Did I turn into...

[Hippogriff]

I wanted to somehow get the attention of the red S line owner, get them to stop and inform them that they should have got chrome exhausts with their car... I wanted to tell them that they'd been bilked... I wanted to get their assurance that they'd be straight down to their dealer for what was rightfully their 'extra'... alas, there was a red light and many cars between us by the time he / she had passed on by. They'll live on in ignorance, probably, while dicks like me will notice the smallest thing... and somehow judge.

[Red 2]

Hippogriff, you are probably just expressing in A4 terms what we all do in many aspects of everyday life....... judge other peoples' objects by those that we own and get that really sad satisfaction of thinking we are somehow better than them.

And sometimes it is so incredibly shallow and materialistic that I want to cringe....at myself half the time!

The smugness fades when one's pride and joy is replaced by the latest uber version (just wait for the tears when details of the A4 mid life update are made public!) but then you discover just how much you truly like your A4 as a a car and not as a fashion object. And if you can survive the annual model change without thinking your world has come to an end, you are probably well along the path to becoming a normal person again.

Speaks as an owner of an 18 month old high spec SE (gasps of astonishment around the room) chosen for comfort and which, now its flush of youth and novelty value are things of the past, is enjoyed as a superb family car.

But do I not just check out other SEs to spot the Xenons/sunroofs/ chrome exhausts etc...course I do! And I'm just as big a C**k as anyone else for getting satisfaction fron doing it.

Incidentally, had the misfortune to be picked on by Clarckson at a live show....A4 driver with a car whose headlights were like a council estate at Xmas and he wears a Breitling! That put me and my ego firmly back in the box....

[Hippogriff]

If I catch myself doing it again I'm going to give myself a mental smack.

Didn't do it with previous cars, and one was an A4.

I was ashamed of the SLK, though... I kept my head down (not that hard considering how low it was)... this A4 felt like a Range Rover when I got in for the first time; don't mind that one bit.

[mkc]

How old are you all to come up with these comments? I bet you are the kids who use to pick on me at school for not wearing the latest Nikes at the start of the new term. My Mum dropping me off with trousers to short and Gola trainers with 16 feet of shoelaces

People have different amount of money to spend on things that are important to them. I want a S4 and could get one tomorrow but prefer to invest in other things and pay of my mortgage.

Just cause a chap is driving a lesser car I cannot see how someone could feel better than them. He may have more money than you but prefers to spend it on something else and doesnt want people laughing at his headlights and calling him a w%^&ker on the way to work.

How are you going to feel when a A4 with whatever mid life facelift it gets pulls up alongside you next year?

His SE might have been more expensive to buy than your car. He may have selected enough kit on the inside that took him over the pricelist of a S4. Its wrong to judge without knowing the full facts

[Hippogriff]

'tis all very tongue-in-cheek and a dig at all us marque-chasers who are all of a sudden very pleased with our new purchases. I used to have Hi-Tec trainers / boots at school... those with the comically massively oversized tongues that folded over and the fluorescent green and orange (two separate) pairs of laces.

I thought they were cool... very "look at me", but not as much as LED DRLs.

[ScottyUK]

I wanted to somehow get the attention of the red S line owner, get them to stop and inform them that they should have got chrome exhausts with their car

You're on your way to redeeming yourself

[Jop]

very soon this will turn into a "you have to be stupid to buy a new car" thread that were the trend a few months back.

good for you for having the car you want.

[kodkod.84]

God knows what you think of me in my poor facelifted B6 when you drive past

LOL- like I give a ****

All Audi's at the end of the day- the only one I genuinely cringe at is the A3 cab and think- 'you shoulda got a 2nd hand A4 cab' but that's just my opinion.

[Red 2]

I think the ability to laugh at yourself and your failings is also a good indicator that you are well on the path to redemption.

No one should be criticised for whatever they drive ...but I don't think Hippo was doing that as I think tongues are firmly in cheek and the point was the highlighting of the absurd way that some do look at their/other peoples cars.

On a serious note, I absolutely hate car snobbery but try equating that with how I came to drive an Audi and the psychologists could be kept busy for years...

[Jop]

What about comparing performance figures? Is that allowed?

My car is faster than that one,
my car gets better MPG that that one

surely these are the same as "my car looks better than that one"

These are the reasons why we chose the cars we did. If these thoughts/feelings are supposed to end as soon as we take delivery of our motors then whats the point? Why are'nt we all driving around in ford focus's (at least these come with a lock on the glovebox as standard)

IMO my avant looks better than a saloon. Does this make me a snob because im comparing my car to another. No. It just confirms for me that I have the right car for me. And if you (the royal you) doesnt like it, then I suggest you go get an sline avant Sonny-Jim (didnt know what one to use)