Why am I never happy...?

[dom888]

I've had my '06 RS4 avant for 4 months now, having traded out of my tweeked B5 RS4. It is certainly the most capable and all round car I've ever owned. However, I no longer get to drive every day and so when I do, I really want a sense of occasion as well as stupid acceleration. Am I mad to think about swapping it for something like an '02 996 Turbo or even an Exige S? I love the fact that the RS4 is practical too, but we use my wife's old Cherokee for dog and shopping haulage so the boot capacity of the RS barely gets used. I'm a tad scared of owning an old turbo car again in case things go pop and cost a fortune to fix. One of the main reasons for buying the RS was the fact that it was under warranty and I didn't have to worry too much about unforeseen bills.

Why can't I just be happy with a car that does it all?

Please help......

[DavidT]

Well, it doesn't sound like you need / want a car that does it all ?

A sense of occasion is something that the Audi S & RS cars hide a little when you first turn the key because they can do it all. A move to something more specialist will give you that. The 996tt is fairly refined too though. The elise is not !

[audijohn]

I've had my '06 RS4 avant for 4 months now, having traded out of my tweeked B5 RS4. It is certainly the most capable and all round car I've ever owned. However, I no longer get to drive every day and so when I do, I really want a sense of occasion as well as stupid acceleration. Am I mad to think about swapping it for something like an '02 996 Turbo or even an Exige S? I love the fact that the RS4 is practical too, but we use my wife's old Cherokee for dog and shopping haulage so the boot capacity of the RS barely gets used. I'm a tad scared of owning an old turbo car again in case things go pop and cost a fortune to fix. One of the main reasons for buying the RS was the fact that it was under warranty and I didn't have to worry too much about unforeseen bills.

Why can't I just be happy with a car that does it all?

Please help......

I think you are bored with it already, I suffer the same thing I get bored quick too, You really can't use the power in the RS4 in the UK without risking your Licence every time you floor it.
It's make ya mind up time, do you want a track style hot-rod that thrills for ten minutes and need eyes in your Ar*e, or a car that can be both thrilling and have a practical side?. There is the "Economy Factor" also, with fuel tipped to hit £1.50 per litre soon, this may have a bigger impact on RV of such cars than we all first thought.
So many ponderables.

[DavidT]

The way to get round this is to do a few trackdays / VMAX / Santa Pod etc.

No, wait we have them all rolled into one at RS246 Live

[SR71]

A 996 TT will hardly feel faster. The power delivery is so linear.

You need a RS2 or something with an aftermarket turbo. But that'd be sacrilige to mess with such an iconic car.

Most designers design the nonlinear power delivery out of cars these days. Get your self an S2 and put a GT35 on it or something for thrills....

Else buy a bike.

[Adam]

A 996TT certainly feels faster IMO which was my plan A before wife announced she was up the duff.

If I had use of another car I would not have the RS4. I only want to run one car hence the RS4 is perfect - closest thing I could get to a 4 door booted 996TT.

[dom888]

The other thing is I'll probably get bent over a table on resale value. I paid £45,500 for it from a main dealer in November and so I've probably already lost £4k. I really don't want to put any more cash in, so unless I can find someone with a really nice 996TT that wants to do a direct swap, I'll probably just stick with the RS4 - not a bad thing to be "stuck" with!!!

[scoobyc]

unfortunatley, i might have been interested but my cars too new for you
as for someone saying it wouldn't feel faster, pretty sure they haven't been in a 996tt. An rs4 is quick but the 996tt is in a different league imho. Must be the torque or they must have bigger horses ps this isn't a slant on the rs4 just different cars. I'm looking for an rs4 but to hopefully go with the tt with the aim of selling the tt before the rs4 due to a wedding and plans for the future don't worry about it going pop either just keep it standard and buy the porsche warranty until its 10 years old at £895 a year inc breakdown. If you've any questions just ask an i'll try and help.
heres a pic for a teaser though.

[SR71]

996TT in a different league?

No chance...not in my opinion.

You'll find a good few owners on this site who have crunched the numbers (t_urbo et al.), been to VMAX and the difference between the two cars 0-100 is less than a second.

Tell me without a speedo and a timer you'd be able to tell the difference?

The 996TT feels slightly faster but both cars are positively slow when you've come from the bike world like I did.

The league above the RS4/M3/C63/996TT is the 997 TT/GTR/997 GT3(RS)/F430/M400 league.

Just my opinion.

[t_urbo]

I would not swap the RS4 for an 02 model 996tt. There is little in the acceleration from standstill, its only when your up into 3 figures will you feel a bigger difference. Whilst you can get the warranty cover your still going to be driving a 5/6 year old car as apposed to a new more usable car which (had you got a saloon) handles equally as well as the 996tt.

Save a few more pennies and opt for either a newer 996 tt X50 or the S of better still a 997 tt.

[scoobyc]

maybe its the usable power that either makes it actually faster (imho) or makes it feel faster? eg autocar times 0-100 = 9.4 tt and 10.5 rs4 eg a second different as mentioned but i think thats a fairly big difference over that speed (eg 997tt/430 mentioned as different league but it makes 0-100 in 8ish and 9.0 "only" just over a second quicker) . But if you take in gear times eg 5th for give and take roads 70-90 3.7 tt and 4.7 rs4, 80-100 4.0 tt and 4.9 rs4 that in my opinion is a fairly noticable difference (especially as percentages) and it felt it when comparing the cars. not trying to say that these will feel quick after a bike but to me an rs4 is in a similar league to a c2s, m3 etc and then the next level up is tt and then the next level above that is, as mentioned 997tt,gtr,etc. but just my 2p's worth

[dom888]

thanks guys. would an sl55 be a bad choice....?

[sykotoy]

Get a therapist, sounds like the problem is not the car. Write a gratitude list. You are living a life beyond most peoples wildest dreams, be happy bro.. :O)

peace out

[Dom81]

thanks guys. would an sl55 be a bad choice....?

Yes

[dom888]

just checking.