I've been driving for 55 years. I've been driving Quattros for 23 years. I've driven rear wheel, front wheel, all wheel, and four wheel drive cars. I taught high performance driving to cops for ten years before I had to quit because of health problems. Nothing, *nothing* compares to Quattro. If you've ever driven one in the rain (it does rain where you are?), you would know the difference. When I say my RS6 can go zero to sixty in about 4.5 seconds, that includes dry AND wet pavement, and it is just a few ticks off in the snow. Stomp on a front wheel drive or rear wheel drive when the pavement is wet and you get lots of wheel spin. The same if there is snow on the ground. While Quattro does tend to understeer, it is nothing compared to a front wheel drive care.
My wife and I used to work the pro rally circuit in the States, namely the Maine Winter Rally. Our job was to run each stage from beginning to end and make sure nothing was wrong. We drove a 1990 Turbo-Quattro wagon. At times we drove several miles over logging roads with a foot of snow on the ground. Most of the cars entered were awd cars, with a few fwd and rwd. The awd cars *always* had faster times whether it was in snow or dry. Quattro rules!
BTW, "sporty Celica" is an oxymoron.
If you are going to buy an Audi, Quattro is the ONLY way to go, especially if it rains (or snows) where you live.
Dave RS6