Vh_Supra26

iTrader: (1)

To me the A3 looks boring, while the CLA looks a little odd.

BNR34

iTrader: (1)

The A3 sucks! I saw a RS5 on my way to work just now, that looks OK, almost exciting

bagwell

I missed this about a vert.....soft top tho so it sucks (IMO).

bagwell

wrong -- S4 base MSRP is $48K

if you look the 1:42 of this video he states the price is confirmed at $44K base MSRP -- $6000 less than the CLA 45 AMG (but the guy is from Canada).

spwolf

not sure why base matters...loaded 2.0t is $45k and it has nothing outrageous in equipment list... 2.0t base to loaded is 13k difference.

bagwell

well you have to compare apples to apples and go from there.

the base S3 comes standard with MMI for example.....

BNR34

iTrader: (1)

For luxury cars, I only look at them fully loaded, the point of owning a luxury car is for the bells and whistles. A base car is oxymoron.

bagwell

LOL, so when ya getting that $211K Panamera

BNR34

iTrader: (1)

Your point is?

Every cars I ever own in my life got every options the factory offer, then I add my own mods.............the car can be any level, but it must be fully loaded.

I see base model luxury car as a total poser, it got the shell, but nothing in it. Especially low end European cars.

SteVTEC

$10k worth of useless options don't add anything to the driving experience for me, but do add to reliability concerns down the road. With all the road trips we go on in our X5 though, the radar cruise control would be a pretty handy option.

My 335i is basically a stripper convertible, does not even have iDrive. Suck it.

Even a base 320i with nothing will still drive a whole lot better than a Camry or Accord. I don't buy the poser/shell argument, but yeah a lot of people are just going for the badge at those price points.

TangoRed

You act as if there's no middle ground , either you get no options or EVERYTHING. When I go to the BMW or Mercedes dealer I don't see a lot of $71k 5-series and E-class models, most are stocked at the $65k and below point.

When you to get that level of car "fully loaded" isn't exactly the best way to look at it, imo.

spwolf

I agree somewhat, but realistically there are better drives than both A3 and 320i at similar pricing, so if person is not interested in luxury part, it has to be the badge. I doubt people are deciding between Accord and 320i.

With A3, base has manual A/C and only top end version has s-line exterior package which makes it look really good.

So if someone is purely interested in drive, and not luxury or looks, then something like WRX/STi is much better choice for much less money. Only thing you dont get in WRX/STi is luxury interior and badge.

bagwell

agree 100% with this....and I don't give a shti if its a base car or the limited model.

BNR34

iTrader: (1)

Thank you, I have similar thinking. You don't need a luxury car for a good driving experience. A Miata and now the FR-S pretty much can match most cars in good driving fun.

BNR34

iTrader: (1)

If you only care about the driving experience, of course most of the luxury features don't add to the experience. But many options do, like sport suspension, wheel/tire package, engine, tranny, torque vectoring diffs..........etc.

Sure I agree most luxury features are not life necessities and can be view as useless. But boy they sure are enjoyable and add so much convenience. You said it yourself, radar cruise control are so nice to have so you don't have to brake. I enjoy every one of the useless features in my daily car daily, keyless door lock and ignition so I never have to take the key out of my pocket, electric power door closer so my door are never half close so I have to open it and slam it again, heating/cooling seat so my seat is always at the right temperature, back up camera so I can see behind me, power sun shade to block off the sun, excellent seat that perfectly shape to my body, leather wrapped everything with wood trim that makes everything very pretty..........it goes on and on, they all adds up to make the daily driving that much more tolerable.