I know this is an odd place to ask this, but I trust the MR community much more than a site like Yahoo! Answers.
Anyways, I'm currently in the market for a new car. I really would like to buy a Honda Civic (maybe the SI model because of the increased performance and manual transmission) or the Honda S2000 (Yes, I know it only gets 25MPG). However, every time it snows here I have second thoughts and start looking at all wheel drive cars, such as the Audi A4 Quattro.
Now, for as long as I can remember nearly everyone I know has told me that Audi's are only good until about 70 thousand miles, and then the car should be traded in, because that's about when Audi's require the owner to invest serious amounts of money to keep the car running. I have a GMC Yukon Denali to take if the weather gets really bad, however I would prefer not to take it as when the AWD system senses snow, it reduces the highway mileage to about 11mpg. I'm looking for a car to drive 80 miles a day (round trip), and one that's not gutless on the highway for passing either. Currently, my Camry is one of the best 2WD cars I've ever driven in the snow, however even it has problems once I get off the freeway and drive up to my house, as there's about 3 steep hills I have to worry about. This is what concerns me.
Basically, I'm wondering if an Audi A4 is a good car, meaning will it go to 150k with not that much of an investment, and if it won't what is a good car for under 20k that will?
Thanks for any suggestions.
Some random thoughts of mine:
1) I own an S2000, and with M+S tires it handles snow/slush very well. (Ice, not so much. But then, nothing would without proper winter tires or chains.)
2) Although we live in Dallas, my wife and I drove the S2000 to Denver after Thanksgiving to visit a friend. We drove back the Thursday after Thanksgiving, which had a bit of a winter storm if you recall. The S2000 passed several cars that were stuck on the side of I-25 - the ones that stick in my memory were a BMW 3-series that wasn't doing anything but spinning its tires, and some sort of truck thing on its roof in the median.
3) The S2000 has the advantage of a 50/50 weight distribution, limited slip diff, and TC/VSA on the newer models. And it gets much better than its EPA rated MPG. Driving 90 miles per day, mostly highway, I consistently get 27.5 mpg. In city driving, it's 22 mpg. Mixed drving ranges from 24 to 26 depending on specifics. Another advtange is that the weather was so warm before the storm, we had the top down. Made for some great little drives into the mountains. It has the disadvantage of low ground clearance and lots of road noise, it only seats two people, and it can't carry skis.
4) For various reasons, we've been looking at RWD/AWD sedans. Keep in mind that the wife and I are extremely performance-driving oriented, so some objections of ours are rather personal. Also, we've been looking in the high-30s, low-40s segment, wanting to snatch a used car in the mid-30s.
4a)
Audi A4. Some good reliability reports, some bad reliability reports. Not sure what to believe. The 8spd auto is a nice transmission, but only available in the new models so prices of used ones are still in the high 30s at least. Drives well enough. Better acceleration than it's hp rating implies. Regarding reliability - one friend purchased a used A4 with the 3.2 engine and had to take it to the dealership to get the engine rebuilt under warranty soon after. He's at 80k miles now with no other issues. Another friend has an A8, also with 80k miles, and no issues. A friend-of-a-friend is a mechanic at an independant Audi shop and says he'd never own an Audi. But I discount that because the only cars he sees, of course, are broken ones.
4b)
Subaru Legacy. Horribly floaty suspension.
4c)
Lexus IS350. Nice power and handling, slow shifting transmission, rear seats don't fold down.
4d)
Volvo S60 T6. Same as the Lexus but the interior is better and the rear seats fold.
4e)
VW GTI and CC. Love the dual-clutch gearbox and the GTI's cornering. But the FWD feel while accelerating was annoying.
4d)
Infiniti G37. Haven't driven one - it's too dang ugly.
4e)
BMW 328. For something billed as "the ultimate driving machine" its sportiness was exceptionally underwhelming. And another surprise, its interior was one of the cheapest feeling of the bunch.
4f)
Honda Ridgeline and Toyota Tacoma 4x4 TRD Sport. Just not our style.
Here's a photo of the S2000 in Raton, NM, on the way back from Denver.
