I'm severely torn now. My dumbass roommate had to go and plant a seed in my head and now I'm completely confused. He said that since my second car is a truck ( a 00' Ford Ranger XLT, 4x4, King Cab, Off-Road ), that I should not get another Avant and instead get a sporty coupe. I started thinking about it and thought he may be right.

Now, I have an 01' S4 Avant on order ( Laser Red/Onyx/Silver Alcantara, Cold Weather, Premium, Bose ). It's scheduled to be built in week 46, with a late Dec. or early Jan. delivery. I've been waiting for this car since the summer of 99' when I first learned of the S4 Avants.

By all accounts this should be the ultimate car for Colorado. I have lots of toys ( bikes, skis, snowboards ), and I've always been partial to the Avants. I have a 98.5 Avant QMS now. The addition of the S4 ammenities will take the Avant to the next level. Awesome performane, plenty of room....a pure mountain climbing, cargo hauling, sport wagon.

However, do I really need all that. The truck hauls just as much stuff as the Avant would/could. Not in the same style, but the truck can go places the Avant can't....which is why I bought it in the first place. So, if the truck can be used to haul the toys, maybe I don't need quite the same thing in the other vehicle.

So, I started looking at fun, sporty, coupes that have similar performance numbers, handle better, but cost less then the S4 Avant. I mean lets be reasonable, I don't have unlimited funds. So, after a week of internet browsing I narrowed it down to 3 possible choices: BMW 330Ci, BMW Z3 3.0i Coupe, and the Audi TT 225 Coupe. I test drove the Z3 3.0 Roadster ( since they didn't have a coupe ) and the TT 225 Coupe last night.

The new BMW 3.0 staright 6 is a great engine, and the exhaust note was just perfect. There is plenty of power on tap and the car excelerates in any gear. However, the roads were wet last night in Boulder and I got the back end to step out three times without even trying too. This re-emphasized my desire to remain with AWD cars and the BMWs dropped off the list rather quickly.

So, I jumped over to the Audi dealership and found just what I was looking for. A TT 225 Coupe with the Performance and Audi packages. The car drives very similarly to the BMW...just point and shoot, but the power comes on differently. From a stop, there is a tendency for the car to bog down a little, but once you are moving you don't notice it again. The power is very similar to the S4s, with a steady pull, and then a rush of power. It's not as smooth as the S4, but one big turbo isn't as nice as two small ones. The shifter is very "notchy" compared to the S4, but I really liked the feel and the short thows.

So, it really comes down to this....Would I be able to travel ( daily, weekends, roadtrips ) in the TT comfortably and would I ever miss the room of the S4 Avant?

On a daily basis I think both cars would be excellent. I drive to work myself, and most days I take the truck because I am mountain biking or something after work. On weekends, the coupe would be really fun around town and in the mountains, but so would the S4 Avant. On roadtrips, both the coupe and Avant would swallow highway easily. Both have the sport seats, with comfortable driving positions, so I have no doubt either would be fine. However, the coupe wouldn't work quite as well for say long distance skiing trips, but would suffice with the addition of a ski rack.

See my problem. Each negative that I find for either car is so small in the big scheme of things that I can't make up my freakin' mind. F*cking roommate! :-)

So, any ideas? All thoughts, good or bad, would be greatly appreciated!

 

2001 S4 Avant...I know you ...you want the Avant more :-)

 

Can't a guy change his mind if the needs/situations change? I just want to make sure I explore all the possibilites so I am completey happy/satisfied with my decision.

Thanks,

 

The TT has a definite lure...I would just find it disappointing to have a car that looks that sporty but is so slow for the price...even though the butt dyno may be telling you it's quick, it isn't even in the same league as an S4...remember, it's heavy but without the extra displacement and torque of the 2.7TT 6-cylinder.

If they had the TT as a turbo 6 it would be hard to resist.

S4 sedan VS. Avant...dunno about that. Personally it is hard enough for me to drive a sedan (instead of a coupe) but lets face it, they are the same car with more useable room in the Avant.

If you are interested in getting stares, the TT is a better attention getter than an S4 unless you get Imola or Nogaro...and it is still a more striking car.

Anyone know if there's going to be a 6-cylinder TT in the forseeable future?

 

Talk about drool worthy....a 3000 pound car with 350hp........WHEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!

 

Wow, never thought of it that way! New math does work afterall. :-)

 

On the other hand, that's more stuff that can go wrong.

 

hehehe wow! good formula ;-P

 

Yes, I am back..... *now*

 

Drool this: ME. _______bwaaa!