M3 vs S4.... Thoughts please.

[MOR8A]

Having now ruled out an RS6, its a bit of a toss up between an E46 M3 and a B6 S4. Your thoughts please.

[Oli]

Er, on an Audi forum tough one, most people will say AUDI!

But I will throw the cat among the pidgeons and say M3 - The E46 is an awesome bit of kit.

[Scotty]

Why not read the Top Gear review from the time these were both fresh out

The Clarkson Verdict

Basically for a lap of fun then the M3. For the rest of the time it's the S4.

I thought this was gonna be a post about head to head on the road. In five years I never found anyone who'd really want to have a go. It makes sense. In an M3 you need to be able to drive to go fast. In an S4 anyone can do it. This means that the S4 is the faster car in 99% of situations

[stumpyrs4]

Hi
Having had the same dilemma a few years ago, I actually opted for the S4, primarily for the 4WD and 4 doors. Alot more useful in the real world. I even got the Avant to go the whole hog. An extremely practical and quick car.

In anything other than track conditions, you'll not be any slower than an M3. Throw in some rain or snow, and you'll pi55 all over an M3. I remember having some fun with an E46 when I had my (standard) S4. Started snowing, and all of a sudden the M3's driving at 40mph. With the quattro system, you can easily do 60 on the same piece of road, it's that good.

E46 M3's and S4's are rough;y the same price now, but there's alot more M3's around, so not as 'exclusive'. Do you even today see that many S4's about?

Whack on a Milltek and take advantage of the V8 noise - awesome. Add a remap, and improve it even more (370+bhp), and improve mpg too !!

[Rek]

I had an RS6 and am now consiering the S4 cabrio against an Alpina B3s which is a bit more civilised than the M3. Any comments that might help the choice gratefully received.

[A20LEE]

personally much as i love audi's i'd have the M3 over the S4 for the X factor even though i know the S4 is the better day to day car.

[BlingBling]

What X factor does the M3 bring?

[xyber]

M3s seem nearly as common as scoobys now

[deanobeano]

Having Had a M3 myself, I loved the handling, but disliked having to work the gearbox all the time to get any beans out of her.

S4 I would imagine would offer a much more lazy approach to oevertaking etc, which, if you do alot of miles, would be better. YMMV

[ShaneyB]

Are you a 20 year old spotty sales rep?

If so go the M3 route, they've all got them.

[Pete.S]

Are you a 20 year old spotty sales rep?

If so go the M3 route, they've all got them.

Harsh, but fair