely distinguishable from it's lower kin unless you are in the know. There's no question, BMW certainly knows how to do body kits.
> 
> That may not be a bad thing in a machine that scorns speed limits. *


On this point, I prefer the Audi approach. I vote sleeper every time.


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## Alex Baumann (Dec 19, 2001)

S4 may have the 'sleeper' look, but the RS6 is in no way a sleeper car. I saw a few of them on the road, at the traffic lamps, it looks more aggressive and bulky than the M cars and is far from being a sleeper.

So, I don't think that that's just a BMW thing.


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## JPinTO (Dec 20, 2001)

TD said:


> *On this point, I prefer the Audi approach. I vote sleeper every time. *


Agreed!


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## a.k.a. Jorg Muller (Apr 3, 2003)

*perfect for me*



 nate328Ci said:


> *Complaints: raw, hard ride, heavy clutch, and cloth seats. They really must be geezers :rofl:
> 
> The S4 only gets 58mph in the lane change. A 328Ci on all seasons could do that :rofl:
> 
> Strange that the provide such a stripper M3. No sunroof, no leather, no power. For some that would be perfect though... *


Perfect for me, only options are xenon and HK. Less cost,less weight,more helmet headroom,when I yank the seats for Cobras I won't have wasted a lot of money, and hopefully I can lighten more in areas like battery and my lard a** and make up for the weight added when a rollbar goes in.


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## Jet (Mar 21, 2003)

*13.6?*

Did they start in second? Perhaps they'll take the rock out from underneath the gas pedal next time.


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## SteveMedina (Apr 4, 2003)

Guarantee this.....guess how many audi's I'll see at the track this weekend.....

None:neener:


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## webguy330i (Jan 9, 2002)

Unbelievable. 

One minute the M3 outhandles the S4, another the S4 has 2 additional points for, wait this is the best part, handling. 

I dig the S4, but please, not only did they test 2 sedans vs. 1 coupe, but the M3 is known to be "raw and quite loud", it is NOT a refined vehicle! You want refined? Go get an M5 or hell even a 540i. This is quite possibly the worst comparison ever. 

I'd also like to state that the following must have only been inherent to their test M3, as the 5 M3's I've driven have never exhibited any of these issues: 

- odd "death rattle" from engine 
- grunting auto-leveling xenons 
- the clutch being a "workout" (this is just plain lame, it's a SPORTS CAR) 

One additional note: if they wanted leather they should have ordered it! It'd still be cheaper than the C32 and would include the moonroof/etc.

I think it's very odd that the S4 with its 60/40 front/rear weight distribution wasn't tagged as an "understeering pig". Especially at over 3800lbs. And some thought the M3 was heavy... 

I smell payoff... :tsk:


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## SARAFIL (Feb 19, 2003)

webguy330i said:


> *I smell payoff... :tsk: *


Audi must have bought a bigger chunk of their advertising budget than BMW this month... hmmmm....

:eeps:


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## pdz (Nov 17, 2002)

nah, while i am sure that people have their suspicions, this is less about audi being so great as it is a snub at bmw for failing to put a v8 in the m3.

they do like the AWD handling of the audi and i'm sure they did their homework on it. but it's still 3800 pounds. but i'd argue that 2 more cylinders and a lot more torque and a 7000rpm redline make up a lot of that up.

in the end, this seems more likely about a sweet v8 than anything else. and many of us have secretly questioned their decision to stay with the inline six, especially only displacing 3.24 litres.

having that v8 able to rev that high really eats into the high rpm advantage of the M motor.


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## Jay (Mar 28, 2003)

*Good article.*

Thanks for posting the article.

I think they did a pretty good job of reviewing the E46 M3. Generally, it is noisy and rides poorly.

There is a difference between riding hard and well and riding hard and poorly. The M3 rides hard and poorly. It is hard to describe, but it is bouncy and not very well controlled. The C5 Corvette that I own rides much better than my M3 - but it is not a soft ride, just a good ride.

In my opinion the E46 M3 has a better engine than the previous generation M3, but the ride and handling have deteriorated compared to the previous generation. I think C&D is complaining about this regression in ride and handling compared to the last M3.

The article has made me very interested in the S4. It sounds fun to drive. I wish it wasn't so bland looking, though. I think it needs something extra compared to the regular A4 on the exterior.

Jay


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## pdz (Nov 17, 2002)

i wonder what these same guys are going to say about the 330 ZHP suspension.

i wonder how different the two cars are tuned.


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## Jon Shafer (Dec 15, 2001)

Kewl!

A post from lk....

:thumbup:


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## webguy330i (Jan 9, 2002)

___lk___ said:


> *does anyone wish they just bought one of these instead...?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Actually... :thumbup:


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## PhilH (Jun 7, 2002)

I just read the article this morning (I waited until I got my copy of the magazine to read the whole thing).

It really makes me interested in the S4 as well. The V8 does seem to be the big attraction, no matter what they say about how well the Audi handles. However, the weight issue and the back seat with less usable space than an E46 makes me think twice.

I guess I'll see what the E90 is like when the time comes, but it's nice to know there's good choices out there.


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## pdz (Nov 17, 2002)

yup.

their first sentence re: audi was all about the v8.

but their conclusions throughout the article, as to how a perennial worldbeater lost by 6 (SUBJECTIVE!!!) points speaks to the depth of competition. which is great for car buyers.


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## JST (Dec 19, 2001)

___lk___ said:


> *does anyone wish they just bought one of these instead...?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Nope:


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## pdz (Nov 17, 2002)

C&D hasn't done one of those since forever. too expensive, maybe? maybe it embarassed too many manufacturers?

but TopGear or CAR still do that Top 100 cars and the Top 100 sports cars still.


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## JST (Dec 19, 2001)

pdz said:


> *C&D hasn't done one of those since forever. too expensive, maybe? maybe it embarassed too many manufacturers?
> 
> but TopGear or CAR still do that Top 100 cars and the Top 100 sports cars still. *


Yeah, looking at the roster, only the C5, Boxster and NSX are still around. It's definitely time to do another; maybe once the RX-8, STi and Evo come out.


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## Mr. The Edge (Dec 19, 2001)

JST said:


> *Yeah, looking at the roster, only the C5, Boxster and NSX are still around. It's definitely time to do another; maybe once the RX-8, STi and Evo come out. *


The Cooper S will probably win
:neener: :neener:


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