Bye bye Sportback TDi..

Well Audi have told me its the highest mileage TDi Sportback in the country! Gave it back after 24 months with 124,000 miles on the clock, and picked up my 320D SE the same day.
Although I had some major complaints about the noise levels and the nose heavy handling, I have to say it was faultless too. No squeaks, rattles, no engine faults (despite a £30 tuning box stuck on it for the last 90,000 miles!) and no issues under warranty. And after a £5 Sainsbury's car wash, it looked pretty much as it did when I first got it.
Whoever buys it at a knock down price at auction will be a lucky owner I reckon, look for the Nordshleife logo and towbar...
However, I have to say that the BMW is utterly fantastic. At a list price of £24k its not that much more than a specced up Sportback TDi 170, but the difference is well worth it. Its just so refined and balanced that I look forward to every drive, whether on back roads or on the motorway. Even the interior has grown on me to the extent that I prefer it to the A3 / A4 alternative. Whether it lasts as well as the Audi will remain to be seen.
Cheers guys,

Jason

hi guys - done 2000 miles in just over a week. Already loosened up nicely, got 610 miles off last tankful (58 litres to refill). Remap to 211bhp on its way next week.
The car just gets better - have really started pushing it in the wet, and its so predictable, just keep a bit of gas on through the corners and it sits beautifully. I have experimented with all the classic "no-no's" and can't provoke any lift-off oversteer, just simple 4 wheel drifts. The rigidity of the chassis is something else... if you like driving you really have to try one of these!
The engine is totally different to VAG stuff - more fluid but less torque at 2k. So although you don't get the kick in the back that the Audi offers, you can sit in 3rd and get petrol-like acceleration between 3-5k, rather than short shift in the VAG. On paper the figures are pretty close, but the driving experience couldn't be more different.
Refinement is the final nail for me - general NVH must be a good 40% better than an A3 (which you would expect) but also substantially better than my colleagues A4 170.
Would have liked the Alpina, but too expensive for me. but even the standard 320D which you will no doubt see millions of in the next 12 months is such a fantastic car that you will not care how common / boring / aggressive / whatever it looks once you have spent a week with it on the road. I had a A / B road drive home last night from Wales (2 hours) and the balance between chassis, gearing and throttle was as close to a good lap of donington on my GSXR1000K3 as I can imagine I will ever get from a 24K company diesel...