It was a record for my Sales rep and for me. He's never had a new car traded in with just 850 miles in 25 years and I never owned a brand new car for just 6 weeks.

As quickly as I purchased the A4 6 weeks ago, she is gone now. It was like a relationship that on paper had all the right ingredients to work, yet one key and most important one was missing.

The redesigned '17 A4 is the epitome of a perfectly well-rounded car: cleanly styled, quality interior, latest tech, efficiently smooth and powerful engine, sporty yet compliant ride and handling, and competitively priced. (See here for my comparison.) So where did it all fall apart?

Excitement. Or my lack thereof. Rarely did I do any double-takes when walking away from her. Rarely did I feel the need to just take her out for a spin. Rarely did I feel excited driving the car. Never did I have the inkling to spend time on modding her with my own personal touch. And... wife and kids never warmed up to the car nagging about its conservative styling. (Disclaimer, they love Lexus' aggressively unique styling of late and quite frankly, so do I)



So for my first taste of Europe, nice, but I'm left wanting more. And so I turn back to what I know will put a smile on my face and that's back home at Lexus.

From the perfectly bolstered F Sport seats and driving position, to the V6 engine's response and aural pleasures, to the feel of the balanced RWD platform, the IS has all the intangibles that excite. Then add a sculpted exterior bod, double-takes and smiles come naturally.

So my Lexus passion pursues in the refreshed IS with many bright days ahead. Mods already in the works - wheels and springs already on order.

 

Congratulations . You must have had a real itch to get into a new IS, with the kind of depreciation-bath that one would typically take on trading in a car that new. But if it was worth it, enjoy your new Lexus.

 

That's a special type of buyer's remorse-congrats on getting rid of it! You did manage to note the Audi A4's biggest criticism from many media outlets (and me); it's exceedingly competent but boring. I find this to be something that troubles me about many Audi's I've driven outside of the RS7 and why I haven't bought one for myself.

EDIT: Wow. The front end of the refreshed IS is...challenging.

 

i wonder what dseag2 has to say about this.

anyhow, congratulations on the new IS!

 

Perhaps. But Audi seems to be taking the place in the American market that BMW once held....up to just a few years ago.

 

Congratulations! Sharp looking IS I like it a lot

I also went from an A4 to my IS in 2006 although truth be known I kept my A4 a little longer than you, about 8.5 years longer

Great choice and enjoy it in good health.

 

In terms of being the benchmark for steering feel and overall dynamics? I'm going to disagree on that one. Audi's main selling points (no matter the segment) is that they're exceptional all-rounders and a noted tech leader in the luxury industry. That wasn't really BMW's trump card at any point.

 

No, I meant in sales. But even BMW is no longer the tactile-feel-king in steering that it was until recently....mainly because of the change to electric power-steering.

 

BMW was still #1 in sales last year. 2016 was indisputably rough but we'll see how the G platform vehicles do in 2017 and 2018 as BMW refreshes their lineup.

 

Did you get the RWD or AWD version? I'd guess, living in Toronto, that it would be AWD, though you already have the NX for winter conditions.

 

Congrats. You're bound to love this 350 more than your '14 250. The larger screen, console trim changes, and and SS+ are big

 

But it has that cool rear turn signal.

 

You'll definitely get more looks in that car, also white is one of the best colors

 

Congrats on the new IS. I saw your farewell o Audiworld. It sounds like you were ready to move on from your Audi experiment. You can't go wrong with either car.

 

yeah - that's a no-go for me - I think the A4 looks excellent, not crazy and weird like the IS