Which A4 TDi Avant for my needs?

If you do very little mileage why are you looking at diesels?
If I had the luxury of low mileage then I would be looking at an S4 if you can afford it.
You'd have to be mad to go for diesel if your mileage is low, but then again you do play golf with an electric trolley, how lazy is that? Sorry couldn't resist!

Hi,

Can't really answer your question as I have never owned a diesel.

However, in my day having a family was the quickest way to tame ones driving habits. No safety seats then.
Nothing slows you down round the bends like having a youngster crashing from one side of the car to the other.

They and their Mum get most upset and it makes it difficult to concentrate on the road!!

Good luck with your deliberations.

Malcolm

Short trips are the worst for petrol .
Because of a change of insurance at work I had to make a short trip four times a day a 2 mile round trip carrying equipment in Mercedes E220 estate. The thing never warmed up getting less than 17 mpg down from average of 30 mpg I was used to before.

Replaced with a 1.9 TDi Avant doing the same trips over 43 mpg now

Once you've bought the car, i find its cheaper to run a diesel, as said prev i also do short trips and get 42MPG, used to be high twenties in a 1.8 petrol. so my fuel costs are lower (admittedly not much compared to some on here!) also for me the insurance on the 130Tdi was lower than for any 1.8T, i rarely do pedal to metal anyway (well not in the audi!) so having ultimate performance was a lower priority. re doing 100+, i havn't tried in mine but don't think it would be neck snapping. but its not chipped (Yet?)
Chas

If you want Baby proof get Leather, the best investment I made, Everything just wipes off.

Nothing worst than a fabric seat which has had the babypuke wiped off but starts to stink a week later.

Its also surprising how little leg room is in the back of an A4, as the baby seat steps out from the seat you usually get feet in the passengers back once the baby gets to about 3. We resorted to putting him in the front and the good women went in the back.

That's the other downside to going diesel, you'll find very few who've forked out the extra to get leather. I had to buy our interior on ebay and retrofit it, but it was well worth it. Just sooo practical with kids.

i know this might be way out there on the suggestions front, but have you thought about a skoda superb edition 100 ?

Massive cars with massive boots, massive equipment list, and massive rear legroom.

Oh did I say it has loads of room ;-)

http://www.skoda-auto.com/global/showroom/superb/default.htm

I agree with the comments about rear leg room in the A4 - the boot is also not massive. You should also take a look at an A6, particulalry if you want to get golf stuff and a pram in there. If you're buying "nearly new" - i.e. a late example of the previous version - you should be able to get a lot of car for your money. If you're buying new, you'll get a lot of car for a lot more money. They are also v. reliable (touching wood) and I still get 40mpg or more on long motorway trips (1.9TDi 130).

Just a suggestion........

I run an A4, but looked at the A6, its bigger, but unless you are buying nearly new will be on an older style chassis, the mags don't rate the dynamics as much (will you ever notice) they do share the engines, have a look at the tech specs at www.parkers.co.uk
the a6 is heavier so more fuel and slightly less peformance engine for engine, insurance?
the A4 doesn't have a massive boot, think of it as a large hatchback instead of a saloon.
the final swinger, A6 depreciates more then A4 so similar prices at 3yrs (ish)

theres a place in romford that only sells audi diesels, look at the prices.
HTH
Chas

The running costs may be slightly more for the A6, but it is not going to be a huge difference - perhaps the depreciation might be a factor as chazzy says, but depending on how long you keep the car (and how much you value the extra you get in an A6) that may not be important. A well spec'd and well looked after A6 1.9 TDi will always be be an attractive private buy.

The diesel engines are the same A4 to A6. I would strongly recommend the Sport spec - I have a late 2003 model saloon, so obviously the spec will be different depending on which model year you look at. I think the 1.9 gives the best balance between power and running costs - I also felt the 2.5 was a bit front-heavy. If you want quattro it has to be 2.5 as the A6 1.9 isn't available with quattro. The rear end styling issue isn't there with the avant - I think it is a really nice looking, understated "estate" car.

The biggest differences with the Sport spec are the stiffer, lowered suspension that takes away the wallowy ride in the SE, and the quality of the seats - they are amazingly comfortable. I think that is the most noticable difference from the A4 - the car is just so much more comfortable. The cabin is bigger, and has an airy feeling that the A4 doesn't have. The ride may feel a little hard at first, but it is not intrusive (and you don't feel sea sick!). We travelled more than 3,000 miles in the UK and France last summer and never felt anything but fresh as a daisy even after driving all day in 36C heat. The Sport spec also gives the nice 17" RS4 alloys. As for options, I'd particularly look for the 6sp gearbox (either manual or multitronic, according to your choice) if you are going with the 1.9 as the torque is higher than with the 5sp - you really notice the difference. Bose upgrade for the stereo is also good and I need heated seats up here!

For the use you outline, I think the A6 is well worth serious consideration. I've had mine almost 2 years and it has never been anything short of fabulous. It is surprisingly quick and handles pretty well for a big fwd car, looks great and is a really nice place to spend a journey, long or short. Build quality is faultless. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ok.gif

Happy to try and answer any other specific questions.

HTH.