Bilybobjef

I currently have a 2004 TSX 5AT/Nav and am very interested in the 06 Audi 2.0T 6M. I've missed stick since I gave it up for my TSX and my commute should be changing again soon so that I can drive stick without being stuck in traffic for 1-2 hours every morning. I will have a 50 mile commute (each way) until I rent a place closer but hopefully that will happen quickly. Can anyone compare the two? I know Audi's aren't as reliable as Acura's but I'm kind of keeping my fingers crossed because I almost got an 04 A4 until the TSX came along. I know I'll get biased opinions but can someone who had a TSX give me pros and cons of moving to the A4? Thanks!

audiphreak

The A4 will make your TSX seem like a civic, to be quite honest.
The entire quality of the car will blow the acura out of the water. It will be alot more fun to drive , especially since your getting the 6MT.
And you will love the quattro.

Dreamliner

I came from a TSX, had it for only 3 months. If you've ever driven a German sports sedan, it's hard to drive anything Japanese. Nothing against the TSX or Jap cars, for its price, it's a very nice package. Interior design is quite ergonomic and nice, but material wise definitely can't match Audi. Handling wise Audi wins hands down. TSX has a high-revving engine so any power is all the way up there. Some people may prefer this. Myself I like to have it all at the low end. In this respect I can get more mileage out of the A4 than the TSX. 2.0T is also a much more amazing engine.

It's kind of an unfair comparison I'd say. You're comparing apples and oranges in the sense that TSX is just a Euro-inspired Honda Accord Euro while A4 is in the league of true German sports sedan.

So I see it this way: Both are nice cars but if you care about brand name, I'd say Audi has it all, well recognized. And if you are a spirited and passionate driver, the A4 will impress you more. Otherwise, the TSX is not too bad.

cpurick

I traded a 2002 A4 for a TL. I also shopped the TSX in '03 and '04, and drove a couple as loaners while I owned my TL.

I ditched the TL after four months. I traded it for a 6-cylinder Jetta, which I considered a step up. I recently traded the Jetta for an '05.5 A4, which I plan to keep for a while.

I found the Acuras to be tinny and rattly. The interior materials wore very quickly; my Audi interior enjoyed much higher quality. The paint was nowhere near as nice -- the softening agents in Acura's bumper paint had a yellowing effect. I even found a spot inside the fuel filler door that was rusting. The leather seemed second-rate.

I believed that if I drove it for a few years, the bodywork would come apart but the drivetrain would hold up. That's a bit of a reverse from Audi.

Acura probably is a little more reliable than Audi. But this is 2005, and no modern automobile is likely to leave you stranded. In my experience, Audi provides better service than Acura. Plus, all the regular maintenance is covered for the duration of the warranty.

I find that the A4 with the sport suspension has a slightly firmer ride than the TSX, while the standard A4 is a bit softer. But when you overwhelm the cars with bumps (like going over a railroad track) there's no comparison. The Acura depends on isolation to keep it from rattling. When a jolt makes it through to the bodywork you'll hear the parts shaking. Not so with the Audi -- hit a bump and you'll see where the money was spent. They're solid.

Audi's 4-cylinder turbo is a much better powerplant. Dyno testing suggests that it produces as much as 220hp in the A4 (20 more than advertised), and there's plenty of low-RPM torque. It pretty much pulls from a standstill -- you don't have to wind it out to get useful power like in the Acura. And it still gets better mileage than the TSX.

The only A4 feature I'd be careful about is the CVT transmission. It's an interesting novelty, but I find it less satisfying to drive. The FWD 6MT is the lightest, most responsive, most fuel-efficient and least expensive transmission. It has a bigger fuel tank, too. With miserly driving techniques, I'm getting better than 600 miles per tank.

There aren't many cons to an A4. Rear-seat leg room: even though Audi added inches in '02, it's still tight back there. Oh, and since your Acura had a navi system, you would probably not like the Audi system as much. I haven't spent much time with either system, but Honda's navi is supposed to be the best OEM system. And for similar money the A4 delivers a bit less power than cars like the TL, but it's easily chipped. With gas near $3/gal I think the 2.0T is the best combination of power and efficiency on the market.

kvanwagoner

I believe the 05.5 have a 16 gallon tank and you are getting over 600 miles per tank?? That works out to 37.5 mpg at 600 m iles per tank.

How the heck are you getting that?? I have a 2.0t with tip and quattro and best I havents seen mpg anywhere near that.

Paul3.2A4avant

I had a '96A4, '98A4 & '02 allroad. Tried a TL for better reliability but ended up disappointed. Great motor, great price for all the features included but I really miss quattro and the German handling. My TL has many rattles, peeling paint, a fading dashboard, fading paint on the bumpers, cheap leather and lots of torque steer. If you get an Audi, you will love the traction, handling, interior quality and paint quality. You may have some problems but you should find the Audi dealer far more helpful than the Acura dealer that ignores warranty issues and focuses on selling overpriced maintenance. The Acura forums all talk about the A4 being overpriced but look closely and you will see that there are reasons that Audis cost more.

cpurick

EPA rating of 23/34 suggests highway range of 629 miles.

Now I should stress that I'm not highway driving. I live on the edge of Jacksonville and work downtown. My 17 mile commute includes 6 miles on city streets with stop lights. Fortunately I commute outside of rush hour.

It's really just a game to see how much mileage I can get out of this thing. I keep the speed down and I coast a LOT. I do everything I can to avoid hitting the brakes -- following at longer distances, setting a pace so I can make it through all the green lights, etc.

My last tank got me 33mpg, measured at the pump. The #2 computer indicated about 2mpg better than that. The weather's great so I've been using econ mode on the climate control for most of the current tank. Right now the computer says I'm getting 37.5mpg.

Needless to say, I get passed a lot, too. Even my wife, who has never exceeded the speed limit in her life, complains that I sometimes let the car get too slow. But I love being in my car, and I'm in no rush to get to my destination.

At Thanksgiving I'm taking it to Tampa. I'm looking forward to seeing what it can do on a real highway trip.

Maybe I'll take some pictures of the trip computer before I reset it.

Dreamliner

my A4 is at over 6000km and going.. no problems so far. First check is coming soon. I did have a squeaky back seat that comes back on once in a while. The dealer has been able to fix it but I suppose it comes back again after things get loose. This is the only thing that irritates me. Mind you, the TSX had slightly rattles too after couple of months.

mattb2003

I went to Acura and test drove the TL first, then the TSX. They were both very nice cars, but I hadn't had much experiece and wanted to shop around. I went and drove the Audi and immediately I knew it was exactly what I wanted. The handling was superb compared to the Acura's, and the interior is much nicer in my opinion. I have the 1.8T, and I've heard the 2.0T's feel much more powerful (haven't driven one yet, but hope to soon!), so to compare the two, I'd certainly go with the Audi.

Dano_SL

It's all downhill.