Bmw 435i Vs Audi S4

Bmw 435i Vs Audi S4

Here's a question I got in another thread and I thought I would re-post my answer as it relates to my personal experience with both an S4 and 335i.
As someone else mentioned, you need to compare the Audi B8 Sx to a BMW F3x 335i M Sport (maybe with DHP) to compare apples to apples, otherwise the Audi will always feel more sporty than the BMW

Quote:

Originally Posted by cracing

can you tell us your thoughts comparing S4 and 335?

Great question, it could get me going for hours!
Stock, I find the cars very close from a performance standpoint. Interestingly, when Motor Trends did a 'Heat to Head' between the S4 and 335i (Sportline, both in MT), the BMW was way behind: 0.5s in 0 to 60, 0.6s in 1/4 mile, 131ft vs 108ft in the 60 to 0 braking test, a full second more for the figure 8 and -0.05 in lateral g's). Then when you watch the individual reviews, numbers are much much closer if not identical which is also my experience. The supercharged V6 is of course smoother and linear while the N55 kicks your butt sooner with a (very) tiny bit of turbo lag. Nothing new there.

So what sets the cars apart is not performance but the experience they provide. I wanted to be as honest and specific as I could so I left home at dawn this AM for a quick mountain run (I just reached 1,000 miles and needed and excuse to push the car harder ). I went on roads I drove many times with the S4.
To summarize it, I would say that the S4 is more 'clinical/surgical' Not as good at turn in, but incredibly planted and feeling like it is on rails when you accelerate out of the turns (I had the rear sports diff option). The 335 in Sport+ mode was overall more fun with a bit of very controllable oversteer, but the road was perfectly dry and in great condition. In other circumstances (rain, low temperatures, leaves on the road...), I would have felt more secure in the S4, but then, I would not have turned off the DSC on the BMW either. For both car, I found the stock suspension to be too soft.

Conclusion 1: I would call it a tie when you a re comparing an S4 to a 335i M sport from a performance point a view.

So what is left, aside from the obvious (supercharger vs turbo, front heavy AWD vs RWD)?
The cabin is one thing: the fit and finish of Audi products is the best in the industry, but despite what many says, the interior of the A4/S4 is dated (just compare it to the A3, A6, A7 etc.). In spite of a few harder/cheaper plastics, BMW's 3 and 4 series interior is not bat and I like it better from a design standpoint. The iDrive is more legible and easier to use than the Audi A/S 4 &5 MMI.
The dealership experience is another difference. New Audi dealerships are uber-cool while many BMW dealerships still look more like they are selling Honda's BUT the 'attitude' of people working there is also very different. I am very upfront about what I am ready to pay and Audi came back with a ludicrous counter proposal while BMW was a lot more easy to deal with from the get go. Sure there are a lot more 335i Msport than S4s in stock, but I did not have the impression that Audi was not really interested in selling me something. When I challenged them with BMW's offer, I have been told: "you are not comparing apples to apples... and Audi is Audi". They may be suffering from a slight complex of superiority. I spent the first 37 years of my life in Europe and I still remember the time when Audi was only a seen as a better VW while BMW and Mercedes Benz were playing in a higher league.

Conclusion 2: the BMW is better value for money

My final point is about tuning where I have been told that Audi has become extremely aggressive in terms of voiding warranties whenever an engine scan shows a "TD1" code indicating that something has been done with the ECU, that operating engine parameters are out of design range, etc (not entirely sure, I have not spent time on Audizine/Audiworld in a while). I had done quite a few modifications on my S4: APR stage 2+ (intake, tune, exhaust, pulley etc.), KW V3 coilovers, sway bars, StopTech BBK, new wheels, short shifter and a few other things. I returned the car to stock before trading it in 2 years ago and never had an issue. Here are a few pics for those of you who appreciate Audi's:

In case of the BMW, I went with a Dinan Stage 1 tune (warrantied by the same BMW+Dinan dealership) and do not intend to go as far with mods... but who knows. Since I do not intend to track the car, I am good with the extra hp/torque I got, the stock brakes held up very well this morning and the H&R springs did a good job. Bigger wheels, louder exhaust, splitter etc could be nice but not essential. A LSD would be great, even for spirited driving only, but is kind of expensive. Michelin PSS tires are definitely on my shortlist though.

Conclusion 3: I consider myself happy to have owned both (and a few others) and think that variety is what makes life interesting. So I am all at my BMW experience for now

Sorry about the very long answer -probably more than what you wanted and based on a 335i instead of a 435 GC- and if it does not shed any new light on these two great cars .

Bmw 435i Vs Audi S4

Source: https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1064182

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