Hi all
looking to buy an a4 as a replacement for my lexus as the fuel consumption is horrendous and i was wondering what sort of real time figures i can expect driving round town etc from the 1.8's and the 2 liters im preferably looking at a tiptronic car or similar.When i go to look to at one what sort of things shall i look out for or are they the same as the a3's?Any help would be appreciated.
Gary
Hi there, good choice for a start - the A4 is a cracking car - I've had three!
2001 (Y) A4 Sport 2.0L FSI
Note mine was the FSI model which is 163bhp. The pre-FSI model is 150bhp. By and large I was very happy with the car, the engine noise was great and the performance was ok. However, I did miss the turbo punch I was used to from my golf GTi. It would also return around 31mpg.
2001 (Y) A4 Sport 1.8T
Much much better car, the performance was loads better and 163bhp tubro charged engine was great fun to drive. The car also returned 35mpg on a good run and 30mpg on small runs to work.
2004 (04) A4 S-line 1.8T 190
Perfection. The performance is great, and it got even better when I got my local REVO dealer to remap the car to 230bhp which is great fun to drive. Strangly enough the mpg even got better too. On a good run my car will return 37mpg and shows 30mpg around town. Why bother with an expensive diesel! The only problem with mine is it's not a convertible, so I will be putting it up for sale soon!
Make sure you by either a Sport or Sline model as the seats are SO much more comfortable. The ride is a little harder but nothing too harsh. S-line came out in 2004 and replaced Sport. So all those (pre 2004) cars for sale with S-line badges on are not real S-line cars! Usually just sport models - and sometimes not even that!
The MultiTronic Auto box is bad and will cause you problems.
See:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=86&t=293692&mid=0&nmt=Audi's%20MultiTronic%20Gearbox
The Steptronic Auto box is much better, but only comes on Quattro cars. Quattro cars will leave you with poor mpg. Auto boxes will also leave you with poor mpg, so if mpg is important to you by a manual front wheel drive car.
As said above Service History is really important. Check all MOT's and receipts to make sure the mileage is correct and avoid cars that have had lots of owners as sometimes this can indicate the car is a hot potato!
Don't worry about getting the right wheels as these are not expensive to buy on ebay, but the right spec like leather seats, a nice colour and nice low mileage is far far more important.
Hope that helps - good luck!
