1.4 COD not in new A1 or A4?!

[J4MMYz]

I'm slightly worried about this, the A1 before the refresh had the 1.4 COD 150bhp - and now with it's new refresh it seemed like a typo as they didn't include the COD part in the description, so I looked into the new A4's 150bhp 1.4 and found out its a completely new engine without COD??

...So...

Doesn't this COD thing seems like a little bit of a failure? Why would Audi change the A1 from COD to no COD at all, but the same engine - because they realised it's not a very good experience? Mine and a lot of others notice some vibrations/jolts when activating/deactivating 2 cyl. It's a little worrying and comes across as Audi have given up with the engine and have taken the COD part away from it... and i'm not very happy about that. Countless software updates are improving this engine and I had hope that it'd be faultless but looks like that won't happen if they've stopped the engine in the A1 and gave the A4 the same one as well!

My guess, is when the A3 gets its half life update the COD part of the 1.4 will also disappear and that means I (and I guess others) will not be happy about that, not nice thinking i've got a failed engine in my mind.

I don't want this to turn into a debate of "my car is fine with no vibrations/jolts" topic - everyones car is different, (on a side note, a latest software update made big improvements but there is still the odd time it jolts/vibrates - mind you, not a lot of the time now) but don't you think thats a little weird? Or is there a real explanation for it? This "new" 1.4 is the exact same without the cylinder shut down function, and only emits a little more CO2 than the COD version, so why has this been done??? Seems odd to me. I've looked everywhere but had no real explanation to why the cylinder on demand has been removed, thats why I've jumped to this conclusion.

Thoughts? Anyone that knows why?

 

[C39KER]

Are you sure because they still have the COD on their website for order???

 

[J4MMYz]

Are you sure because they still have the COD on their website for order???

You're right, I went on the audi configurator app to find no COD writing, so maybe this is a glitch? Not sure... on Autotrader they aren't tagging new ones with COD anymore either.

Checked the A4 on their site and that has a normal 1.4 150BHP which does not say COD... weird

 

[C39KER]

I never saw COD on the A4 1.4 thou??? I have not currently had Issues with my one but I hope it's not just a bad idea from Audi

 

[gamegenie]

Screw the A1 and A4. Audi should have offered Cylinder on Demand as a standard feature for all of their A3 trims.


Imagine driving an A3 2.0T Quattro here in the US and your Audi has the ability to disable 2 cylinders to save fuel. That's like something an A8 would do.

 

[jbs2472]

The Audi website still shows the A1 with a COD engine as well as the A3 and Q3.

However have noticed that What Car have dropped the COD and ACT from the description of the A3 and Golf respectively in the new car information guide at the back of the mag.

 

[J4MMYz]

The Audi website still shows the A1 with a COD engine as well as the A3 and Q3.

However have noticed that What Car have dropped the COD and ACT from the description of the A3 and Golf respectively in the new car information guide at the back of the mag.

New car info? Your meaning the new a3 2018 refresh or still current time?


I do know that the 1.4 cod is still offered in current vehicles but I find it weird that the A1 no longer seems to be a cod now it's had an update and the brand new a4 has the same engine as the a1 without COD - I find it strange I hope they haven't discontinued it that fast, seems like they've put it down to a failed engine as some of us have jolts/vibrations that ruins it in all honesty, but the updates have been massively improving the problems... Strange... Maybe they didn't want it in the A1 or A4 for some reason

 

[cuke2u]

I doubt that audi could drop an engine that took years to develop but maybe they've just dropped the label. Plus the fact, that any complaints about the engine are very much in the minority and it would be far less of a expense to just find a way of appeasing those who feel that they have a issue.
After all we're not just talking audi with this engine but the whole vag group..

 

[Hartwell]

The 1.4 COD engine is still in the A1 brochure (read the footnotes) and the configurator where it is only listed as the 150 ps engine (S-Line trim level) but does not explicitly state COD. Does anyone mention overhead cams, electronic ignition or fuel injection in their brochures anymore - why advertise something that is the new 'normal'.

 

[audiblue]

Couple of observations on this.

1) The 1.4 150 BHP engine is available with COD/ACT and without, which does get very confusing.
The Golf hatchback has the 1.4 ACT engine - while the Golf SV Sportvan has the non-ACT engine.

I think it depends on local markets and the choice of regional importer. For further confusion - the Motorpoint car supermarket are currently selling some imported Golf 150 GTs which are described as None ACT (A lot of their cars come from places like sourced from other RHD markets like Ireland and Cyprus). These have a Co2 figure of 122g/km against the UK spec (ACT-equipped) models which emit 115g/km - so they qualify for £30 tax).

2) The A1 is still listed on its spec page as being a Cylinder on Demand model
(https://www.audi.co.uk/new-cars/a1/a1.html) - but this description is omitted from the configurator.

As for the A4 - sorry - I don't know. It is listed as 126g/km - so it could be the non-ACT engine.
My guess is that if the ACT engine came in over 119g/km - then it wouldn't hit the right tax band - so they may as well import in the cheaper non-ACT engine instead. It is also possible they have not launched every model option yet - it is still quite a recent car.

If VW/Audi are not being too diligent with the branding - then it could get ever more difficult to tell if your car has COD/ACT or not.

The best rule of thumb I can suggest is to compare the Co2 emissions between the 125BHP and 150BHP models - if the 150BHP is lower - then it probably has COD...

 

[J4MMYz]

Couple of observations on this.

1) The 1.4 150 BHP engine is available with COD/ACT and without, which does get very confusing.
The Golf hatchback has the 1.4 ACT engine - while the Golf SV Sportvan has the non-ACT engine.

I think it depends on local markets and the choice of regional importer. For further confusion - the Motorpoint car supermarket are currently selling some imported Golf 150 GTs which are described as None ACT (A lot of their cars come from places like sourced from other RHD markets like Ireland and Cyprus). These have a Co2 figure of 122g/km against the UK spec (ACT-equipped) models which emit 115g/km - so they qualify for £30 tax).

2) The A1 is still listed on its spec page as being a Cylinder on Demand model
(https://www.audi.co.uk/new-cars/a1/a1.html) - but this description is omitted from the configurator.

As for the A4 - sorry - I don't know. It is listed as 126g/km - so it could be the non-ACT engine.
My guess is that if the ACT engine came in over 119g/km - then it wouldn't hit the right tax band - so they may as well import in the cheaper non-ACT engine instead. It is also possible they have not launched every model option yet - it is still quite a recent car.

If VW/Audi are not being too diligent with the branding - then it could get ever more difficult to tell if your car has COD/ACT or not.

The best rule of thumb I can suggest is to compare the Co2 emissions between the 125BHP and 150BHP models - if the 150BHP is lower - then it probably has COD...

You make a very good point, I never thought that maybe they didn't bother due to not a lot of difference in emissions I.E no point in putting the cod engine in as it's more expensive - good thinking tbh.

Does seem strange however for them to stop advertising the 1.4 cod on the A1 - some auto trader ads have COD or no description of COD on these new A1's: but it's a bit bad because maybe some people don't want 2 cyl mode as stated before it's not perfect yet. I'm sure it will get there soon though as most of the time now my car is excellent after the latest software