Hi everyone... I'm new to this message board and wanted some of your input. I'm currently thinking of purchasing a sports sedan. Right now I own a '97 Mustang GT (5 speed), but I think I'd like something a little more sophisticated. The 2 cars that stand out the most are the A4 and the new Lincoln LS V6. As far as the A4 is concerned, I was originally thinking of the 2.8 Quattro, but 1.8T's price is hard to beat. I was wondering what the power in this car was like having only 150hp? I saw the ARP? site about the chip and was wondering how big the difference was. Keep in mind I'm used to a V8, although not that powerful (215hp) by muscle car standards, it has more than enough power for passing and merging (I do a lot of highway driving).

Thanks in advance

Mike D.

 

The best advice would be to go test drive the cars in question. Undoubtedly, you are going to find pro-A4 sentiment here... it is to be expected (I wouldn't expect the guys at corral.net to tell me to buy a TA). If I were you, I'd buy the Audi.

Justin Glatz
BMW 850
[R]Mitsubishi Eclipse
Suzuki Katana GSX 600

 

Hey Mike,

Welcome to the forum...anyway, I have a 1998 1.8T and I chipped with a Wetterauer 1.0 bar chip (BTW, Wett has great customer service, ask for Kelly Kay)...it's supposed to add about 50HP to the stick 150 for a total of 200HP (at peak). Anyway, I am satisfied with the car's power and speed...although it is not a race car, it more than holds it's own on the highway and anywhere else I drive it.

My advice would be to test drive the 1.8T and see how it feels, if the car itself feels like something you could drive everyday...I'm sure you'll find that it is a great car! And like you said, the price is good for what you are getting...also keep in mind, that the 1.8T is a car that you can add a lot of modifications to in order to beef up the performance...for a couple grand, I think you can take it up to 240HP? (with a larger turbo K04). So all in all, it is a great car but you should really try it out yourself! Good luck!

 

I just sold my 95 Mustang GT and got a 2000 1.8T A4, manual transmision, front-drive, comfort leather seats, wood trim, and bose radio. Overall, I think it was a big improvement, although I miss rear-wheel drive from time to time.
Interested in something more sophisticated? IMO, the A4 is the one to go. You'll be amazed at how smooth the car is when compared to the Mustang, and even though you will not feel the "punch" you had with a V8, I'd say performance is really decent and comparable to the real-world capabilities of the Mustang.
Also, the A4 seems to me more fitting for highway travel. High speeds are maintaned easily, passing and merging is no problem, and road noise is much lower. Then, if you want more there's the chipping option (I'm still to see what options are available for MY 2000 as it seems that current chips won't work. Does anyone in the forum knows more on this?).
Quality is another big issue, as is driving feel. Go test drive both cars and I think you'll agree the A4 outscores both the Mustang and LS in terms of driving fun and assembly/materials quality.
I'm amazed at how smooth the turbo is, my previous experience with turbos was with crhysler cars, so I was hesitant to the turbo at first, but now am really convinced this was the best option, even on top of the V6 (considering the money).
Hope this helps.
Carlos

 

A car just came out of a motorsport modifier down in Denver, CO. It was an A4 1.8T that was dyno'd at just under 600bhp. That is one heck of a mod.

 

U Already took possesion of a 00 A4 1.8T? I didn't know they r out yet!

 

"got a 2000 1.8T A4, comfort leather seats, wood trim" Dude 1.8T's don't have wood/leather

 

Yes. In Mexico (that is Mexico city, not New Mexico).

I believe Audi AG rushed production of 00 A4's destined to my country because of better-than-expected demand that left them out of stock earlier this year. I've had the car for a couple of weeks now and waited three months for the thing to arrive.

Except for the double-din in-dash CD, the car has all the changes I've seen discussed in the forum for US 2000 A4's, and some options I think are not available in the US (leather & wood).

 

Check out email addresses before making assumptions please. He has a .mx extension to his email address, denoting an email address in Mexico.

Thanks.

Steve S.
97 2.8QM

 

Hey smartguy,

Like I said in my post, for a couple thousand dollars, you can take it up to 240HP. Obviously if you want to dump a bunch of money into your vehicle, the sky is the limit! But for a reasonable amount of dough, 240HP is attainable.