ROllAzN

IS300 has a lack of power, and pretty pricy. The interior is pretty nice, a good sport sedan.

RoBD305

Audi is easier to mod definately but no one here has mentioned audi reliability. The reliability on the car is not great and you will most likely come across problems especially once you start modding it even though the engine is strong. The Lexus will give you no worries at all from a reliability standpoint. Toyota has the best reliabilty of all auto manufacturers.

BPUKiller

I have a IS and have driven a A4 quattro and I have a S4. I think stock the IS is qwicker than the A4 since the IS has more power and weighs about 350lbs less than the A4 quattro. Like mentioned before the 1.8 is easy to mod for about another 50 or so HP. It's still no rocket. You can get a KO4 turbo kit and such, bun then you are running into IS300 supercharger cost. The IS with a charger 300-330HP. For about 3K more than a supercharger you can slap a turbo on a IS and have well into the 400hp. The audi does offer free service and will replace everything but worn out tires. They will not offer you a loaner car either. Lexus will give you a loaner if you need it for the day but you will pay for all your services except the first two. Both cars are nice. If I were you I'd get the A4 since it does snow in New York. Keep it fairly stock. Audi will let a intake and exhaust slide. Some dealers will even let you keep a chip. It is up to the dealer. If you do chip it, buy a extra stock ECU. For me I'd do with the IS, but I live in sunny So Cal.

Sam

NS2000X

I have a 2003 A4 Quattro Sport Pkg 3.0 6 Speed, that I have tracked.
Granted it is 150lb heavier than a 1.8T, but as others have said an IS300 may make a better track propersition "out of the box".
Having said that I had a blast tracking my car. ESP off and playing, 4 wheel power slides are possible even with stock 3.0 power. BPU Killer mentioned that Audi, won't offer you a loaner. This is not the general concensus on AudiWorld, and may be a state by state or dealer by dealer thing. For the record I am always offered a loaner. Check with your dealer.
I live in Ontario, so have similar winter weather to you. Quattro makes for a great all weather car.




NS2000X

emre

Same here.. I was about to get A4 1.8T quattro (dolphin gray), and then was tempted at least to have a test drive in BMW.. and yupp I've got 325xi.

my parents have A4, and I still love it.

You cannot go wrong between either (bmw or a4), BUT try to avoid that old IS which is about to get replaced anyways...

MugenS2000

well, as far as reliablity, my cousin has an a4, modded with all the basics , chip, exhuast, intake, dv, etc. His is fine, and so are all of his friends audis. If you live in new york city you will see another disadvantage of having an is300., theres almost 2 on every single block. In my little neighborhood alone theres 4, 2 of them blue, and 2 black. I'm not looking much into an evolution because for that price i rather get something that has more luxury interior because of my long commutes. Thanks for your feedback.