Junius

Yeah while the A8's ride quality is not the cushiest, it does not ride jerky or harsh whatsoever. Dynamic mode is what I keep it in mostly in the city, and it still is wonderfully manageable. Comfort is a dream on the highway. I've had people ride in my car, which now is 11 years old, and compliment on how my car rides tons better than their 2 year old BMW or brand new Acura. They also love my Amaretto interior, which always gets stares and compliments. Very well built car and will ride more compliant and majestic compared to the S4.

Christian Gordon

Wow this post got real popular real quick. Thank you all much for your input. I dont think I've gotten a single response on my post in the S4 section yet. I read someone still loves their D3 after owning it 10 years... Wow. I wasnt old enough to legaly buy a car 10 years ago. These must really be special. I've ready about the timing chain failures on the S4 and that is scary. I'm leaning more toward the LWB models because of the standard rear shades and availability. I'd love a SWB if I can find one in budget. Also the 07+ are rare in my price range but I will definitely keep an eye out. I think you guys have answered just about all my questions about the abilities of the D3 and with very little bias. Thank you all. Any and all shopping tips will be appreciated... Just wish Audi made one in Red lol. The S4's are available in red.

Pothole5000

The S4 uses a different 4.2 and have more issues than the A8 4.2, also the D3 interior is way nicer than the B6.

MP4.2+6.0

If I were looking for ground zero of timing chain issues on 4.2's, the S4 is exactly where I would look. Oh, if I were looking for FSI valve fouling issues on Audi V8's, ditto. Yep, aside from that Mrs. Lincoln, the play was great...

The analogies on the D3 are probably the control arms, the trunk lid and the air ride. But all are now pretty well understood and seldom leave folks either stranded or a "step one, remove motor" scenario.

D3 ride, jittery. That's a laugh. The 04's did have slightly stiffer baseline roll bars that I think were toned down a bit for 2005. But this is a guy who took his 2006 W12 on factory 20's and installed S8 level bars to tighten it up some. Frankly, I can't believe most any maintained D3 won't feel smoother than most any S4, maybe more so it its a cabrio with the added body groans, flex, hop, etc. Audi does a nice job with them as convertibles go, but it is never going to be as tight.

Back seat. No worries on an S4 if you are either a three year old in a car seat or a double amputee. After than, not remotely close. Essentially S4 cabrio has a quasi pretend back seat and essentially is a two seater for adults except for quasi emergencies. An A8 anything is ginormous by comparison. I know having looked at cabrios a few times in past for my wife's interest at the intersection of convertible and AWD. Of course correspondingly, any D3 class car (or XJ, Merc. S, 7 series, etc.) is a land yacht, so you are in quite different size categories here. Much more splitting the difference would be a later A6 4.2 or S6. S5 convertible had a little more room and later design, but I'm guessing above your current price bracket.

dvs_dave

Red was an option. Good luck finding one though.

hookooehoo

I just came from a B5 S4 w/ a 6 spd. I was rear ended while at a stop light and the accident totaled my S4, so I was sent looking for a new ride as i couldnt find an S4 that was in as nice a condition as mine and in my price range (what insurance gave me. lol)

Anyways, my 2 cents on both cars:

S4 was WAY more fun to drive for me, mainly due to the 6 spd, i prefer manuals over autos. The ride was defiantly sports car stuff, but i didnt mind it. She handled the curves and speed like it was nothing. As someone else mentioned, the S4 does have a timing chain and if something in that fails, normally its the tensioners or guides, then your looking at around 5k to pull the motor and do the repairs. The guides are plastic and where known to crack and break if the tensioner started to fail. But you can replace the plastic guys with the RS4 metal ones.
I only had my S4 for 6 months before it was totaled, but i put 15k-20k miles on her in that time and loved every mile! I didnt have any mechanical issues either.
I will say that space is a little tight compared to the A8L, so depending on your intended use, that could swing you one way or another.
I was getting 18-20 mpg around town and 24-27 mpg on freeway runs.



I have had my D3 for about about 2 months and have put about 5k miles on her and love it! As for my D3, since i couldn't find a replacement S4 i liked, i decided to look at a little bigger car for more room, since the family is getting bigger. (Keep in mind this is my work car, so its not my main family ride. But a little more rear passenger space so my daughter had leg room is nice)
Mine rides like a dream, my MMI system was dead when i bought the car, so I haven't been able to play with the settings, but from what I can figure out it is 'stuck' in the Auto setting. Freeway drives are smooth, i love the air suspension, but defiantly not as sporty as the S4.
I do love the extra space, smooth ride and everything the A8L encompasses. Also as someone said, the liquid damage to the MMI controls is an issue. I am dealing with fixing my MMI system.
The 4.2 definitely gets her up and moving with little effort. I catch myself doing well over 80 mph a lot since she is so quite gets going a lot faster then you would think for a big body sedan. As also mentioned, this car does have some gremlins, the MMI liquid issue, trunk motor & slow close cable, auto sensor for headlights and air suspension can be issues, but none of those would stop me from buying an A8 again.


the D3 and S4 are night and day different cars, I love both, but for me to say one is better then the other is hard, to me its comparing apples to oranges. If you want a fast, sporty, quick car that is can be a sleeper the S4 is your car. But if you want a little more comfort, room and 'high end luxury' the A8L is your car. I say you cant go wrong either way, but for me it would come down to your intended use.

Let us know what you get.

TSHong

Obviously the S4 is the sportier than the A8 vs the luxury of the A8. Depends on what you want more or use more often. If you buy an A8, the interior is so much nicer than an S4. I have never driven a 4,.2 D3 but the W12 is plenty fast for me. It wont handle like the S4 because of it's size but to me the every day comfort wins out. They are two different cars for two different purposes but for me the classic beauty of the D3, interior, and ride of the 3 wins out.

I use to drive in dynamic mode 95% of the time but more and more i find myself driving in comfort mode. I would never get one without ACC. If you look in 07 or later, the B&O is a fantastic sound system.

Christian Gordon

Aw dude you are just teasing me here... Wow that red S8 looks amazing... But Hookooehoo, thanks for that info. Thats exactly the kind of comparison I needed. I need to test drive both cars but I'm definitely leaning more towards the A8. The S4's timing issues are a very scary "what if" situation and the D3 doesnt seem to have any of those except the timing belt. Which seems MUCH less expensive to repair ($500 DIY vs thousands on the S4 timing) amd reliabilty of course is a primary concern with any car purchase... Especially used. Although I do plan to keep my CTS as a spare either way. Which makes me ask myself "Why do I need TWO sedans??" lol. Decisions decisions.

blankhopp

As the S8 W12 SWB is faster than the S4 I would aim for one of theese. Don't know how much they cost in the US doh.
The S4 cab is a heavy car due to the construction and heavier than both estate-/saloon-models at: 1,855 kg (4,090 lb)
D3 A8 is: 1,670–1,990 kg (3,682–4,387 lb) (W12 at the highest numbers)
I think the A8 handles really good. In any case I would choose a A8 over the S4 cab every day in the week. Even the sunny ones...

Darren Coogan

There was no W12 S8, only V10 in the D3.

The S8 is lighter and more nimble than the A8L, also faster than a B6/7 S4