Forget Quattro......the FWD is GREAT!!

ScottishA4B9

ScottishA4B9

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I took my B9 for a spirted B-Road blast last night and I was amazed at how well it grips! I've had an S3 and numerous Imprezas over the years but my god my FWD B9 grips like there's no tomorrow! Handles like a dream!

I really don't know why anyone would order the Quattro over the FWD.

No wheel spin from a spirited take off either!
 
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Great to hear! Wasn't able to order the Quattro pushed me over the budget.
 
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ScottishA4B9 said:
I took my B9 for a spirted B-Road blast last night and I was amazed at how well it grips! I've had an S3 and numerous Imprezas over the years but my god my FWD B9 grips like there's no tomorrow! Handles like a dream!

I really don't know why anyone would order the Quattro over the FWD.

No wheel spin from a spirited take off either!
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@ScottishA4B9 Nice to hear ur loving ur car :) call me crazy but I actually don't mind wheelspin, I quite like it hearing the throbbing sounds from the wheel arches as the car battles for traction cause it makes the acceleration feel more dramatic n less boring :p
 
Glad you're pleased with the FWD, and even more pleased to see you got your car in the end. I've followed the roller coaster ride you've been on with much sympathy.

For me, the security of Quattro in poor, slippery weather conditions - even more so now I have a little boy - makes it worth ordering. This can be mitigated by fitting winter tyres to a FWD car, but I've never gotten around to it on any car (I'm lazy I guess), and also it's hard to predict when there will be a one-off day where you could really do with it.

I prefer the way Quattros handle when applying power in corners - a little less understeery, a little more composed. I've also found them to wear all tyres pretty evenly, which although means I have to fork out for all four at once, it also happens far less frequently in my experience.

Anyway, I'll shut up now; you did kinda ask ;)

P.S. I also had no choice on the S3 or the 252 B9...
 
Well I had a fwd B8 before and even up in the Highlands where I used to live, I never felt the need for Quattro in any weather other than deep snow.

I would have considered Quattro has they offered it with the manual box. Completely stupid thing for Audi to do when BMW offer the X drive on any 3 series model for only around an £800 option! Hence why the majority of new 3 series are now X drive!
 
Never once have I felt the need for quattro, or proper all wheel drive, even when I lived on the Pennines and I found it was maybe 'useful' for one day in a year. But then if the condisions are so bad why risk going out only to be clouted by someone who can't drive properly when a flutter of white stuff comes down anyway. To be honest I think quattro these days means front wheel bias anyway, so the front tyres will wear quicker...
 
The A4 comes with a torsen differential, unlike the haldex system used on the TT and A3, this give a more balanced distribution of power, up to 85% to the rear and 70% to the front. The standard distribution is 50:50.
I don't think many people buy a quattro because of the odd bit of snow, winter tyres would solve that problem.

I didn't have a choice as quattro is standard on mine but with the amount of torque available on the 272 it probably helps a lot to get the power down. I also find that you can get accelerate out of a corner much earlier and harder without getting understeer. Whether its worth it on a less powerful engine is perhaps more debatable.

Its one of those questions that has no real answer, quattro has its advantages but its down to personal preference if it is worth the additional cost. Personally I would choose it but there is nothing wrong with FWD.
 
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hmy7k said:
I didn't have a choice as quattro is standard on mine but with the amount of torque available on the 272 it probably helps a lot to get the power down. I also find that you can get accelerate out of a corner much earlier and harder without getting understeer. Whether its worth it on a less powerful engine is perhaps more debatable.

Its one of those questions that has no real answer, quattro has its advantages but its down to personal preference if it is worth the additional cost. Personally I would choose it but there is nothing wrong with FWD.
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Nicely (better than I) put - I agree wholeheartedly.

I've never, aside from really slippery conditions, spun the wheels on the S3 when trying to pull away sharply. I'm sure the power/torque the engine kicks out would light up the fronts at every opportunity if it were FWD.

Anyway, I agree there's nothing wrong with FWD, I'd sure prefer it than RWD when the weather gets tricky!
 
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hmy7k said:
The A4 comes with a torsen differential, unlike the haldex system used on the TT and A3, this give a more balanced distribution of power, up to 85% to the rear and 70% to the front. The standard distribution is 50:50.
I don't think many people buy a quattro because of the odd bit of snow, winter tyres would solve that problem.

I didn't have a choice as quattro is standard on mine but with the amount of torque available on the 272 it probably helps a lot to get the power down. I also find that you can get accelerate out of a corner much earlier and harder without getting understeer. Whether its worth it on a less powerful engine is perhaps more debatable.

Its one of those questions that has no real answer, quattro has its advantages but its down to personal preference if it is worth the additional cost. Personally I would choose it but there is nothing wrong with FWD.
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Ah yes I was forgetting that and based my reply on my own vehicle...
 
If you guys are so impressed by the FWD then the quattro will blow your mind ! Quattro is not just for winter...
 
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^ +1. quattro is something else, it feels glued to the road in whatever weather I've encountered at whatever speed. From a standstill it just takes off when you put your foot down
 
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I've driven the 190 Quattro and I was impressed with the take off until I tried the FWD and found the same levels of grip! I was pleasantly suprised.
 
I think you've started something, next it'll be the stronic versus manual gearbox argument, oh I hear it already has :playful:
 
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Misses has a new TT which is front wheel drive (& 2.0 litre petrol so good grunt).
In the dry there is no need for four wheel drive at all I totally agree, albeit you do wear down the front tyres quick lol :)
But introduce wet roads and there is no way you can get full power down.
So the only consideration is that you just don't apply full throttle in those conditions and you learn how much throttle you can apply, to avoid wheel spin.
I love our TT as it does feel really light & nimble - light car and no quattro weight.
In the dry it is a superb handling car as I am sure the new A4 is.
In the wet it handles fine, you just need to feather the power off the line.
 
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ScottishA4B9 said:
I've driven the 190 Quattro and I was impressed with the take off until I tried the FWD and found the same levels of grip! I was pleasantly suprised.
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I had an A5 TDI 170 fwd and the wheel spin on that was terrible, even coming off a damp roundabout in 3rd, and it used to tramline everywhere.
The difference when I got my 4.2 S5 Quattro was incredible, no tramlining at all and not once did I get it to wheel spin in spite of some very spirited take offs.
I really hope the new fwd is better than the previous one but I can't see that it can be as good as a Quattro.
 
I had a focus remapped to nearly 200bhp, no issues in the wet at all through the front wheels. Yet my audi 1.4 is poor, I put the difference down the the tyres. My audi has conti 2's but my focus had michelin ps3's but of course the tread size and footprint can make a great deal of difference but both cars were the same.
I also had a mk 4 mondeo that also was remapped and that had 305lb/ft, or 413Nm, of torque and that was dead easy to drive in the wet. If you're daft you can spin up anything, I could do it in Dyane 6...
 
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I singer hoe much of the grip is attributed to my 19's fitted with the Hankooks.

Talking about remaps, the Stage 2 would take mine to 240bhp and 500nm torque.
 
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I'm in a B9 loaner at the moment. 150tdi s line 2wd. Such a lovely car, a real step up in quality which I think was missed from the B7 to B8. Love the remodelled gear selector, not so keen on the Audi rings projected onto the floor when you open the door(!)

Contrary to what most are saying here, the car is okay once it's going, but pulling away in the wet - it's just a menace, and it's not great in the dry. It must be the tyres, it has 12k on it. The s-tronic in D is inherently annoying too. Too much lag between accelerator pedal and movement - but my experience it limited to an S4, so I expect it's normal for a diesel.

(To sum up, I'm too picky!)
 
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The audi rings aren't a standard fitment, as far as I know, but as for the stronic I can only agree that it seems to exagerate any turbo lag on a diesel...
 
benjie said:
I'm in a B9 loaner at the moment. 150tdi s line 2wd. Such a lovely car, a real step up in quality which I think was missed from the B7 to B8. Love the remodelled gear selector, not so keen on the Audi rings projected onto the floor when you open the door(!)

Contrary to what most are saying here, the car is okay once it's going, but pulling away in the wet - it's just a menace, and it's not great in the dry. It must be the tyres, it has 12k on it. The s-tronic in D is inherently annoying too. Too much lag between accelerator pedal and movement - but my experience it limited to an S4, so I expect it's normal for a diesel.

(To sum up, I'm too picky!)
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I notice that my car (ultra sport tai) is a wee bit sluggish in terms of throttle response we when the drive setting is in anything but dynamic mode. Switch to dynamic makes everything a bit more eager
 
@StevoGuide7 I've been doing that a lot, and the previous user was a sales manager who has set drive select as sport on the gearbox, so I guess he knew too! Only thing then is you're going round town with a diesel sitting at 2k rpm and sound a bit loopy. I was wondering yesterday if they deliberately gave the D its settings so it acts more like a 'traditional' auto box, appease the old skool? Or is it all just efficiency/part longevity?
 
I really don't know why anyone would order the Quattro over the FWD. No wheel spin from a spirited take off either![/QUOTE said:
I have just gone from an A6 Quattro S-Line to an A4 190, I wish I had gone the quattro route, suddenly seeing wheelspin after 4 years....
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