lexuslover

i am quite a lexus fan but i am almost ready to defect to Audi. so some good solid advice would be great!

my next car is going to be manual transmission. i've driven friends' cars before, but never actually owned one. i have had autos all my life and i'm ready for some fun (and i turn 30 next month )

Lexus IS250 6MT with Lux/Nav/ML (aka "the Unicorn") vs. Audi A4 2.0T Quattro S-Line Loaded

Lexus Pros - styling and comfort is what i'm used to, techno gadgets are better, more elegant
Audi Pros - 07's out already, config is readily available, lease money factor and residual better, maybe a little more bang for your buck since you get Quattro and S-Line for about the same price

Lexus Cons - 4 months for special order (hence the Unicorn), no dealers have concrete info on 07 pricing
Audi Cons - interior not as refined as Lexus, customer service maybe not as good

*reliability is not of concern to me, as i only plan to lease for 24 or 36 months.

what i need your opinion on is what you would choose considering the following:

- manual transmission quality (this will be by first venture into daily MT driving)
- pricing (Audi will most likely be cheaper in terms of lease pymt no matter how you slice it)
- availability (Audi wins again here, but I'm no in particular rush, I can wait 4 mos for the IS)

and please don't recommend BMW 3 or MB C-class, because those don't appeal to me...

i love them both, but Audi is really appealing to me right now, esp considering how little Lexus dealers know about the 07 IS and whether or not the Unicorn can be had. and the fact that i'd have to order one without testing one is not very comforting. add the fact that i just saw a thread complaining about how crappy the IS MT is... what do i do?

carlmock

a4 sportline is a nice car.. if they made the a4 conv with a stick there would be one in my driveway by now (but thats another story for another day)

IS250:

I wasnt impressed with the is250's engine. I drove an auto and thought it was seriously lacking. of course the electronics are amazing and blow away the audi.

Audi A4

All of audi's interiors are strickly business. No fancy guages or cool electronics, nav screen is so small you barely can read it, red lighting (I hate). But the audi quattro is awesome. quick car but not blazingly fast.

Im going to purchase my next car so resale is an issue to me. Ive read that the A4's are horrible on depreciation compared to other cars in its class.

Either way you go you will have a nice car. The audi is a more mature car and probably has an older demo than the IS does.

Good luck.

socalJD

Why the 2.0t and not the 3.2, is it the price point or availability ?
Not a fan of turbo lag, and the 2.0t in the A4 is really noisy, compared to an A3.
If you're going to go A4, why not step up to the 3.2, I'm sure driveability is better w/a NA V6 as opposed to the turbo I4. I'm assuming availability of the A4 is not an issue, I've already heard horror stories on Audi dealers and their bait & switch tactics with the hot models like the Q7 and S4 . . .

lirandy

iTrader: (2)

I don't know about the manual tranny on the IS, but as I've read through all the posts of IS manual in here. They're all kind of bad comments. I don't know about the A4 manual, but it's the same with the A4 (please correct me if it's not) I love their tranny. Very soft clutch, easy to drive, kind of short with the stock shifter...Good for daily driving, but I will expect the S-Line tranny be a little harder since it's built as a sportier car than the GTI.

lexuslover

pricing is not a real factor; the only thing is that it is my first manual and so i don't need/want a lot of power (plus i'm not a major speed demon ). for instance, i thought for a second about the 06 G35 which i could get for a good price, but honestly i don't want a coupe and i just don't need "that much" car (plus the interior just kills me). i just want a nice manual to cruise around in for a short term (preferably 24 months) and hopefully at that point upgrade to something more powerful and a little nicer.

the A4 i mentioned above is readily available at most dealerships, the only caveat i see is that most of the manuals are shipped in Black/Red/Silver, so any of the unique colors are special order. but yeah i did hear some similar horror stories, so i will be certain to watch out for that.

bmoney12

I'd go with the A4 2.0 S-line!

gsrthomas

iTrader: (1)

It seems to me like you own/owned quite a few Lexus vehicle.

With that being said I would pick the Audi just to have something different.

ihkskim

I think Audi has sub par interiors... plus i found it a little dumb how they used the same interior as the 02-04's on the new 05 06's...

SILes300

A4 2.0T has little to zero turbo lag. I came from a 1.8T A4 and loved it, the reliability was what killed it for me. If your looking for overall bang for the buck, I'd say go for the IS. But if speed is your concern, an A4 with a $500 chip upgrade will net low 14's. One fellow driver has already ran a 13.932 on ONLY a software upgrade.

http://www.mjbmotorsport.com/sitebui...medatabase.htm

I have no regrets trading my A4 for an IS, although I do miss the turbo.

LexFather

This is correct. Outside of reliablity, this car is just wonderufl and looks very good in S sport trim.

rooster

i am driving a A4 2.0T right now, you can hardly feel the turbo lag, unless u are on a hill, the stock engine give enough power and can be easily tuned to give more, however the engine does sound like a diseal from outside however it sounds pretty sweet in the cookpit, i'll definily recommand the A4 2.0Tover the IS 250, the only down side is that the new A4 will be coming in 08..

unit74

iTrader: (3)

250 Vs. the Audi.............................Go with the Audi hands down!


350 Vs. Audi.....................................Lexus withought question.


Both have refined interiors but performance variances are that dramatic.

jzalkin

I went from the 1.8t to the IS250. The IS actually feels more sporty - IMO. Don't know why - maybe it is the newness of the car. They are both on par interms of engine - Lexus a little more refigned. The Audi CVT takes some getting used to - doesn't feel as fast since it never shifts. I would not call the performance dramatic (atleast compared to the 1.8t). I would say they are comparable and it comes down to which just feels right for you.

ff_

I'd go with the Audi. The s-line is really a nice package, even if it's a pretty spendy add-on. If you do go that route, consider leasing, as their lease rates are awfully good these days. I mean like really, really hard-to-pass-up good. I'd be in an A4 Quattro S-line right now if I could've just found one in my area. Everything here in FL is FWD w/ the slush-o-matic transmission.

I disagree with your comment on the Lexus interior being more refined. If there's one thing that Audi does better than most anyone, it's interiors.

Dude, I know this is a Lexus forum, but go with the A4 Quattro - S.

bmoney12

I agree the fit and finish of an Audi interior is hard to beat. Not saying that Lexus is crappy cause my IS is quite nice but everything is just so solid feeling in a audi. I had an 05 S4 before I got my IS and the only thing I miss is AWD. I'd say this....IS350>A4 2.0 S-line>IS250....that's just my opinion. I'm new to the Lexus family so maybe that'll change over time!