Couple of Allroad questions

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Kwatrow

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I'm contemplating an Allroad and I don't know if anyone can answer these questions please.

Autotrader figures suggest there is a significant difference in fuel consumption between the 272PS engine and the BiTDI. Does anyone have any experience of this.

Similarly I have read that the BiTDI is a lot more expensive to service and repair. Obviously there is an additional turbo, but are brakes, suspension etc the same.

Finally regarding headlights, I'm looking at a 2016 onwards model. Am I correct in thinking that the regular car has HID's and the Sport LED's or have I misunderstood that.

Thanks in advance for any answers.
 
I have access to a 2015 brochure.

Re MPG: The 8-speed torque convertor box on the BiTDi is always going to be less efficient than the 7-speed S-Tronic on the 272 & you've got the extra power. So 36.5 mpg vs 44.0 seems reasonable. Both are very rapid cars limited to 155mph out of the box with only .6 second difference in the 0-60 time.
You should buy based on condition and you would be happy with either.

The Sport model has LED headlights and indicators, 19" wheels and electric seats with memory.

Hope this helps.

I bought my A6 because it has the light interior colour (beige) and suspension (SE) that I wanted and it just happened to be a Euro5 BiTDi. I would have been happy with a 272 as well. I was trying to get as near to an A8 on air suspension as I could without going for an Allroad.
 
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As you are looking at the allroad the suspension will be the same as they have the adaptive air suspension. As far as I know the brakes on the Bitdi are bigger than the 272 but not huge difference in price IIRC.
I have the adaptive HID headlights, I find them good, but have came from a candle powered VW Caddy.
My MY2014 bi tdi gets about 30mpg on average with a lot of short and hilly journeys. A recent run to London from Newcastle and Back with a roof box on and car full of office stationary it seen 45mpg on the dis sitting at 78mph..... and it's remapped to 374bhp & 760nm.

Either or they are both great cars especially with it being a face-lift.

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That's interesting about the adaptive HID's, one of the reasons I fancied the Sport was because of decent LED's, but I was less keen on the larger wheels that come with the package. I'm currently in a diesel Cayenne with 21 inch wheels and no air suspension and frankly the ride isn't very good. I believe it has the same eight speed Tiptronic gearbox as the BiTDI. The Cayenne is great for long motorway trips, but I'm recently retired and more of my journeys will be country roads now. I think the Allroad with the 272 or 320PS engine will cover all my wishes.
 
I have a 2016/66 Allroad BiTdi (non-Sport). It has the HID headlights.

TBH I was a little disappointed with them, both in terms of light output and the fact that on such an expensive car they are just fixed (ie non-swivel). The HID headlights on the Yeti I had before were better.

Note that on the facelifted cars the HID headlights use D5S bulbs, these are 25watt and have a maximum of 2000 lumen, this lower lumen limit apparently allowing manufacturers to fit HIDs but without having to fit headlamp washers. I think previous generations used D3S bulbs and these have higher light output (over 3000 lumen I think).

There are some upgraded D5S bulbs available (eg from Morimoto) but they're quite expensive.
 
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On the subject of fuel consumption for a BiTdi Allroad.
Assume you'll average low 30's MPG.
Yes you might be able to coax higher figures out if you're cruising gently (I did once manage 50mpg with everything in ECO and cruising at the legal limit on the motorway, with some sections of 50mph through roadworks). But if you drive like that all the time there's no point in getting the 320ps engine.
Reality is, long term mixed I think I'm getting around 32-33mpg.
 
Kwatrow said:
That's interesting about the adaptive HID's, one of the reasons I fancied the Sport was because of decent LED's, but I was less keen on the larger wheels that come with the package. I'm currently in a diesel Cayenne with 21 inch wheels and no air suspension and frankly the ride isn't very good. I believe it has the same eight speed Tiptronic gearbox as the BiTDI. The Cayenne is great for long motorway trips, but I'm recently retired and more of my journeys will be country roads now. I think the Allroad with the 272 or 320PS engine will cover all my wishes.
Click to expand...
My non-Sport Allroad BiTdi had the stock 18" wheels. I've kept these with winter tyres on for winter use, but now run 19" wheels most of the time.
With 19"s on it still feels perfectly fine to me, the air suspension will make a huge difference over your Cayenne I'm sure. Most of my life is spent on country roads that aren't the smoothest and I still run with the suspension in the firmer setting without noticing any discomfort.
A friend of mine who has terrible back issues had an SQ5, and found it unbearable to the extent he had to get rid. Took him out for a drive in mine and he was sold on it immediately, even without switching into comfort mode. The BiTdi engine in mine is virtually the same as his SQ5 was I think.
 
Thanks for the replies guys. I must admit I had considered an SQ5, but discounted it because of the ride. My son in law had a Plus and it was quick. The additional information regarding the lights, ride on 19's and fuel is very helpful. My long term average in the Cayenne (only 240hp) is 34, so I guess a BiTDI would be at least similar. I'm leaning towards a Sport now if the ride on 19's isn't an issue, especially with LED's and memory driver's seat I believe. Has anyone got the LED's, I'm just assuming they will be good.
 
I guess some non-Sport models might have had the LED headlights specced as an option ? Mine non-Sport was specced with the fancy seats too. So it could be worth looking at both Sport/non-Sport and weighing up the actual options they've got.

Time to learn how to spot the options based on photos, so you can suss out from Autotrader photos without the seller knowing a particular car has got something you really, really want :)
 
One other difference the BiTdi has, is the gearbox type, they have the 8-speed ZF automatic box ("Tiptronic") as opposed to the dual-clutch DSG-type boxes ("S Tronic") fitted to the lower power models.
Audi don't schedule oil changes in these, but apparently the manufacturers (ZF) do, around 60k ish miles seems to be the guide. Haven;t had mine done yet but will do at some point, I think maybe in the region of £300-400 ? (Not to be confused with the oil changes on the S-Tronic/DSG boxes, which I think are cheaper and are scheduled). The fluid I understand is expensive and there's a lot of it, plus the pan has to be removed/replaced to drain. If you search around on here you'll find more info.
 
fatbadger said:
One other difference the BiTdi has, is the gearbox type, they have the 8-speed ZF automatic box ("Tiptronic") as opposed to the dual-clutch DSG-type boxes ("S Tronic") fitted to the lower power models.
Audi don't schedule oil changes in these, but apparently the manufacturers (ZF) do, around 60k ish miles seems to be the guide. Haven;t had mine done yet but will do at some point, I think maybe in the region of £300-400 ? (Not to be confused with the oil changes on the S-Tronic/DSG boxes, which I think are cheaper and are scheduled). The fluid I understand is expensive and there's a lot of it, plus the pan has to be removed/replaced to drain. If you search around on here you'll find more info.
Click to expand...

I was told by Audi when I bought the BiTDI that the ZF would need a service at 38k, as they wanted me to take out finance as the service for this would be free
 
Well that threw up a fair bit of internet research. Interestingly my current Cayenne which has done over 60k and is over 8 years old has never had this oil change despite having full Porsche servicing and with a current Porsche warranty.
fatbadger said:
One other difference the BiTdi has, is the gearbox type, they have the 8-speed ZF automatic box ("Tiptronic") as opposed to the dual-clutch DSG-type boxes ("S Tronic") fitted to the lower power models.
Audi don't schedule oil changes in these, but apparently the manufacturers (ZF) do, around 60k ish miles seems to be the guide. Haven;t had mine done yet but will do at some point, I think maybe in the region of £300-400 ? (Not to be confused with the oil changes on the S-Tronic/DSG boxes, which I think are cheaper and are scheduled). The fluid I understand is expensive and there's a lot of it, plus the pan has to be removed/replaced to drain. If you search around on here you'll find more info.
Click to expand...
 
OK. If your Audi has an S-Tronic gearbox then the oil should be changed at 37,000 miles (60,000 kilometers). If your Audi has an 8-speed Torque converter box then, according to Audi, it is "sealed for life".

but.... if you value your 8-speed gearbox (& it's a lot of dosh), then I have been recommended to have the oil changed at 50-60,000 miles. My car only has 35,000 miles on it. I will have ALL the fluids changed at 50K - including front and rear differentials.

Apparently if one of those fancy optional sport differentials goes - it costs £8-9K
 
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rjwojcik said:
I was told by Audi when I bought the BiTDI that the ZF would need a service at 38k, as they wanted me to take out finance as the service for this would be free
Click to expand...
38k is the dsg gearboxes not the ZF, most service the ZF between 60 and 80k.

My bitdi allroad is 30mm lower than standard on 21" wheels and almost always in dynamic mode, it is a little bumpy but not unbearable. I'm 32 so not close to retirement yet. With the factory 20" wheels I have for winter, in comfort mode it is extremely forgiving and comfortable.

Best option is take a test drive in one, if local to Newcastle you're welcome to try mine out. Just need a mask

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Wish I'd had that spending power at 32, I had a three litre Capri at that age. Had a lot of fun though.
 
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Kwatrow said:
Wish I'd had that spending power at 32, I had a three litre Capri at that age. Had a lot of fun though.
Click to expand...
So do I bud lol. Got to treat yourself sometimes.

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Kwatrow, have you considered purchasing a set of 18" wheels for the Cayenne? That would increase the depth of the tyre sidewall by 1.5".
 
beemerboy9 said:
Kwatrow, have you considered purchasing a set of 18" wheels for the Cayenne? That would increase the depth of the tyre sidewall by 1.5".
Click to expand...
You are quite correct, I just haven't ever got around to it. Now I'm looking to change vehicle it's become a consideration.
 
You could get a set off eBay - where I bought mine for £360 in super condition plus 4 good, recent tyres. If they work, you could get them refurbed. I can't find that Cayennes ever came with 17" wheels,
 
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I bought my 272 new in 2017. At the time I was looking, the dealer had a Pre-reg BiTDI in stock 0 miles which he was offering cheaper than my 272. I was tempted and I test drove both back to back and, whilst the BiTDI was definitely noticeably quicker, in the real world I doubt I’d ever need the extra as the 272 is plenty quick enough. The DSG felt a better gearbox too (although after 3 years I’m not convinced). What swung it though was fuel consumption. Over 33k I’ve averaged just over 44mpg. I suspect playing with all that extra in the BiTDI I’d have been lucky to see low 30’s. Mine is the Sport with the LED headlights which are just superb. Not sure if that helps?
 
I’m currently looking for a B9 A4 Avant (or Allroad) and specifically the 3.0 272 version.

My understanding is that the ZF 8 speed box is in both the 272 and the BiTdi; that seems to contradict what others have said in this post, can anyone confirm?

I had the 8 speed ZF box in my previous BMW and having driven the Mrs Merc DCT for the past couple of months I’m not keen on DSG/ Stronic boxes
 
Hi Stuart,

The 272 has the 7-speed S-Tronic DSG gearbox designed by Borg-Warner . Only the BiTDi has the ZF 8-speed torque-converter transmission.

Then I read an article saying the Borg-Warner supplies DSG clutch packs to ZF.
 
Thanks for the reply I’ve done some more digging and found a copy of the 2017 brouchure this shows the 218 variant as a Stronic but the 272 as an 8 speed tiptronic

db5f98ad668db6baf7c974073d9b76fe.jpg




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Certainly shows how things can change across the years (this from 2015) and model ranges

Upload 2020 11 30 11 43 33


I can believe that later 272 models have the 8-speed. Indeed the current 286PS engine has the 8-speed box.
 
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