New forum member - 2 time A4 B9 owner!

Intro
I've been browsing Audi Sport for a few years now, I'm only a few years into the world of driving so most of the time has been spent gawking at member's cars that I would never be able to afford to insure! I've decided that now I actually own an Audi and because I occasionally feel like sharing the little bits I notice about my car, I should sign up to Audi-Sport.

Quick previous car history before the A4s:

• Y plate VW Golf MK4 SE 5dr hatch in Desert Beige (gold... ish)
  • 1.6 16V 105BHP 5sp manual
  • Electric sunroof - clogged drains = 2nd morning shower
  • 14" "Reggae" Alloys with the optional brake dust finish
• '07 Vauxhall Astra H Life 5dr hatch in Lightning Silver
  • 1.7 CDTI 5SP manual
    
  • Steel wheels with plastic covers for better 0-60 times
  • Wiring issues/"driver entertainment"
• '12 Skoda Octavia MK2 FL hatch Elegance in Brilliant Silver Metallic
  • 2.0 CR TDI 140BHP 6SP manual - very quiet diesel, very very smooth
  • Climate + auto-dipping rear view + auto wipers + rear park
  • Very comfy armchair-like seats and a boot capacity that would swallow half of IKEA
• '14 VW Gold MK7 SE 5dr hatch in Midnight Blue
  • 2.0 TDI 150BHP 6SP manual - not quiet, sounded like a tractor
  • Optional climate control and front + rear parking sensors
    
  • Standard adaptive cruise + auto-lights + auto-dipping rear view + auto wipers

A4 Number 1
After getting the Mk7 Golf I discovered that for me personally, it was very uncomfortable; fortunately, as it was a Golf and people go nuts for a good used one, the P/X value was not much less than I paid the dealer and so I decided that I'd take a second look at an A3.

I ended up test driving a 1.4 TFSI A3 3dr at my local dealer who also happened to also be flogging some ex-Audi UK 2.0 TDI A4s on a 5.9% PCP deal. After loving the way the A3 drove and how comfy it was, we ran through finance quotes, but the used A3 was a bit of a poor deal. By chance I looked out of the showroom window directly at a sign written A4 with this special deal plastered on the side of it and well, long story short, I took an S line A4 out for a test drive and ended up signing a bit of paper to say I'd pay less per month for a year old A4 saloon than I would for a 3 year old A3 on PCP.

The car that I ended up picking (there were 5 A4s to pick from) was as follows:

• '16 plate A4 Saloon S line in Floret Silver
• 2.0 TDI 150BHP S tronic
• 18" Alloys (5 arm design)
• No options other than heated front seats
• 16k miles
• List price £22,500

I'm sure I could've written a whole separate thread just on the bits and bobs that weren't quite right on this A4 and maybe at some point I'll share some of the more interesting items in the hopes that it might help some of the other forum members out. But after 3 months and multiple visits back to the dealer for items to be fixed I finally gave in to the voice in my head and asked the dealer for an exchange.

A4 Number 2
I spent several days to-ing and fro-ing between work, home and the Audi dealer to pick a car that I was happy with; I went back to looking at A3s and came to the conclusion that I wasn't as happy in any of the lineup as I was in my A4. Eventually, by almost pure luck and frustration from lack of A4 stock, I decided to look at an A4 2.0 TFSI 252BHP quattro S line - the main thing was the insurance bump due to my age, but the A4 doesn't seem to be a model favoured by teenagers that put cars into ditches, so to my surprise the premium increase only required the sale of a few less-important organs.

Specs:

• '66 plate Audi A4 Saloon S line in Scuba Blue
• 2.0 TFSI quattro 252 S tronic
• Optional 19" 10-V spoke alloys
• Technology package (MMI Navigation Plus with MMI touch, Audi Phone box with wireless charging, Audi Vitual Cockpit)
• 6k miles
• List price £27,990 with £1,500 deposit contribution

Aside from the optional extras, the price and the test drive really sealed the deal - this is the quickest car I've ever been in! We came to an arrangement for the two A4s and I collected the new one within 4 days of the test drive.

I absolutely love the Scuba Blue and the fact that the engine will be a rare find on UK roads where most A4s seem to be drinking from the black pump; the car is almost the spec that I would've ordered it in had I been buying new, and I find it's really great to drive!

A4 differences
Having now had the pleasure of using two of the same car but with different specifications, I've noticed a few things that might be of help to some people:

• Upgrading to 19" wheels doesn't seem to have worsened the ride comfort at all
• The lighter petrol engine makes the car feel more chuckable and less nose heavy (not that it was at all bad with the diesel)
• Quattro is amazing, the diesel with FWD meant you'd occasionally chirp the tyres at a junction even with low acceleration no problems with traction at all now
• S tronic smoothness is improved, the diesel wasn't bad but if you caught it out in coasting mode or when you were off and then back on the throttle it could be a bit jumpy when it engaged the gear
• Fuel economy is erm, a lot less! I managed to get 65mpg out of the 2.0 TDI 150 on a good commute in to work, 38mpg is the best I've got in the petrol so far
• The diesel would often have enough torque to not need a downshift when gently accelerating from low RPMs
• The noise difference between the two engines is hardly noticeable - the A4 is so well insulated that it's only really during heavy acceleration or when stationary that you can hear any engine noise - the petrol is quieter though
• The upgraded MMI and the virtual cockpit don't add much - especially if you're an Android Auto/Apple CarPlay user like myself - where this functionality isn't mirrored on the dash, thus still making me focus on the central screen.
  
• The technology package is a great pack to have, but the virtual cockpit doesn't add much and if you only have £1,300 for options then I'd spend it on things like folding mirrors, heated seats, electric seats etc rather than the pack.

If you've got this far - thanks for reading! If anyone has any questions I'll be happy to answer them, if you've got any comments/suggestions for me then let me know.

Cheers for the welcomes guys! Never really appreciated the scuba blue until now, I thought I'd never seen another scuba A4 and then it turns out one of my colleagues actually has a B8.5 Avant black edition in that colour! Managed to grab a cheeky pic this morning (obviously I was going to park next to it) - you'd never know it, but the Avant has 125,000+ miles on the clock!



Tashfeen - I did try to do a bit of a write up, the original draft was a lot longer! I have a 15 mile (each way) commute down a single carriageway A road. I'd occasionally seen 65mpg with the TDI A4 doing ~50mph, this meant it was happy to move up to 7th by itself and stay there. Interestingly the long term trip on this hasn't been reset yet, so it shows that over the 6000 miles it's covered it has averaged 30.3mpg - I'm hopeful it will improve and I need to mix the drives up a bit to find out what works best. Are you sure those S4 owners aren't actually 1.4 S line owners that have just rearranged their badges?! Might have to consider upgrading to the S4 for the "better economy."