ree

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cawimmer430

Got my new Auto Motor und Sport today. I didn't have time to scan it so here are the results of this comparison.



1st Place: Audi A4 (503/650)
The new A4 combines agility with good comfort and good handling. The new TDI is fuel efficient and powerful. A good car for a good price.

2nd Place: Mercedes C200 CDI (478/650)
Best comfort and quietest suspension of the trio, the best long-distance cruiser among the group. Good safety features and safe driving dynamics. The engine is not the most refined and is thirsty and the running costs are high.

3rd Place: BMW 318d (474/650)
Best driving dynamics of the group and good fuel eocnomy. The suspension is just too hard, the comfort too poor and the standard features are lacking. The engine is not very responsive and lacks spirited midrange power. The brakes are weak.



As usual, they mentioned that every car in this class has a certain character that appeals to different people.

The new Audi A4, being the newest, is obviously at an advantage. It combines great handling with good comfort. The suspension is reasonably comfortable but gets noisy on rough roads. The handling and agility are pretty good and you don't realize you're driving a FWD car do to the new weight distribution. The new TDI engine is the most refined in the group with the best response. In terms of safety the Audi is on par with the Mercedes, mostly because of the collision avoidance system. The torquey TDI engine is also now more fun to drive because torque steer has been mostly "eliminated".

The Mercedes C-Class was praised for its comfort and interior/suspension quietness. Here the Audi and BMW couldn't compete with it. The driving dynamics were described as being sporty and agile, but not as sporty as the competition, but still a good handling and easy to control car. The C-Class rear seats offered space for a "realistic" 5th person (apparently a 5th person in the Audi or BMW will be very cramped). Safety wise the C-Class was pretty much on top: Pre-Safe, Knee-Airbags etc. The engine delivered decent power but was criticized for lacking in refinement compared to the competition. The fuel economy also tended to be higher than that of the competition. Running costs are also very high.

The BMW 318d was the best-handling car in the group. Typical BMW driving dynamics make this car fun, which is only spoiled by the weak engine. The refinement is ok, but the engine response is not very good and the motor doesn't feel very eager. On the plus side, it's not as expensive as the Mercedes in price and running costs. Safety features were described as adequate. The brakes were criticized for lacking stopping power. What the editors didn't like about the BMW was the poor comfort. It's not a comfortable car because the suspension is very hard and geared for sporty driving. Occupants "bounce up and down" on rough roads.


All three cars were incidentally praised for high-quality interiors with the BMW having the best ergonomics. On both the Audi and Mercedes interior, the lowly positioned A/C controls were criticized. Apparently the C-Class had the "easiest to use" interface too followed by the Audi and then BMW.

ree

Hi Christian!! Can you merge our threads?

Would be just perfect! My scans and your translation!!

http://www.germancarzone.com/interna...tml#post261639

cawimmer430

Done.

Centurion

The A4 is whipping ass. I need to test drive it.

Just_me

I'm really thinking about the new A4 for my next car but since I tend to keep my current car for some more years then there are probably other new BMW's on the market that will caught my attention. Time will tell what I buy but I like the new A4, I just wish there were more intresting engine options.

Centurion

^^
More interesting engine options? I think Audi has superb engine options and there are many more engines for the A4 to step into the day light the coming 6 months.

Just_me

Im just tired of those 1.8 T engines. 2.0T is nice though but I want them more fuel efficient, for instance this engine:

http://www.germancarzone.com/a4-s4-r...uper-test.html

Mr. Mercedes

MB and their damn outdated engines!

At this stage I would pick the A4...superb all round!

ree

Yep!! They definitely need to update their 4-cylinder engines! The 6-cylinder diesel engines are great - powerful and with a good fuel economy. But those 4-cylinders...