Ask the Car People.SM


Audi A4 vs Acura TL vs Volvo S60 vs VW Passat

90 messages,  Last post on Sep 03, 2010 at 2:09 AM

You are in the Audi A4 Forum.

What is this discussion about? Audi A4, Acura TL, Volvo S60, Volkswagen Passat, Sedan

Messages Page 4 of 10

#24 of 90 Re: A4 junk? [tcatnat] by taxesquire

Aug 12, 2005 (6:13 am)

Replying to: tcatnat (Aug 12, 2005 5:50 am)
I can speak a bit about Audi and agree that it's a quality vehicle. I drove a Passat GLX for 4 years. Passat is to Audi as Toyota is to Lexis. At least in 2001 (and 1/2!!!), what they did was take the v6 available in the A4 (which is less powerful than the A6 engine) and put it in a Passat which is more similar in size to the A6. From sitting in friends' Audi's, I can attest that my Passat's interior was very similar in terms of workmanship.
 
That 6 cyl engine is a great engine. The 5MT had plenty of torque throughout the RPM band - it was quiet, powerful and forgiving. The seats and interior materials were comfortable, well-designed and well-put together. And since my Passat handled very well, I am sure the smaller, more sporty A4 would, too. I would suggest anyone looking at an AWD BMW 3-series also check out Audi. I don't believe Audi has a RWD platform (am I right?); otherwise, I'd recommend it to all who are considering a 3-series.
 
QUESTION TO AUDI A4 OWNERS: in my 4 yrs of Passat-driving, I only came up with 2 complaints, both w/r/t the steering wheel controls. On your wheels, are the radio controls on the right? Also, do the tuning buttons act as a general scan feature or scroll your presets? Mine were on the right side and scanned the dial rather than just presets. My only complaints in 4 years.

#25 of 90 Re: A4 junk? [tcatnat] by bodble2

Aug 12, 2005 (10:51 pm)

Replying to: tcatnat (Aug 12, 2005 5:50 am)
With today's cars being so low-maintenance, I feel that free maintenance is a bit of a sales gimmick and should be a non-factor in one's buying decision. Usually maintenance for the 1st three years amounts to no more than a few oil changes and a couple of tire rotations.

#26 of 90 Re: Audi A4 vs Acura TL vs Volvo S60 vs VW Passat [strato435] by tomatopie

Aug 17, 2005 (8:30 am)

Replying to: strato435 (Aug 04, 2005 2:15 pm)
Early report on my '05 Passat TDI: Driving mostly highway, got 39 mpg on the first tank (that's 2-3 mpg lower than the on-dash indicator would suggest). Cooler day yesterday, got readouts of 45 - 47 mpg on my commute, which should translate into an actual of 42 - 45. Sweet!
 
Complaints?
 
Occasional buzz/rattle from the rear (door? seat? can't tell) and bucking at 42 mph when the auto trans seems to be deciding between 4th and 5th gear.

#27 of 90 Re: Audi A4 vs Acura TL vs Volvo S60 vs VW Passat [tomatopie] by fish8

Aug 17, 2005 (10:22 am)

Replying to: tomatopie (Aug 17, 2005 8:30 am)
"Occasional buzz/rattle from the rear (door? seat? can't tell"
 
Have had this in both of my VW's. It most likely is the rear door lock. It tends to buzz or rattle. It sounds like plastic against plastic.

#28 of 90 Re: Audi A4 vs Acura TL vs Volvo S60 vs VW Passat [fish8] by tomatopie

Aug 17, 2005 (11:49 am)

Replying to: fish8 (Aug 17, 2005 10:22 am)
"Occasional buzz/rattle from the rear (door? seat? can't tell)"
  
Have had this in both of my VW's. It most likely is the rear door lock. It tends to buzz or rattle. It sounds like plastic against plastic.
 
Any solution? Keep locked, unlocked? Duct tape?

#29 of 90 Re: Audi A4 vs Acura TL vs Volvo S60 vs VW Passat [tomatopie] by fish8

Aug 18, 2005 (4:46 am)

Replying to: tomatopie (Aug 17, 2005 11:49 am)
I had the dealer try to fix it on my previous '02 Jetta. They didn't fix it. What they did do was cause the lock not to be flush with the door as it was when new. It was really no big deal, but just the usual experience with VW service. It seems as though everytime I bring my car to VW to fix something, my car comes back with something broken. I had a rattle in my dash in my current '04.5 Passat. During the second visit to fix the problem they cracked a plastic piece in the footwell on the drivers side (along with not replacing screws). I didn't find this for many many months after the service visit. I did not want them to touch my car again so I just glued the piece with some Gorilla Glue and went on my way. NO ONE would ever notice this so....alls good. I could literally go on and on with dealer problems..
 
Back to your question......their was no fix for the lock rattle. I did notice that the noise disappeared when the lock was in the open (up) position. But, since we have automatic door locks that lock the doors when you reach a certain speed (17mph I think), I had them reprogram the locks not to lock automatically. This did work. BTW: This was done on my Jetta. My Passat is not too bad so i just don't bother with getting it looked at.
 
This problem

#30 of 90 Re: I'm in the same boat [tcatnat] by dpav

Aug 24, 2005 (7:53 pm)

Replying to: tcatnat (Aug 07, 2005 6:04 am)
Did your sales rep share what the expected residual of the 06 TL will be ?

#31 of 90 Re: Audi A4 vs Acura TL vs Volvo S60 vs VW Passat [rjlaero] by benjamins

Sep 09, 2005 (3:39 pm)

Replying to: rjlaero (Aug 09, 2005 7:46 am)
Can we stop with Volvo is a Ford already? Lots of cars have shared components, some of Volvo's engines were co-designed by Porsche, they use Japanese transmission, they use all sorts of components from various sources but the cars aren't Fords at all. In fact, Audi is a lot closer to Volkswagen than Volvo is to Ford. At this point, only the s40 is shared with any other platform, and the s40 is a joint platform although it is based on the German Focus II platform. Volvo has a distinct feel, European for sure, but not German, not French, but Swedish. The seats, design, suspension tuning, and body structure have a unique feel to them. Also, the latest Ford, the 500, was styled by VW's stylist, the same guy who did the Audi 6 and Passat. And it shows.
 
Audi is not always more expensive than VW or Volvo or anything Japanese? What are you talking about? There are plenty of Japanese cars more expensive than A4s and A6s (Acura RL is very close in price to the A6 for instance). There are plenty of VW's more expensive than A3's or A4s, think Toureg and Phaeton, and the Passat and A4s overlap at certain price points.
 
I agree calling the A4 junk is ridiculous, calling any of these cars junk is ridiculous. They all are resonably well engineered and built cars. Overall I may find Audi best, followed by Volvo, but you can make an argument for Acura as well. Passat is in a different market segment, but I think it is tops of the family sedans and like it over Accord, Camry, Altima, and others.

#32 of 90 Re: Audi A4 vs Acura TL vs Volvo S60 vs VW Passat [benjamins] by frisconick

Sep 10, 2005 (10:52 am)

Replying to: benjamins (Sep 09, 2005 3:39 pm)
I agree, Volvos are fine cars and highly rated by almost everyone. Additionally, they are in the same category as Lexus, Audi, Acura etc. They are certainly a cut or two above a Ford 500.

#33 of 90 Re: Audi A4 vs Acura TL vs Volvo S60 vs VW Passat [benjamins] by edwardsf

Sep 11, 2005 (11:51 pm)

Replying to: benjamins (Sep 09, 2005 3:39 pm)
I believe that Edmunds Forum has a remarkable amount of people who don't even bother to test drive cars that they are critiquing. Statements such as Audi =
Passat or Ford = Volvo, are patently ridiculous. I drove a Passat 2.0 and an A4 2.0 today. These cars are nothing alike. The Passat interior is pleasant but it has a broad dash and somewhat bland design of a family car. It is though a very nice family car and the engine is smooth and responsive. The transmission is also very smooth. The brakes seemed poor. The Audi interior is far superior in that the dash design, plastics, leather, and seat design are all much more high quality than the VW. The Audi interior has that spartan lux and sporty look/feel that Audi has had at least since the Audi 100 that I drove 23 years ago. But the real difference is in the acceleration and shifting. The CVT is flawless and the A4 is much quicker than the Passat at most speeds and appears to have much more low end torque. I have a Saab turbo and until this A4, I have not seen anything beat the Saab 2.0 turbo. The A4 was louder than the Passat, which bothered me.
 
I also drove an S40, a great little car with excellent acceleration very close to the new A4 turbo. But the ride is poor and its roof line makes vision diffiicult for me (6-3). I have driven the TSX and the TL. I love the TSX as it is crisp, quick and handles lightly. You do have to rev it (like most VTEC engines). The TL is simply too luxury oriented for me. I really don't think of it as a sporty car. It is fast but does not feel nimble at all. It feels similar to the S60 I have ridden in but not driven.

Messages Page 4 of 10

To POST a message, please Sign In.

Advertisement

Browse by Category

Browse by Vehicle
   View All Vehicles

Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
View All Topics

Edmunds Community

Advertisement