Car and Driver recently had the new Audi S4 battle the BMW 335i in their standard test sequence. While we would have loved to see the 3er retain its supremacy, that was not what happened according to C&D. The S4 rules the roost for German import sedans under $51k. This may come as a bit of a surprise to many the BMW fan but also remember that the Audi is brand new and the 3 has been with us since 2005; giving the competition some time to catch up.

In reading this review you may notice some inaccuracies; the one that may pop out to many is that they mention the LCD on the climate controls not working with polarized lenses.That is incorrect; it is only the radio that has that issue- so if they really drove the car with polarized lenses on and not re-hashed someone else ‘s past review they would have realized that it was inaccurate.

Forget the Audi’s as-tested price of $59,425 and the BMW’s $49,320 tab. This story is about how a $50,675 Audi S4 (the base price plus the performance-vital Audi drive select but minus all the nonessential luxuries we’re assiduously ignoring because we’re trained professionals) meets a $48,470 BMW 335i (base price plus all the requisite options to match the S4’s standard equipment) on virtually equal treads. Before you howl about the Audi’s higher price, recall that it also has standard all-wheel drive.

Consider: Both the S4 and the 335i are four-door sedans with 3.0-liter, force-fed six-cylinders and redlines starting at 7000 rpm, and both hail from autobahn-honeycombed Germany. It’s the perfect two-car duel—a concours a deux, says a man who wears Boss. Does Audi want this bad enough? Let’s gas ’em up and see.

For the full review head on over to C&D–