That's the 3.0A4 w/ quattro. The 1.8T is about 100 lighter on MT/AT, and the BMW 325i and 330i is yet 100 lighter still on the same MT/AT weights.

200lbs might not seem much, but as you turn, the G force adds a multiplicative factor that makes even a small weight increase a large penalty.

The weight distribution of course, affects the base handling properties. Nose heavy will want to understeer, and the FWD/AWD layout of the Audi is no help either. The front tires and brakes on a front heavy car will also take quite a bit of abuse from trying to keep that weight in check, particularly from braking. (all the weight shifts to the already heavy front, overloading the front brakes and tires)

The excellent suspension on the A4 however, manages to minimize the effect of understeer on turning, so it feels relatively nimbe, but there is no way to escape the pitfalls of extra weight. The car is definetly more sporty than your average sedan, but it's not as good as others in the sport sedan category.

 

*nod*, it's the lack of tossability of the car that I didn't like.. the A4 is a solid well built and good looking car.

But like the 3 series, they are a dime a dozen on the roads nowadays...

 

Dime a dozen does not begin to describe the sheer numbers of 3-ers around where I live. Just north of Si Valley in the east bay area of CA, where you can not go on a 5 minute trip without seeing about as many BMWs. You'd get the impression that 10% of vehicles here are of German decent.

Good concentration of miatas and FC/FD RX-7s too. It's a madhouse I tell you! A MADHOUSE! :D

 

every other person has a 3 series beemer... just in our parking lot, there must be 20 3 series beemers total... not that many audi's for lexus.. thought the 350Z are starting to pop up..

 

I just realized that it is hard to see how fast youre going if youre accerating fast because a digital speedo will flicker through the numbers, whereas in an analog, you can just see where the relative position of the needle is.

 

Next time you're driving fast... (And I don't mean down the freeway)... when you finish... ask yourself honestly... did you look at the speedo...

 

Peripheral vision, baby. Needle sweep is a good thing. Rapidly scrolling numbers = bad.

 

I prefer to read the speed from other indicators... engine sound, what gear etc... plus obviously the blur factor from the outside... LOL.

 

LOL, and wind noise. But I wouldn't mind a digital readout that "locks in" a speed upon LIDAR or radar acquisition as a preview to the upcoming conversation with a Constable of the law, but that's an entirely different thread. :D

 

Surely ECM would be a better option... LOL. I have some ideas on that front.. but it probably wouldn't be appropriate to discuss that here.

 

I like the IS300 dash board.. those look sweeeeeeet

 

Blech those look ugly

 

An analog and digital speedo, a la Porsche Boxster, would be great.
I know its fairly poor, but I think everyone will get the idea. Who really wouldn't rather see something like this?

 

I'm down though I think we need the lines

 

UGH .. i hate porche dashes... it be kinda cool if they had the RPM in the center like the ferraris and have the miles/km off to the side.

I still think the lexus is300 chrono style is the coolest.. i just hope they have all the buttons in easy to reach positions. I hate looking and reaching for buttons..YES I AM A LAZY AMERICAN =(

 

I like the analog speedo, how hard can it be to put in the proper speedo?? C'mon Mazda, get with it.

 

Having earlier said I prefer analog speedo to digital, I must say this is the best (partly) digital dash I've ever seen (the real one, not the editied one with the 'Porsche-like' speedo to the right).

The Edmunds review stated that the optitronic guages are white with the headlights off and red with the headlights on - I think optitronic (a la Lexus LS430, GS430 etc) are fantastic, anyone else agree?

 

I like the gauges of the RX-8 as-is. They're big, legible, and at night will light up into a crimson red which will kick a** against a black background. As far as the person who likes the chrono style of the IS-300? Yuck. That is the most trendy gauge cluster I have ever seen. I remember looking at the "Lexus Test Drive" on the speed channel months ago and a Lexus representative said, " The gauges of the IS-300 are race inspired." Race inspired? What race car do you know of I inspired those gauges? I don't know of any race car that has chrono-style gauges. I fell off of the sofa laughing at that comment. What inspired those gauges are my Swatch and Guess watches. On a side note--- I am dissappointed that Mazda won't offer a mini-disc player as at least an option...I'm a mini-disc fanatic, and also I don't think they are going to offer a nav. system either. I like to travel and a nav. system would be nizzzzeeee. Once I got a taste of nav., I can't go back.

 

I have you agree with you on that point.

I initially had no desire whatsoever to put a nav. in the rx8. That was until a recent trip to southern California where it was installed in the rental car. Now I want one assuming that it is not over priced.

 

I thought last we heard from boowana (who seems to be the authority as he is usually right and is so confident in his information) was that there would be a nav and sunroof option. I think it was from a mid october post, which is recent enough for me to still have hope...

 

I just hope that he is right on this one.

 

I will be seriously disapointed if there is no NAV or if there is no Sunroof...

 

I'd also like to be able to get nav as an option (I know that we've seen pics with the new red RX-8 with a sunroof, so I'm happy about that) ... but isn't there some kind of problem with ordering a nav system on the mazda 6 in the states - I thought that it isn't being offered here ...?

 

I remember seeing a nav. in the pre-production Mazda 6 and was hopeful that Mazda would offer one, but was dissappointed when it wasn't offered in the production Mazda 6. That made me think that the RX-8 wouldn't have one either. It's funny that Mazda doesn't offer a nav. in any of it's vehicles, but Lexus offers them in ALL of theirs. Go figure.

 

Maybe we need to do a write-in/e-mail campaign to get Mazda to include a nav system as an option!