Well I began my search for a possible car replacement today. As a result I went to three different dealerships and another car place for test drives. I love my S, but after talking it over with my wife and doctors, it would probably be best to sell it due to medical reasons.

First up, 2013 Audi S4 DSG (they had to remove the plastic from delivery lol). Initially I was quite impressed with the quality and feel. Once I settled into the drivers seat my salesperson started going over the features. Now I see myself as fairly well educated and somewhat tech savvy, but all the controls were a bit overwhelming. The MMI interface took some getting used to, but there is definitely a learning curve. The drive, I played with all the driving features/ settings during my 45 minute drive and even managed to hit 110 mph. Anyway the ride was quite nice and there was plenty of power on tap. It was nice to see the salesperson encouraging me to be a bit reckless. I haven't encountered this in the past. One thing to note which caught my attention was the ac was on pretty strong and I wanted to turn it down just on my side, not the passengers. After 5 minutes of fiddling and even the salesperson who himself owns an newer A4 could not figure it out. Once again too techy. The actual driving part was very nice and could see myself in one of these vehicles.
Stop number 2 BMW- My friend is good buds with two of the managers there. When I entered a salesperson looked up from his desk where I politely asked for the manager by name.
"He's not here what do you want? I can help you."
"Ok, well I'm interested in looking at a 335i or xi sedan with paddle shifters. Possibly if you have a used M3 in as well."
Salesperson shuffles through some papers..."Hold on let me look, no we don't have any."
"Do you know when you might get one in?"
"At least three months because we're already back-ordered. Do you want to tell (manager's name) that you were here?"
"No thank you."
After that encounter I don't want any BMW product.
To the next dealership VW.
Walked in and a cute girl came right to me and directed me to a salesman. Told him I'm interested in driving a GTI and that I just left Audi and was a bit mind boggled by all the controls/ electronics. He tossed me the keys and told me to hop in. No checking of anything to my surprise and we were off. He was an older salesman so I wasn't sure how he would feel about me driving aggressively. That all changed when he told me to step on it and go all out or until I don't feel comfortable. I was able to spin the tires quite easily, but once traction was achieved it gripped well. The ride actually felt similar to the S4, but a bit more relaxed (not as direct). Knowing that the S4 is equal to about two GTI's, I was impressed with the car. The controls are well laid out and easy to function. It was a fun twisty back road trip where I was able to feel the rear end start slipping on some of the corners (never felt in S4, AWD feature).
The car is a lot of fun, but I think at this point in time I'll look for a slightly used S4 and see what turns up. I'll keep the GTI as a second.

Other cars I've been thinking about Lexus IS F. New would be too much and the used ones seem to be difficult to find. Mitsubishi EVO, newer model but they seem to suck gas.

I'm open to other suggestions. Requirements 4 doors, paddle shifting and fun to drive.
Sorry for the long post.

 

Sorry your medical woes have continued. Good luck and have fun with the search.

Hope all is well with the family and the new baby sleeps more than four hours at a time.

I hope you still come to the Fall Crawl!

 

Ctsv!!! Just kidding josh. You should check out my v now. 2k in mods and I'm pushing 580whp. I have my bros evo if you want a ride. It's an 2008 mr. He just picked it up for about 25k

 

Hi Josh, good to see you around.

I am not sure if I mentioned I own a '10 GTI (MK6) when we chatted at the Fall Color last year. In any case, it is a pretty fun car to toss around even in stock form, and it has potential to be much more so. The car has nice torque but the reason you were able to spin the tires so easily is because they are awful traction wise. They do last forever though - as much as I like kill/replace them, they have plenty tread left after nearly 30K miles. I can't imagine how much more fun this car will be when I finally get some decent performance tires for it. And of course, another 40HP/75TQ at the wheel is available with just a flash. It gets pretty good gas mileage to boot (I get 30 mpg).

I have driven my brother's 335 4-door (no sport pkg) and coupe (sport pkg) a number of times. While they are plenty fast, neither felt particularly all that sporty or rewarding to drive. The low points are its rubberish, long-throw gearbox and its overall disconnected feel with the car. Personally I feel the 3 series hasn't been sporty since the E36 model. The recent models have been junked up with electrical gizmos and weight (bigger) to cater to mass appeal. Sure it is arguably the most sporty in its class. But considering the cars in its class, that's like saying this particular place has the best filet mignon among all Chinese restaurants.

If you are looking for something a little more upscale than the GTI, the Audi A3 is perhaps another option. Excellent exterior styling. The odd thing with that car is that VW/Audi seems to have left it behind when outfitting their other current models with the good stuff. It doesn't have the DSG option (still has the S tronic DSG-wanabe) or the updated, more luxurious interior. If it had these two things it probably would have been my choice over the GTI.

Have fun and good luck in your search.

 

Day II
Test drove a couple more cars today. First up, an EVO MR. I loved the handling and the instant power. However, the practical side of me says no. Sure the car felt good and had plenty of power, but the one I drove was a used car and had some modifications done. There was a rattle in the rear suspension, the exhaust was a tad loud, and something was going on with the turbo spooling (louder than stock because I was able to compare it to a stock one after my test drive). After a 20 min spirited drive and down a 1/4 tank of gas I realized that this car is fun, but it cannot be my only car. I'd be filling up twice a week. The interior wasn't too bad. Nothing special, but not the interior I would expect from a $40k car.

Second car, Caddy CTS V. I realized that this car is a bit out of my price range, but what the heck. Instant smiles when you hit the gas as you feel yourself thrown back into the seat. The interior is what you'd expect from a Mercedes (which this car pretty much is). However, on turns you could feel the cars weight as you rotated the rear around. The tranny was also a bit sluggish (auto) between shifts. It did have paddles, but it was a single clutch engagement. It does not even compare to the DSG (Audi/ VW or the EVO's tranny). This would be one heck of a car in a manual (George knows all about this).

So far I think the EVO had the best and most responsive tranny for paddle shifters. Needless to say I would be happy with the Audi/ VW DSG tranny. At this time my opinions are the same. Used S4 or a new GTi. Unfortunately have to sell the S first.

Ben I thought a lot about the A3 and really like the styling, but for the money I'd rather get a used S4 and not have to dump a ton of $ into mods for it to be exciting.

Lainey, Levi loves to sleep... during the day. Ya, not getting much sleep here.

 

Josh,
The v slushbox can actually be tuned for faster shifting response also did you put it in sport mode? People have great raves about tuning the auto v. I average about 14 with lots of highway driving in my v. If you were looking for one car I would say don't do the evo, but if you can pick up a civic hybrid or keep your subaru than get an evo. By far the evo is the best handling car for the price. You ca pick up a used mr for around 25k. The mr non modded is actually pretty quiet and just a flash and upper ic piping will net you 60whp without making it louder.

 

Liking this thread - great writeups Good luck with your search.
A coworker's daughter went through a new purchase recently, though didn't have the budget you have. She ended up with a new A4 after playing around with a passat, Merc, and BMW.

 

My wife will be taking the subaru once I get something. We'll sell her Jetta along with the S.

 

GTI and EVO were my choices when i was looking for a new car. EVO interior is just like a stcok Lanser. all plastic and cheap. EVO also made alot of road noise, alot of tire noise and curising the engine was loud. of course the evo performance is aweome but daily drive it just felt very cheap and uncomfy. So them I drove the GTI. GTI fit and finish is like a upscale Audi. Interior has soft touch dash, trim fitment is perfect, buttom layout is great. suspension feels great just a good banace between sporty and comfy. engine power is perfect dont need any more. gas mileage is great. so i bought the GTI. there was nothin else i like for sale right now thats in my price range. and need a FWD car just cause of winter. S2K is my summer fun car.

 

Well, after talking more with the Mrs. she didn't realize what I wanted to spend on a car. Seeing that we just bought a new house and other expenses she insists (more like an argument) that I spend no more than $40k on a new vehicle. It currently seems difficult to find a S4 for less than $40k without a ton of mileage, so it looks like the GTi might be the winner. I think I need to go back and look at an Audi A3. This will be my only car and we have two kids.