Trading my S3 for an A6 Avant? help...

[newbiecrg]

Hi all! I reached a point where I need the extra space of an Avant due to my outdoor activities... I will either trade in my new S3 or buy an A6 and keep the S3...

Got windsurf gear, surf gear, bicycle, etc and an A6 Avant would be good for that...

So here are my queries, hope you can help...

Model interesting me: A6 Avant S-Line
Doubts:
1 - 2.7TDI vs 3.0TDI (pros and cons)
2 - Is the quattro available on the 2.7?
3 - Is the 2.7 enough to make the A6 not feel to heavy?
4 - Any suggestions/advice in terms of optional equipment to get?

My base spec would be: Sat Nav, electric seats, folding mirrors, BOSE, through load capacity, 19' BBS wheels, leather interior, interior light pack, audi parking system, tyre pressure monitor, sunroof, alluminium inlays, black headlining, MMI plus with CD changer, Xenon plus with adaptative light...

I'm just concerned that with all the spec, the sport equipment the 180bhp would not be enough... but it's a good extra £5000 to get the 3.0TDI (so would it be worth it?) Also as I'm planning to do a bit more mileage now is the 3.0TDI real economic or should I consider petrol as the TDI is not exactly economical...

I had a look in the E-Class Station (but new model to be introduced soon), 5-Series BMW (nice, but extras and also age are putting me off..) Don't have many more options do I?

I would appreciate your help guys
Pedro

 

[dummi]

diesels have an imense amount of torque either would not have a problem towing your sport equipment. any of the v6 tdi's would be suitable to not make the a6 feel heavy. a quattro a6 is worlds apart from a fwd a6 in driving feel, if you can go for a quattro. for towing don't bother with petrol it will just use a lot of fuel and maybe not tow as nicely as a diesel. the 3.0tdi is quite a potent beast for a v6 tdi, don't think u'd NEED it for towing, 2.7tdi would be more than adequate HTH

 

[newbiecrg]

I see what you mean, in terms of torque both would be good enough. Also I understand that A6 will never be a fast car like my S3. The father of a friend of mine has a 2.7 TDI saloon and he says it his heavy, does not brake very well due to its mass and is slowish compared with is 2.0T TT...

Difficult choice... I guess I might have to play sensible on this one and get the "poor" 2.7 Diesel....

Pedro

 

[dummi]

well if you are concerned about performance, have it chipped and some big brakes. i put porsche cayenne brakes on my biturbo a6 and it stops faster than it would accelerate in standard form! it will never have the agility of a small car but with quattro, a strong engine and big brakes has fooled me sometimes. good luck

 

[alphamail]

My diesel A6 Avant is as fast as an S3.

 

[newbiecrg]

I'm sure it is... but not in standard form!

Hey the A6 diesel will never match the S3 in handling, braking and performance... I am completely aware of that but I did not "downgrade that much" but can I justify the difference in cost between the 2.7 and 3.0 TDI... that's my issue...

Pedro

 

[simonwjones]

Difficult choice... I guess I might have to play sensible on this one and get the "poor" 2.7 Diesel....

Pedro

Where does that put my 2.5 180 sport then? LOL

I think regardless, they are all a great engine, love mine to bits and it "ancient technology" comapred to the 2.7 and 3.0 I presume.

Simon

 

[dummi]

you will need to wait for people with fuel consumption costs to post. cost in servicing should be the same. 3.0 i would imagine would be more expensive to buy initially because it is the sport version unless you find a really good one or a good price

 

[marsmail]

I have a 3.0 Tdi avant. On a run cruising at 75-80 I can get up to 45 mpg, normal round town gives about 30mpg.
On the subject of acceleration, I can (just) outrun a Honda Civic type R, much to his surprise! That is in standard form. 220 bhp and 333ft lbs makes for quick get-aways, although there is so little fuss about it, you are not really aware that it is as quick as it really is.
When I got mine, the 2.7 only had front wheel drive, so I ruled it out. The 3.0 comes quattro and auto as standard. Believe me, it is a quick car, and it stops well too. Certainly not as agile as the (much) smaller A3, but the load space is huge and nothing much seems to slow it down.
Incidently your wish list said "load through" with an avant, you get split fold seats, but no load through as such. Having said that a mountain bike goes in with the wheels still on!
Good luck with your choosing and I hope you have as much fun with whatever you get as I do with mine.

Added later in the day when I had more time.

Your base spec included Sat nav. I have it and frankly it is not as good as Tom Tom the plus side is that you do not have to remove it to prevent it getting stolen as it is built into the car.
electric seats - unless more than one of you are going to drive it on a regular basis, they are just parasitic weight. If you set the seat and do not move it, why do you need electric motors?
Bose sound system is great!
leather interior, makes it look good and seems to wear very well (mine is 2 years old 23000 miles and looks like new.
int light pack is OK but I am not sure if it is worth what they charge
parking system - definitely go for front and rear, the nose of the car is completely invisible!
Personally I avoid sunroofs, they are a hole in the car that will a) let in water and b) eventually rust
iinterior styling is a personal matter, I would not comment on your choices
MMI plus comes as standard with the Sat nav (also includes the CD autochanger)
I bought mine with ordinary halogen lights. I have to say that I found the dip beam hopeless, so got some HIDs from HIDS4U Leeds cost £250 well spent. A bit of a squeeze fitting them (the engine bay is crowded) but a huge improvement and much cheaper than the factory fit version. Of course, they are not "adaptive" but for the saving I can live with that!
I also got the "storage pack" drawers under the front seats, nets on back of seats hold down net for luggage area which has been used a lot.
Also a load space mat double sided rubber onb one carpet on the other. That has been useful too since you can take it out and get rid of most of the mess outside the car.
All in all it is the most attractive and pleasurable to drive car I have had, my previous was a 3.0 H6 Subaru Legacy. Went like stink but only managed about 18.5 mpg in normal driving. Far too expensive to run in the long term.
The Audi seems to be reasonably economical. Not in the same league as a 1.5 turbo diesel but good for its size and the weight of the car it is pushing round.
The 2.7 would seem to me to be slightly underpowered for the size and the load capability.
Hope these thoughts help.

 

[alphamail]

I'm sure it is... but not in standard form!

Hey the A6 diesel will never match the S3 in handling, braking and performance... I am completely aware of that but I did not "downgrade that much" but can I justify the difference in cost between the 2.7 and 3.0 TDI... that's my issue...

Pedro

In standard form you are right, mine has ABT suspesnsion, wheels and sports pipes and is quicker than an s3.
It doesn't take much to remap/rechip the A6 and it's not expensive. The fuel consumption is vastly improved as well, certainly worth exploring if you want to bridge the gap between the S3 and A6.

I would also recommend the sun roof.

 

[newbiecrg]

Very good info here guys!

The remark about electric seats makes perfect sense actually... Will carry on the decision. Will try to test drive one soon.

Thanks for the help.
Pedro

 

[marsmail]

Just a thought for you to consider.
When you get to test drive, don't do what my son did. He had a test drive when I was ordering my car and said that it "was a licence looser" He had put his foot down gently (as he thought) and was surprised to be doing over 100mph.
I said before, it is a quick motor, although because of its size and weight and the fact that a human weighs a relatively small amount by comparison, it just doesn't seem like it.
0-62 in 7.1 secs is not super-car class true, but it is a lot quicker than most "normal" family cars.
I really like it, I had mine debadged for the capacity, but left the model on so that people knew what it was, but not what they were up against! It's fun watching them shrink in the mirror.

 

[newbiecrg]

Thanks I understand that... after all my S3 takes 5.7sec to do 0-62 so in that department I'm used to "not feel" the speed and actually pay attention to the speedometer...

Also I'm quite immune to boy racers I can hold my emotions quite well... most of times. But you have a point there.. I would keep my badges I'm not really racing this car... lolol

Pedro