BMW or Audi - help me decide

Rilot said:
What sort of car do you want? Coupe? Convertible? RWD? FWD? 4WD?
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I'm not fussed really to be honest. Just trying to find the right car....needs good performance, reasonably reliable, good looking. Other than these factors, I dont care if its a coupe, convertible, RWD, FWD, 4WD etc.

Chanjy, I do like Golfs a lot, just initially thought that the money they were going for was high for a common as muck hatchback. That being said I do like them so am still open to the idea.
 
Every other car on the road is Audi or BMW these days.

Go and have a look at the Volvo V40 R-design. Don't know if you're thinking petrol or diesel but the T5 petrol or new D4 diesel. I have the diesel and absolutely love it!

I looked at Mercedes, Audi, BMW, Ford, VW etc etc and for me the Volvo stood out big time.

May not be your cup of tea or maybe it's just what you are looking for. Can't hurt to check them out.

Good luck with your search.
 
Personally I would go with an Audi, a BMW maybe more balanced and quicker but an Audi has the 4wd safety catch or its just FWD and just seem a higher quality inside! (I'm a hypocrite though for I'm hoping to get a Z4 in future! TT's are to common!)

I know your not looking at an M1 but
you know?!?
 
thewanted said:
Why would you mention ~a £40k coupe that's currently appreciating, to a gentleman with a £14k budget who is looking for a hatchback?
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Was mainly to prove that RWD isnt all that! can be unpredictable when if youve never had one before, no harm intended. :)

I'm rooting for the skoda though, they're pretty good on fuel to! :)
 
ROBE1924 said:
Was mainly to prove that RWD isnt all that! can be unpredictable when if youve never had one before, no harm intended. :)
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I went from a 85BHP 1.4 Polo to a 218BHP 1 series and I didn't even die once. I now have a 320BHP 1 series and it's even more predictable because it's not running on **** runflat tyres.

The accelerator isn't an on/off switch :)
 
I learned to drive in RWD. I died every time I went out in it.
In fact, of the 15 or so cars I've owned in my life, only 1 has been FWD.
 
I died in my old M Coupe 340bhp no traction control! At the time I also had a 1.4TDI Polo which was heaven because of the fuel saving but I loved dying in the M! :D
 
I think the sarcastic comments are rather missing something - RWD won't kill you, it's totally fine but you do need to understand how it's different and what that means on the road. If you are one of these chimps who leaves every runabout in an FWD car fighting the understeer and tyre smoke with wide open throttle then move to RWD and do exactly the same thing and it probably is going to send you into the scenery.
 
One of the most vital aspects of learning to drive, any car, any wheel drive, is the impact your right foot has on speed, traction, smoothness of progress and balance. Sadly this is not taught and actually most people never learn it, for they are not really that interested or that bright...or both. I grew up when there were more RWD than FWD cars but frankly, bar a Westfield I sprinted, my first RWD road car was a Sierra company car, not a paragon of balance or progression when it came to drifting.

People who open a post with "I'm a fast driver" and then go on to explain how they fear RWD tells me they are neither a fast driver or experienced. No problem at all with that, but RWD is perfectly safe if you DO know how to drive and how to use your right foot. In my experience when a RWD car does break away oppostive lock is a natural instinct anyway, you just need time and experience to know how much (to avoid the tank slapper), how quick (to avoid the ditich) and what that right foot does to control it.
 
Housey said:
You should try one with 400bhp and the engine in the arse. I've been dead since 2007.
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RIP :(

Housey said:
One of the most vital aspects of learning to drive, any car, any wheel drive, is the impact your right foot has on speed, traction, smoothness of progress and balance. Sadly this is not taught and actually most people never learn it, for they are not really that interested or that bright...or both. I grew up when there were more RWD than FWD cars but frankly, bar a Westfield I sprinted, my first RWD road car was a Sierra company car, not a paragon of balance or progression when it came to drifting.

People who open a post with "I'm a fast driver" and then go on to explain how they fear RWD tells me they are neither a fast driver or experienced. No problem at all with that, but RWD is perfectly safe if you DO know how to drive and how to use your right foot. In my experience when a RWD car does break away oppostive lock is a natural instinct anyway, you just need time and experience to know how much (to avoid the tank slapper), how quick (to avoid the ditich) and what that right foot does to control it.
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Agreed.
 
Unfortunately I haven't had the privilege of being taught to drive in several different cars with different drive specs. Also unfortunately for me, I've passed my test at a time when FWD is the norm and RWDs are rare (especially as a first car). I've only driven FWD cars and had a brief spin in a 4WD. This does not mean I don't know how to drive or control the accelerator.... It just means RWD is something I've never experienced and seeing as I'm aware of the performance differences I thought I would ask more experienced people on here if they could let me know if it's the right choice for me. Also I never came on here raving about how I drive around town like I'm on a formula 1 track..... I just tried to paint a picture about the type of driver I am... Ie. A 'nippy' driver not a 60 year sales exec bumbling down a national speed limit at 40mph.

Anyway, thanks for the help so far. Is there anything else that can be advised that a typical FWD driver would/ could do but should avoid in a RWD car?

Fox, your last post was the sort of thing I'm trying to get at (things to be careful of etc).
 
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I think these days with anything relatively modern the fwd/RWD debate is nearing the point of meaningless to the majority of sane drivers.

As Fox alludes to, drive like a Herbert and you'll soon be parking backwards in the scenery but given most cars be it fwd or rwd have traction control etc you really have to be driving way outside sensible parameters to get into trouble.

A few years back, something like a mk2 Escort or large ish engined Sierra / e30 3Series / e28 5 Series without today's driving aids would bite an inexperienced driver but the modern stuff of today won't in the main.

I tend to turn off the T/C in my e46 325i as it often cuts in , in certain conditions, just at the point where I would be naturally applying a bit of preventative opposite lock the end result being a very out of shape car which was not my intention, I guess maybe a less inexperienced driver wouldn't and the T/C in that scenario would be a good thing...

One of the best bits of driving tuition I ever had was a few hours on a skid pan with a very old Sierra XR4i, RWD, 2.8i V6 no weight over it's back end and no electronic wizardry, if the OP is in any way unsure about his driving ability I'd heartily recommend he gets a similar course booked!
 
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