8th Jan 2015, 22:05
After reading your original review and half way thru the update, I was about to suggest to you - try BMW, but then realized you already bought it! So good call. Would love to hear about your experience and a comparison to Audi.
I have owned BMWs for past 15 years. They have their fair share of complaints on the forum, but my experience has been pleasant, but not so pleasant with Audi. Audis using oil seems to be a factory issue. Also Audi's CVT was a painful experience.
8th Jan 2015, 20:08
Totally understand what you mean by the car's handling. Having owned five used ones over the last 20 years (an '81 Coupe GTS, an '84 80 GTE, an '88 80 1.9E Japanese import, a '92 80 2.0E Japanese import, and a '95 A4 1.8i Japanese import), it's a comfortable and solid car, but not very engaging (though not as lifeless as many Japanese family sedans).
I was in Sydney and got picked up by a friend in a new A1 hatchback, and I was underwhelmed - WAY too spartan and sterile, didn't get "wowed". I must say though that differences in trim, engine and suspension do make Audis feel very different - a friend lent me his '98 A4 2.8i and the ride was superb, the performance was smooth and very effortless (vs. loud and unrefined on my 1.8), the automatic gearbox (5-speed vs my 1.8's 4-speed) was very slick and had well-spaced gear ratios, and the seats felt very comfortable where mine felt nothing like them. It's almost like my A4 1.8 and his A4 2.8 were built by totally different manufacturers.
I now drive a 2001 BMW hatchback with a manual gearbox for 4 years now; very contented - the steering and handling are very confident, and for a 115 BHP engine, the manual gearbox makes overtaking easy with the perfectly-spaced gear ratios between 3rd, 4th and 5th gears. The seats are brilliant - even without lumbar support adjustment. I can almost safely say my next car will be another BMW - as long as I could find one with an increasingly rare manual gearbox.