2003 Audi A4 - outstanding 4 seat convertible

The 4 seat, sporty convertible market does not provide a lot of options. After a pretty thorough review of the Saab, BMW, Mercedes CLK and Audi, I would not hesitate to rate Audi best in its class. I found the Saab to be too sluggish, the interior entirely too blah/utilitarian-looking for the price, the back seat so small as to almost be useless (as admitted by the Saab salesman) and I've heard nothing but negative comments from Saab owners re maintenance problems after a year or so. The Mercedes CLK is simply too expensive - starting in the 50's, the price in my opinion puts it into a separate class. The BMW rear wheel drive (I'm in a climate where we get snow for at least 2 mths out of the year) and additional cost for all of the options that come standard on the Audi A4 turned me off from the beamer (even though the Audi salesman admitted that if I were considering any convertible other than Audi, it should be the beamer). All things considered, the $46,000 sticker is a decent value in this class and the Audi buying experience was like none other I'd experienced. Every salesperson I encountered was friendly, incredibly responsive but not pushy and seemed to truly love the cars they are selling.

After three weeks of A4 3.0 ownership, I can honestly say that I love this car. Can't WAIT until spring to actually put the top down. True to the claims, the car does handle well in the snow and the traction control has seemed to make the necessary adjustments as intended. The interior is so nicely finished that you can't even tell you're in a convertible and there is plenty of headroom throughout and legroom in the back for 4 to ride comfortably. The ride is surprisingly smooth and quiet. My only complaint is with the V6 engine. I've floored it on a couple of occasions and it spins out as if the car is not properly matched with the engine acceleration. I find the touch out of the gate to be a little awkward and not as peppy as I had anticipated. It is also noisier than expected when the engine is highly revved and when sitting idol.