Engine Choices? Help Me Decide

[JudderMan]

I've had my A3 for just over a year and love it, but being 14 years old it's getting a bit rusty and unfortunately my days of old cars is coming to an end as I have a little girl on the way. I've grown up with Austin Minis, mk2 Escorts, Honda CRXs, so I'm familiar with getting my hands dirty but the A3 I feel will be a little too small for my needs in this next year.

I plan on buying a B7 at the end of the year, but I cannot decide on an engine choice. In an ideal world I'd like a B5 S4/RS4 but that will depend on money (budget will be doubled for an RS4) at the time and condition. The wife loves the looks of the B7 and I do too, so it's looking more likely. I have a budget of around £4-4.5k which should get me a decent 05/06 model.

So, in my mind there are a few shortlisted models, and hopefully be an S-Line ideally and I've added a few other bits in case you guys are thinking of selling up at the end of the year:

Transmission - only manual, wouldn't even contemplate an auto (I'm too old skool for that and before manuals get completely replaced I want to have a gearstick until no cars remain).
Colour - black, any greys, red

Engine -

2.0T
2.0TDi
3.2 V6
3.0TDi

Could any of you give me a brief idea about each engine. Problems, power delivery, buying price compared to running costs (ie. is a V6 worth it?), real world mpg.

For example, is the 2.0T petrol worth the lower mpg compared to the TDi? Or is the oil-burner prone to problems (DPF etc?) to not warrant the shift to diesel. Is the 3.2V6 full of problems (I've heard some horror stories) but I know they sound so sweet, but is buying a car for the noise of the engine a bit lame? What's the 3L diesel like, haven't done any research on these yet?

I only use the car for S&DP, no commute, will have a newborn in it soon (6mth old by Xmas), but I like to have a play on B-roads sometimes, but it will predominantly be used for comfy motorway drives (family are 150 miles away) and pootling around town, carrying all the baby stuff like buggy etc, and currently I do around 12k miles a year (mainly from those drives to see family ramps it up, normally it's around half that). I'd prefer 30+mpg too, as I get close to 40mpg in the A3, so that kinda rules the V6 out doesn't it...

I'm completely sold on the looks and style of the B7, but not sure what to go for. I have the 1.8T now, it sounds dull, goes alright (despite not being mapped yet), handles OK, fits tonnes of stuff with the seats down (moved house with it), love the Recaros I assume that the A4 comes with similar ones (cloth not leather preferably or does that discount the S-Line thing?), doors are leaking so it's wrecked the carpet and need to remove the SAI as it's causing an error (that will be done soon if it ever gets a bit warmer outside LOL).

Thanks in advance and sorry I know it really depends on each person but an insight from experienced owners is what I'm really looking for.

 

[TOM.S]

Since You want 30 + MPGs.. I say go for the 2.0TDi mate.

 

[JingleJangle]

What horror stories of the 3.2?

3.2 is quick and sounds beautiful, i love mine. How ever im wanting more power after 6 months already!!

 

[jdp1962]

A 3.0TDi would give you the mpg range you are looking, plus you get serious, effortless performance allied to a level of mechanical refinement that you can never get with a 4-cylinder engine, however good it is. Depending which one you get, they are either 201bhp (204PS) or 229bhp (233PS) and can be mapped up to around 275bhp, with truly epic torque. All this gets to the road, as it's a Quattro. They do have the odd problem to watch for (inlet manifold flaps and occasionally the cam chain) but generally they are far more robust than the 2.0TDi.

 

[scotty76]

I'd go for 2.0T or 3.0TDi and would avoid 2.0TDi, too many issues with them.

I test drove both the 2.0T and 3.0TDi (233) but ultimately bought the 2.0T due to my own impatience. Looking back I think I would have preferred a 3.0TDi auto for the silky smooth power. That said had I bought one with a DPF I may have run into problems as I'm not sure I have enough of a high speed run to allow it to regenerate. I spend about 10 mins on the motorway but it's not very constant speed.

So turning to what I actually have! I bought a FWD 2.0T. I've owned it for about 3 years. It has always done 30mpg. On a long run I once got 38mpg. I don't have DIS so these are real, calculated figures. I got it remapped back in July 2013 and it still does 30mpg albeit it is now 240bhp. It's a real hoot to drive, genuinely great fun.

Other than routine servicing, things I've replaced: diverter valve (DV) as a precaution, tyres, wiper blades and coming on Monday, new battery. Issues so far: none.

So in conclusion I'd have either a 2.0T or 3.0TDi.

 

[JudderMan]

What horror stories of the 3.2?

3.2 is quick and sounds beautiful, i love mine. How ever im wanting more power after 6 months already!!

My mate's dad had a TT V6 (and others on a TT forum) and was constantly in Audi (more times than it was on his drive) I'll find out the exacts.

Thanks all, I'm swaying towards the petrol 2.0T. I just don't like the sound of a diesel although I appreciate jdp1962 what you've said about the different options for diesels. I need to also weigh up an 8p A3 but with prices stronger than a b7 A4 it's a no brainer at the moment.

One last question, do you reckon £4-4.5k will get a decent 2.0T 2005/2006 A4 SLine by the end of the year? I've seen plenty on eBay going for £5-6k so it seems reasonable.

 

[scotty76]

When I was looking I found A3 was more expensive than A4 which was more expensive than A6.

 

[Craig Cull]

If you want economy and power... 3.0 to all day long! Not sure you'll get a Quattro S line for your budget but it's worth a look! Not many horror stories either

 

[Craig Cull]

iPhone predictive txt is ace! Not! Try again... 3.0 tdi

 

[JudderMan]

When I was looking I found A3 was more expensive than A4 which was more expensive than A6.

I did see a 2003 RS6 today, which is for sale after I started looking for one, and it's near me, and isn't too expensive for what it is - 9k for a twin turbo V8...

Craigcull - hmmm...cheers, will have a closer look at them then.