Hi all,
Moving from a BMW 5 Series Touring soon and the A4 Avant seems to tick all the right boxes.
However, there's a few decisions we have to make, most important being petrol or diesel. I like the idea of the 272bhp diesel but I've looked at the costs over 4 years of ownership (on a PCP) and with the reduced purchase price of the petrol but less mpg, it is working out pretty much the same cost overall! This is based on our average yearly mileage of 13,000. One thing I'm slightly concerned about is how quickly they warm up, as I often leave for work at 3 or 4 in the morning, for a 17 mile commute, however I'll be speccing heated seats and steering wheel, so this might not be such an issue. Another thing I don't know too much about is the S-Tronic/Tiptronic gearboxes. Our 5 has the superb 8 speed ZF box, but it's only a 2.0D. It is not bad for power and economy, but is a little "gruff". We had an A3 Sportback a few years ago and the 2 litre diesel in that was far superior for refinement.
Coming from BMW, I have a pet hate, and that is RunFlats. They ruin the ride over potholes/drain covers etc, and ours is an SE. I test drove an A4 Avant 2.0tdi S-Line last week on 19" wheels/Sports Suspension and was pleasantly surprised compared to the BM. There was a bit of road noise though, but as I value comfort quite highly, I will go for the S-Line (for looks/spec) with 18" wheels, and some kind of comfier suspension. This confuses me a little. If I go for an S-Line, what is the difference between the two adaptive options, "Adaptive Comfort Suspension with damping control" or "Adaptive Sports Suspension with damping control"? From the brochure I realise the former lowers the suspension by 10mm, the latter 20mm. I could just go for standard Comfort Suspension but I'm a bit concerned that it will look a little high. As I said I'm after comfort primarily, without sacrificing the looks too much, and I do like a good B road blast now and again. Would the Adaptive Comfort Suspension go from (almost - as it's 10mm lower) Standard Comfort setting to Sports setting/a further 10mm lower? And does the Adaptive Sports go from Sports to even harder???
I have always loved the idea of a Panoramic roof, but my wife doesn't like "rattly sunroofs" as she puts it! I need to find out if the Pan roof affects headroom very much. I like a fairly high up driving position (which is another reason I prefer the A4 over the 3 Series), but the car I test drove seemed quite tight on headroom with it's Pan roof. Would there be much more room without it? (I would go and have a play in different cars at my local dealer but they are abysmal - they either ignore you or some young "financial" salesman tries to sell you something whilst lining his pockets with as much of your cash as he can, whilst knowing absolutely nothing about the cars. The last one showed me the car in the showroom and said it has "adjustable seats, child locks and all that stuff" - and then went on to say "Oh I really love the smell of them inside" - honestly! I need to find a better dealer).
One final question is regarding the seats. I like the idea of half leather but worry about the practicality. Are they easy enough to clean? I know leather is great for that, but again I value comfort and I think cloth or suede seat bases are comfier).
Another reason I think we'll be going for the A4 is that there seem to be some great deals on them at the moment, looking on CarWow, with discounts of up to 17% and 3.9% APR on PCP's!
Sorry for the very long post, I haven't been on here for a few years, since we had the A3, but I like this forum, and hopefully you'll help me decide between petrol or diesel and a few other choices!
Phil
Moving from a BMW 5 Series Touring soon and the A4 Avant seems to tick all the right boxes.
However, there's a few decisions we have to make, most important being petrol or diesel. I like the idea of the 272bhp diesel but I've looked at the costs over 4 years of ownership (on a PCP) and with the reduced purchase price of the petrol but less mpg, it is working out pretty much the same cost overall! This is based on our average yearly mileage of 13,000. One thing I'm slightly concerned about is how quickly they warm up, as I often leave for work at 3 or 4 in the morning, for a 17 mile commute, however I'll be speccing heated seats and steering wheel, so this might not be such an issue. Another thing I don't know too much about is the S-Tronic/Tiptronic gearboxes. Our 5 has the superb 8 speed ZF box, but it's only a 2.0D. It is not bad for power and economy, but is a little "gruff". We had an A3 Sportback a few years ago and the 2 litre diesel in that was far superior for refinement.
Coming from BMW, I have a pet hate, and that is RunFlats. They ruin the ride over potholes/drain covers etc, and ours is an SE. I test drove an A4 Avant 2.0tdi S-Line last week on 19" wheels/Sports Suspension and was pleasantly surprised compared to the BM. There was a bit of road noise though, but as I value comfort quite highly, I will go for the S-Line (for looks/spec) with 18" wheels, and some kind of comfier suspension. This confuses me a little. If I go for an S-Line, what is the difference between the two adaptive options, "Adaptive Comfort Suspension with damping control" or "Adaptive Sports Suspension with damping control"? From the brochure I realise the former lowers the suspension by 10mm, the latter 20mm. I could just go for standard Comfort Suspension but I'm a bit concerned that it will look a little high. As I said I'm after comfort primarily, without sacrificing the looks too much, and I do like a good B road blast now and again. Would the Adaptive Comfort Suspension go from (almost - as it's 10mm lower) Standard Comfort setting to Sports setting/a further 10mm lower? And does the Adaptive Sports go from Sports to even harder???
I have always loved the idea of a Panoramic roof, but my wife doesn't like "rattly sunroofs" as she puts it! I need to find out if the Pan roof affects headroom very much. I like a fairly high up driving position (which is another reason I prefer the A4 over the 3 Series), but the car I test drove seemed quite tight on headroom with it's Pan roof. Would there be much more room without it? (I would go and have a play in different cars at my local dealer but they are abysmal - they either ignore you or some young "financial" salesman tries to sell you something whilst lining his pockets with as much of your cash as he can, whilst knowing absolutely nothing about the cars. The last one showed me the car in the showroom and said it has "adjustable seats, child locks and all that stuff" - and then went on to say "Oh I really love the smell of them inside" - honestly! I need to find a better dealer).
One final question is regarding the seats. I like the idea of half leather but worry about the practicality. Are they easy enough to clean? I know leather is great for that, but again I value comfort and I think cloth or suede seat bases are comfier).
Another reason I think we'll be going for the A4 is that there seem to be some great deals on them at the moment, looking on CarWow, with discounts of up to 17% and 3.9% APR on PCP's!
Sorry for the very long post, I haven't been on here for a few years, since we had the A3, but I like this forum, and hopefully you'll help me decide between petrol or diesel and a few other choices!
Phil
