Cbouts

Ok, I will probably get some flack for this BUT...

I have been the proud owner of a 2010 A4 Premium Plus 6speed for about 5 months now. its a great car, comfortable, professional, safe, and great traction in bad weather with all wheel drive.

I had previously owned a 2008 Saab 9-3 and I have to say, that it was more fun to drive then the A4. The 2 cars have the same HP but the Saab is about 600lbs lighter. I feel like it this is backwards and I was curious if anyone else felt like the A4 was a fantastic car but really not that much fun to drive??

Anyone have any ideas that might help?

-Bouts

E92MPower

Get some suspension mods and an ECU tune. Lighter wheels would also help give it a more lively feeling.

roger_1

About the only sports sedan which reviewers have found more fun to drive is the current 3 series. That's my experience as well. But the difference is not huge. I chose my 2014 Allroad over the BMW 3 touring.

I should mention that my Allroad has a superb 8 speed auto (with paddles) which, in my experience, makes the car far more fun to drive. Of course, it yours is manual, that's not a factor. Incidentally, my P-car is manual.

Was the Saab 9-3 front wheel drive? If so, that would be a real fun-kill for me. I do not enjoy spirited driving in FWD cars. Clearly, it's subjective; you loved yours.

Montfort

Never driven any kind of Saab and am new to Audi with my 2015 A4 2.0 6 SP. Best handling stock sedan I've experienced to date and have owned a number of them.

sly1

The only caveat that I would offer is to find the least expensive car that you enjoy driving, and never test drive more expensive cars because they will negatively affect they perception that you have of the lesser priced car. In my case I made that mistake about 30 years ago when I test drove my first 911. For those of you who don't own them, 911s are not only expensive to buy, but they are also expensive to maintain. Fortunately I found the 981S acceptable which saved me about $30K compared to the purchase price of a 991.

shs92645

Our A3 quattro sportback is a blast to drive. My '08 A4 was not - my '09 was better, but not great. My Buick Regal is a blast to drive - mine is fwd although they now come in awd. My engine is a 2.0T that came from SAAB when GM bought them a few years back.
All that said, I also work 2 days/week as a driver for a large Audi dealer and so I get to drive everything - all Audi models new and used. The A4 with 6spd manual is definitely fun to drive in my opinion.

sly1

I don't believe that the A4 was built with "fun to drive" at the top of the priority list. When I think of the A4 I think of a beautifully designed (interior and exterior), great handling, well built, and reasonably priced car that can comfortably accommodate four adults. I do agree with your assertion about light weight being a factor in handling, but an equally important factor is a car's center of gravity: the lower the better.

irenesbob

Was the Saab noisier than the Audi A4? Having owned many cars over my 70-plus years I have come to the conclusion that other factors add to perceived sportiness. Lots of engine noise, road noise and even stiffer steering give a sense of wow! Even though a light-effort car may actually handle better than the stiffer steering one, the perceptions we have as humans tells a different story. My old TR4 seemed way more of a handler than my 1970 Porsche 914, but the numbers told a different story. That 914 was so smooth you never really knew how well it took care of business. It beat every TR4 I ever came upon once we hit the twisties.

Nalod

Saabs with turbo lag was kind of fun.

2010 Avant and 2015 all road not nearly as fun as my 2007 BMW coupe 6MT sport set up.
But its not suppose to be.

Demo'd a MT S4. big fun!!!!!

Nothing was as much fun as my old 1974 narrow body 911 narrow body with 3.0 modified engine!!!

Lighter and stripped down. Love my Audi's!!!! All good!

E92MPower

Stripped down, modified '74, 911... now that would be a fun car for sure!