Had a couple of test drives yesterday as we're considering a new B8 to replace our written-off B6.
The cars were 2.0TDI 143 S-line saloon and 2.0TDI 170 Quattro S-line Avant. Both cars had a few extras including the 19" wheels with 255 tyres.
Initial impressions are quite good (offset pedals are a pain but we'd get used to them). The engines are so smooth and quiet compared with the old 1.9 130. There's no spike at 1900 like there used to be and there's more drive from just above idle. Ride quality on the 19" wheels was excellent although the Quattro's steering got a bit heavy on tight turns and it had a tendency to understeer more than the FWD car - I think they would drive better on the standard 245 tyres on 18" rims. Interior quality is OK although I think not as good as the B6. I found the centre console quite fussy and the stereo not very intuitive. Sound quality of the standard Concert system is also poor compared with our old Symphony so I guess we'd be ticking the box for the B&O upgrade.
I drove the same 33 mile route with both cars. It was about 17 miles of B roads 2-3 miles of urban and 12 of dual carriageway. The 143 returned just over 40mpg and the Quattro 36.6 which I was quite impressed with. How accurate is the DIS on the B8s?
I also found the 143 to be almost as quick as the 170Q and the roadholding (on pretty much dry roads) to be excellent. I'm not sure I can justify the extra cost and running costs of the Quattro.
If I can get a good deal then we'll probably go for the 143 but we're undecided on whether it'll be a saloon or Avant.
The cars were 2.0TDI 143 S-line saloon and 2.0TDI 170 Quattro S-line Avant. Both cars had a few extras including the 19" wheels with 255 tyres.
Initial impressions are quite good (offset pedals are a pain but we'd get used to them). The engines are so smooth and quiet compared with the old 1.9 130. There's no spike at 1900 like there used to be and there's more drive from just above idle. Ride quality on the 19" wheels was excellent although the Quattro's steering got a bit heavy on tight turns and it had a tendency to understeer more than the FWD car - I think they would drive better on the standard 245 tyres on 18" rims. Interior quality is OK although I think not as good as the B6. I found the centre console quite fussy and the stereo not very intuitive. Sound quality of the standard Concert system is also poor compared with our old Symphony so I guess we'd be ticking the box for the B&O upgrade.
I drove the same 33 mile route with both cars. It was about 17 miles of B roads 2-3 miles of urban and 12 of dual carriageway. The 143 returned just over 40mpg and the Quattro 36.6 which I was quite impressed with. How accurate is the DIS on the B8s?
I also found the 143 to be almost as quick as the 170Q and the roadholding (on pretty much dry roads) to be excellent. I'm not sure I can justify the extra cost and running costs of the Quattro.
If I can get a good deal then we'll probably go for the 143 but we're undecided on whether it'll be a saloon or Avant.
