2002 Volvo S60 2.4T AWD VS. 2002 Audi A4 3.0 Quattro

Suppose for a moment you're the top dog of an automobile company. One of your many priorities is directing clever engineers and talented designers to build a new compact sport sedan, intended to best represent the qualities and strengths of said imaginary car company. What would be on your must-have list?

For a few members of the Motor Trend editorial staff, that ideal compact sport sedan grocery list would include an eye-catching yet tasteful exterior and a comfortable, well-appointed cabin that accommodates four adults. It'd be powered by a clean and efficient engine producing around 200 hp, routed through a reliable all-wheel-drive system. While more power would be nice, some of us would rather put the money into the AWD. Of course, four-wheel disc brakes and a well-sorted suspension go without saying.

It would have to elicit an involving driving experience that rewards an experienced hand, while providing the latest in active and passive safety systems-all at a fair price, below a justifiable $35,000. Beyond these basic requirements, how about a manual transmission option, a sport package, an up-level audio system, heated leather seats, and a trunk large enough to hold a long weekend's worth of suitcases or skiing equipment?

It turns out the solution to this hypothetical sedan formula is found in at least two new vehicles: the all-new-for-'02 Audi A4 3.0 quattro and the Volvo S60 2.4T AWD, itself an '02 stand-alone model supplementing the S60 lineup that debuted in '01. Both are offered in more modestly priced and equipped versions with less powerful engines and front drive, as well as more performance-oriented derivatives. For this comparison, we chose to focus on and evaluate the attainable, well-equipped models, not the aspirational ones, in everyday driving and raw performance. Outwardly, these two AWD sedans appear quite similar in style, price, performance, and equipment levels. Well, almost.

The representative vehicles arrived for testing with many features common to both: fully independent suspension, all-wheel drive, ABS with electronic brake distribution and emergency brake assist, central locking, dual-zone automatic climate control, cruise control, a cocoon of airbags, and so on. Suffice to say they were both loaded with all the mid-lux sedan criteria on our wish list.

Base priced at $33,375, the Volvo S60 AWD comes with an impressive list of its own standard equipment, chiefly a 2.4L/197-hp turbocharged inline-five engine, five-speed Geartronic Auto-stick transmission, 16-in. alloy wheels, eight-way power driver's seat, leather seating surfaces, moonroof, and a single CD in-dash six-speaker sound system with steering-wheel controls. Our tester also added metallic paint, an air-quality sensor for automatic air recirculation, and a destination charge, for a total of $34,525. Perhaps more telling is what options aren't available on the AWD model: rear-occupant side airbags, dynamic stability control, sport suspension, manual transmission, and Xenon headlamps-all of which are either standard or optional equipment on the Audi A4. This indicated the Volvo AWD model might be more foul-weather machine than outright sport sedan-but we had yet to test it.