2.5tdi or 1.8t in a cabrio

[benr]

Hi guys,
I'm looking at getting a lateish B6 cabrio (2004/2005) as i decided i cant afford a newer shape 2.0tdi

I originally wanted a TDI as I had a 2001 A3 1.9 tdi (110ps) and loved it mainly the economy but it was noisy.

Is the 2.5 v6 TDI too noisy for a cabrio? im not too sure whether to go for petrol next really. And the petrol ones seem cheaper.

I guess I will need to do some test drives but wanted to get peoples feelings, i really liked the 2.0 tdi 170ps in a new A3 i drove last year. Really wanted something similar.

Cheers
Ben

 

[CHRIS555]

I personally don't like TDI's in Convertible format - doesn't seem right to me to have the roof down and having that noise......

In respect of the 1.8T's I'm obviously biased towards these! I had two and what I would say is go for a Quattro model - these are much much rare and make sure it is a sport model (lower suspension, sportier interior etc)

If you see one and want to send me a link to see what I think feel free mate

 

[quattrojames]

I 'think' the Cabby 2.5's are the 163 version. I can't comment directly on these, but the V6 TDi gives a nice roar when you drive it, the only time it would be noisy is at standstill or very slow speeds, even then it's noisy in relation to the 4 cylinder petrol, but it's a very smooth diesel noise. It's loud rather than noisy if that makes sense, but quietens a lot when it's warm.

I wouldn't make a decision based purely on the engine noise personally, there's more to it that that.

 

[paul20v]

personally in a cab i would have a 3L V6
especially if a nice noise is what you want

 

[boulevard]

As an owner of an S4 cab, I would say plump for the V8 !

 

[CHRIS555]

Too mod or not to mod??

Would you be looking to tune the engine?

 

[CHRIS555]

Too mod or not to mod??

Would you be looking to tune the engine?

 

[CMD]

If you do big miles each day go with the TDI but if you only do a few miles each day opt for the 1.8t.

 

[benr]

I was tempted by the 3L V6 but didn't fancy all the increased costs. I don't need an amazing sound just don't want it to be excessively noisy when the hood is down.

i only do about 50 miles a day but do the odd 400 mile round trip to leeds and back every couple of months and really love the economy of the TDI.

I do like a little bit of modding but probably wont do anything external just the odd interior mod maybe an RNS-E depending on how difficult. And possibly wheels depending on what I get on it.

Wont do any tuning except maybe a remap but worried about doing it if its high mileage.

Cheers for the advice.

 

[adamss24]

I was tempted by the 3L V6 but didn't fancy all the increased costs. I don't need an amazing sound just don't want it to be excessively noisy when the hood is down.

i only do about 50 miles a day but do the odd 400 mile round trip to leeds and back every couple of months and really love the economy of the TDI.

I do like a little bit of modding but probably wont do anything external just the odd interior mod maybe an RNS-E depending on how difficult. And possibly wheels depending on what I get on it.

Wont do any tuning except maybe a remap but worried about doing it if its high mileage.

Cheers for the advice.

3.0 v6 petrol will be very heavy on fuel and you will be lucky to see 20 Mpg driven like miss daisy and its not that powerfull anyway ! 225 Bhp you get out of a diesel nowadays and twice as much torque with double the Mpg ! I will take a drive in each to be honest especially if you do high mileage or drive on motorways a lot i would consider the v6 tdi. The cabriolet is very heavy due to the strenghtening aids and the 1.8 T is underpowered for the size of the car + its not a particularily torquey engine. The diesel, on the other hand, responds very well to remaps and will give you 40Mpg + on a long drive. I do not know why they never offered the cabriolet with the 180 Bhp V6 tdi engine in quattro guise, i would not sniff at one of those: 180bhp and 440Nm of torque as standard and with a decent remap :220-230 and 500 Nm of torque, perfect motorway cruiser... Spend a grand on tunning the engine: 3.0Tdi GTB2260 turbocharger, Bosio race 683 injector nozzles, decat and a custom remap and you looking at 300Bhp/600nm of torque with allmost instant throttle response...max torque/bhp available from 1200rpm all the way to 3000 rpms ! The thing with modern engines tunning is the first 50 Bhp cost you 200 notes and the next 50bhp will cost you 2 grand ! If 300bhp/600 Nm is enough then be-it, if you wanna go beyond that the petrol 1.8T will be cheaper and with lots of parts off the shelf...

 

[s31lew]

I have a 2003 2.5 tdi convertible, now done 70k miles. had it 18 months. it is not noisy. in fact the v6 is super smooth and you cant tell its a diesel. its even quieter with the roof down beleive it or not. when you put your foot down you can hear the throaty V6 grunt. I find the 1.8T under powered for the weight of the car. I used to have a TT 180 and this wipes the floor with it. so I recommend the 2.5 tdi any day. I get a realistic 36-38mpg around town (i only got around 26mpg in my TT) and get 40-45mpg on the motorway! rare to find a low milleage one (mine had 58k on the clock when i brought it) but selling one will be a sinch, I get quite a few offers but its not for sale, not yet anyway.

 

[adamss24]

Thats what i keep telling peoples, i had a run in a few 1.8TQS and a few TT's and they just not torquey enough and it feels like you need to trash them every time to get somewhere ! The v6 is such a smooth drive. I have a b5 v6 tdi quattro sport and i have to say its a beast. 150+ Mph, 27-35 Mpg average and shurefooted in all weathers, who said the audi quattro's are boring ? With 250-300 Bhp they are not ! I know guys who had rs4 and they traded in for 3.0Tdi quattro's ! The v6 lump tunes nicely to 300Bhp, has 500-600Nm of torquae and does 0 to 60 in 6 sec, what more do you want ? And will do 40Mpg all day long even with a heavy foot !

 

[mitch2575]

I've got a B6 1.8T QS I do a daily 50mile trip to & fro from work and get anything between 30-35 mpg without hammering it... get approx 320- 330 on a full tank only had the car 3 months.. but very happy with it now that i've fixed the probs with it... only taken the roof down a couple of times... so looking forward to the warmer/dryer weather....

 

[BahnStormer77]

V6 TDI is very smooth sounding, but I'm pretty sure they only ever put FWD 163bhp's in the cab's, so go for the 1.8T: there were SOME quattro's available or even if you can only get FWD, at least the 1.8T will have less torque to overwhelm the front wheels (at the same bhp's).... also the 1.8T is a lot more tunable than the 2.5TDI.

Economy will probably be bette rin the V6 TDI, but only very slightly.... it's NOT as lean as the 2.0TDI or 1.9TDI.