Lexus ES330 versus Audi A4?

Question

I am about to buy a car: a 2004 to 2006 Lexus ES330 or Audi A4 sedan. The Lexus are only FWD, while the Audis are FWD or AWD. I'm really not much of a car person, so I'm not looking for top luxury, super fast, etc. I've just never had a really nice car, and these 2 seemed to fit the bill and have great safety records, no/few recalls, etc. Which is the better quality car? Reliable, few issues / repairs, less likely to be in the shop all the time, the better value? I'm not too worried about the price of repair parts either, because both Lexus and Audi are offering 3+ yr warranties, loaner cars during repairs, etc. I'm looking only at certified cars.

Answer 1

Well - it depends what's more important to you. Sportiness/handling vs. reliability. The Audi is better in the sportiness quotient, the Lexus is better in reliability.

The Audi is more of a "driver's car" in terms of feel, handling, sportiness. If AWD is important to you, then go with the Audi. The interiors of the Audi are tasteful and one of the daily pleasures - I own one, so I know. And while the A4 in recent years has a better reliability record than in the past, they can be expensive and costly to maintain, even though their drivetrains are pretty sound. You should also consider the costs past the warranty period, because a lot of major maintenance milestones (such as replacing the timing belt, etc.) can be pretty pricey. AWD cars also are more complicated mechanically and there are more potential areas to fix.

The Lexus ES tends to have a softer ride, it's not really designed to be "driven to the limit". On the other hand, the Lexus does have a pretty good reliability record (after all, it is a Toyota under the skin) and a slower depreciation rate than the A4. It also has more interior space than the A4.

So it's really up to you. I'd suggest you drive both to compare what you like about each model, and see which tradeoff is more important to you.

Answer 2

A Lexus is just a dressed-up Toyota. I have had a couple of Toyota Camrys (in an '07 XLE now) and have no complaint. They have had few problems and are relatively inexpensive to maintain.

The Audi on the other hand, although owned by VW, is a distinct vehicle. My father is on his third A8L and has had no maintenance issues at all. If you live in an area that has snowfall the AWD is fantastic, but the maintenance may not justify the Audi. If I were you I would get the Audi S4 or the RS4 (my dream car).

I wish you luck in whatever you decide.

Answer 3

The Lexus is a fancy Camry, the MOST boring car ever. No soul whatsoever. If you hate driving, and a car is merely a transportation appliance, get the Maytag, oops, I mean Lexus.

If you enjoy driving, go Audi all day. I sold Audi for many years and never had an unhappy client who bought an A4.

Those who say Audis aren't reliable obviously have never had one and haven't a clue what they are talking about. I have had two that had over 250k on them and gave me no trouble at all, and saw many with similar mileage. Just use synthetic oil and do regular maintenance. It's not brain surgery at all.

The Quattro awd system is, by far the best in the world. Do yourself a favor and take them both on an *extended* test drive and you will see what I mean...

Answer 4

The Audi is a much more nice place to be. Personally i've driven around in A4 Quattro and the A4 bigger,faster brother, RS4. And you just feel much more secure in it with the Quattro AWD, is just so civilized, modern, crisp and clean much like Germany the place it came from.

The ES is always been abit of a pig too look at and if you pay enough attention is driven around by old woman. And the interior feels American and cheap. Probably cause they try to attract more American.

Look at it this way the Audi is like being in a departing lounge of a Swiss airport, very clean, very modern and civilized. The Lexus is like being in LAX...modern but not quite there yet.


If safety Concern you The Audi A4 receive 4 Stars Safety Rating by Euro NCap.
Now a car given 5 Star by American safety rating would reciveve no more then 3 Stars by Euro NCap testes
and the ES330 receive 4 Stars American safety rating.

Edit: Also if this comforts you Audi owns Lamborghini.

Answer 5

First of all the ES330 is a more spacious vehicle compare to A4. If size and luxury features is important to you pick the ES330. If brand and driving pleasure means more pick the A4. Cost of ownership or maintenance wise the ES330 will cost you less in the long run, in essence it is a beef up Camry, in fact the ES330 share a lot of common component with the Camry.

Answer 6

Lexus es330 have the style keep money in your pocket experience smoothness for the life of the car, resale value and the fact that if you just mention lexus people get starstruck.... one other thing if you get a lexus you will rarely see the repair shop

Answer 7

Audi's are very unreliable. Ever see and older 1 going down the road? All you see is new ones, the older ones have all died prematurely, or were just too expensive to fix. If you want awd get a subaru!

Answer 8

i am an audi a4 owner and my best friend is a lexus GS owner. First of all, the design of A4 is more attractive and is a better chick magnet while ES 330 on the other hand is quite conventional. For ride comfort, try to get the V6 if you are choosing audi because I4 is more agile (my car) going over bumpers and such...ES 330 is already V6 so it shouldnt be too bad. my friend's 2000 GS is awsome tough in this aspect. For interior, ES has a bigger room in the back tough A4's better material quality will be shown down the line as the bottom of the line lexus' leathers will crease up more evidently like these of typical japanese cars. A4 also has a deeper trunk space while ES is wider. For fun to drive, A4 owns that category. So if you are not planning to keep the certified car for over six years, i recommend the audi. But any longer, its less risky to go with the lexus. take care happy new year

Answer 9

Lexus - better reliability and cheaper to fix if something does go wrong that happens to be out of warranty.

Answer 10

Interesting topic!