BMW or Audi?

[skilly1]

If you had to choose a BMW or an Audi from the equivalent model with equivalent spec in their range which would it be? You don't have the option of neither, it has to be one or the other !!

I don't want to bias the poll, but I have a strong pull to one side and want to see if PH agree...

[ewenm]

Would depend on what I was going to use the car for and what deals were available at the time of purchase.

For a utility car, I'd choose an Audi Avant Quattro over a BMW Touring.
For a sporty car, I'd probably choose a M3 over a RS4.

Edit: In reality, having bought a new A4/3-Series sized estate recently, we went for Volvo as it offered more for less

Edited by ewenm on Monday 10th January 10:07

[Dracoro]

About half and half.

I would have an A3 over a 1 series BMW any day of the week and the 7 series would not get a look in compared to the A8, however waters are very muddy when comparing the A4/A6 and 3/5 series. Also, I would not say no to an M car either BMW also do not compete with an R8.

Basically, there is no one clear answer to this unless you are a rabid fanboy of one or the other.

Edited by Dracoro on Monday 10th January 09:46

[S3K04]

Audi

somehow people claim BMW to be epitome of "handling"

[off_again]

Its been said many times before, but Audi's (although good) are currently the in vogue manufacturer and tends to be bought by the type of people we dont necessarily want to associate with. You are more likely to get a story about "some git in an Audi" than one with a BMW, sadly. BMW on the otherhand is now a clever purchase - competitive price, good emissions, excellent fuel economy and a good drive! Not to say that you dont get your fair share of morons for both though.

Audi seem to have improved their ride characteristics for the last couple of years, which is excellent. However, prior to this their idea of sporting was to remove any form 'give' in the suspention! Rock hard and nasty to drive - that will be the S-Line then. BMW and many others could teach them a thing or two. Seem that they have and its much better now though.

[yellowbentines]

BMW. For me BMW is about the 'go', whereas Audi is about the 'show'.

[Lakeland9]

I've owned several of both makes, but have neither at present though 'er indoors has a 118d. My take;

Both are very well made
Reliability- personally I think BMW are better- several warranty trips with Audi- none with BMW.
Interiors- Audi qulaity a cut above, but look as bit staid now to my eyes.
Engines- one up for BM unless you're comapring the 4.2 V8 in RS4. BM diesels are superb.
Exterior design- Audi probably better on most models. Still a few awkward angles about on a number of BM's.
Economy- depends what you have but suspect Audi's are thirstier( hows that for a generalisation).
Image- BMW's used to be regarded as CityBoy cars but suspect that "honour" now passed to Audi.

At present I think BMW edges it, but a close thing, as it has always been IMHO

[kambites]

I suspect if it was for me I'd end up with a BMW; if it was for the wife, we'd end up getting an Audi.

[bozmandb9]

I guess an easy answer would be : depends whether you want front, rear or four wheel drive?

Personally I've never really liked Audi's. They're trying to make a statement 'I'm not a wky BMW driver', but in really it's now worse to be seen as an Audi driver.

People who buy Beemers just buy them because they're great to drive and own, nobody in their right mind would buy for the badge now.

[DrTre]

Audis are just tarted up Seats.

[kambites]

bozmandb9 said:

People who buy Beemers just buy them because they're great to drive and own, nobody in their right mind would buy for the badge now.

Surely you can't really believe that? The huge majority (and no, that's not the same as "all", before the BMW drivers start having a go at me) of new BMWs seem to be bought for the badge, from what I can see.

[ewenm]

DrTre said:

Audis are just tarted up Seats.

And here was me thinking that most of the design happened at the VW/Audi factories, but you've educated me that it's the SEAT designers doing all the work and VW/Audi just tart them up. Thanks.


I predict a LOT of dross will be talked on this thread in line with the above and also about perceived image.

[DrTre]

ewenm said:

DrTre said:

Audis are just tarted up Seats.

And here was me thinking that most of the design happened at the VW/Audi factories, but you've educated me that it's the SEAT designers doing all the work and VW/Audi just tart them up. Thanks.


I predict a LOT of dross will be talked on this thread in line with the above and also about perceived image.

Was tongue in cheek to see how long a response would be...didn't realise it would be along quite so quickly.

TBH I'm constantly bemused by why people care so much about what anyone else things of their car: 99% of people know zip about cars, and that's a state of play that's fine with me.

[ludicrous speed]

I can think of many BMW's past and present that i would like to own. I can only think of a couple of audis. BMW do make a lot of hideous cars though, but at least they look different to each other.

[Sir_Dave]

Audi = effectively a skoda with a 'posh' badge.
BMW = just that, a BMW.

The latter for me thanks.

[ludicrous speed]

inkiboo said:

kambites said:

bozmandb9 said:

People who buy Beemers just buy them because they're great to drive and own, nobody in their right mind would buy for the badge now.

Surely you can't really believe that? The huge majority (and no, that's not the same as "all", before the BMW drivers start having a go at me) of new BMWs seem to be bought for the badge, from what I can see.

And what do you base that made up statistic on?

Well you could base it on that survey where a large percentage of 1 series owners thought their car was front wheel drive, kind of proves it really doesn't it?

[g3org3y]

Bayerische Motoren Werke

Preferably in old skool 2002, E24 6 Series or E30 M3 form.

[CraigyMc]

Audi driver here but have just bought a BMW (it's on order. They have shut the 3er factory until end of Jan 2011!), so clicked the BMW box.

Oddly (and I think this might annoy/confuse some people) they were both bought because they were efficient.

My definition of efficient isn't just "lowest fuel consumption". It's more like "lowest fuel consumption while still being reasonably quick". I'd not want anything unable to crack about 140mph because I want the vehicle to be comfortable and not stressed, travelling at 1.0 leptons.

I bought the TT because when I was looking (mid 2006) for one, it was the most "efficient" car in the VAG range, with the 2.0TFSI engine. I'm still amazed that it managed to get over 50mpg, given the sort of car it is. It's the lightest car they built with that engine. My regular mpg is more like about 33, but when trying really hard the best I ever got was 58 point something. Here's an early example of that (ok, it's 54 in here byt at least you know I'm not making it all up).


Now, given that it's not what most people would call a slow car, it also set this off last year while in Germany. I only set it for a joke...


The BMW is a 320d ED, which is another standout in terms of efficiency. I've tried one and didn't have it for long enough (only a day) to really be able to say how efficient it is, suffice to say it's better than the TT in that regard while being only a little slower.

Two fairly different cars, same basic rationale.

C

[Richard-G]

ewenm said:

DrTre said:

Audis are just tarted up Seats.

And here was me thinking that most of the design happened at the VW/Audi factories, but you've educated me that it's the SEAT designers doing all the work and VW/Audi just tart them up. Thanks.


I predict a LOT of dross will be talked on this thread in line with the above and also about perceived image.

while i do agree with you ewenm, indeed VAG engineers are some of the best in the world (veyron, R8 R10 etc)
when:-
Audi A3 Mk2 (8P)
Volkswagen Touran (1T)
Volkswagen Caddy (2K)
SEAT Altea (5P)
Volkswagen Golf Mk5 / GTI / R32 / Rabbit Mk5 (1K)
Škoda Octavia Mk2 (1Z)
Volkswagen Golf Plus (5M)
SEAT Toledo Mk3 (5P)
Volkswagen Jetta Mk5 (1K)
SEAT León Mk2 (1P)
Audi TT Mk2 (8J)
Volkswagen Eos (1F)
Volkswagen Tiguan (5N)
Volkswagen Scirocco (13)
Volkswagen Golf Mk6 (5K)
Škoda Yeti (5J)
Škoda Superb (3T)
Current PQ46 platform cars (Typ numbers in brackets):

Volkswagen Passat (3C)
Volkswagen Passat CC (35)

this amount of platform sharing is apparent it will eventually lead to compromises in chassis design and dynamics, i think in that respect, BMW give you more engineering for your buck up until around the 50K mark, then they are both quite even. However...

the RS4 had MANY eye watering arb issues, which i think had a lot to do with engineering the chassis (which was compromised imo) out of the equation

[kambites]

inkiboo said:

And what do you base that made up statistic on?

A variety of things, not least the fact that BMW themselves admit that 80% of their buyers don't know which wheels are driven (that statistic was actually for the 1-series I think, but I doubt the others are very different). General observation, too. Of the people I know who've bought new BMWs, most couldn't care less about handling - they bought them for a combination of the badge, the looks (for some reason) and the interior quality.

The image of good handling is extremely important to people, but the actual way the car drives seems, in my experience, to not matter so much. I mean, look at the number of cars (including, but not limited to, BMWs) that you see out there with mismatched tyres front to rear.

Obviously on here, the majority of people do buy cars at least in part for how they drive. But most BMW (or any other brand you care to mention) drivers aren't really "car enthusiasts".

Edited by kambites on Monday 10th January 10:21