2.0 TDI Quattro - General Thoughts

[ANX]

So in an attempt to remain positive despite todays issues with the car, I thought it might be useful to anyone considering this powertrain to hear my thoughts so far - I know I tried to find info on this particular combination when ordering but everything I came across was for the higher powered, or FWD diesels.

You can see from my sig the cars I've had in the past as my points of reference, as for me.. I'm no hooligan but I like to drive my cars... I have a 70 mile round trip to work so have to be reasonably sensible when it comes to choosing the engine and so tend to look for something that has a bit of punch when needed but will allow me to retain both my licence and wife (must not spend more on car running costs than the mortgage!)

I should also say that I'm only 500 miles in so still being reasonably sensible with the go pedal.

So to the car... first smile on my face didn't take too long, after spending three years feathering the clutch in the GTD to try and put down some traction for an 'enthusiastic' standing start, this thing flies off the line. To escape work I have a 90 degree right turn into traffic onto a busy, uphill single carriageway A road to negotiate, its been a good test for all my cars over the last 10 years - the GTD would squirm and tramp its way up the hill in 1st and 2nd in the dry, The Quattro shoot out with no fuss in pouring down rain with no hint of traction control kicking in. There's a MKII TTS driver in work who had a go and was impressed.. that's a decent enough recommendation in my book.

I don't remember the B8 3.2 Quattro I had being quite this grippy, in fact I had a very minor encounter with a tree on another right turn on the same road in some particularly treacherous conditions a few winters back.

So off the line, tick in the box - I'm very pleased with the TDI Quattro combination - the wheel spin in the little red Golf became quite endearing by the end and a bit of fun, but I don't think I would appreciate that in the bigger more comfortable car.

For general handling its hard to be objective when recalling cars from longer ago, but the obvious comparison is with the B8. I don't remember the suspension being quite as soft through the corners as this A4, both are/where S line with sport suspension on 18", but this just seems a little more...flexible. Nothing terrible - in fact this is a far better drive so far, the old B8 felt a bit wooden... grip, and then no grip without much communication in between - possibly just more noticeable after spending a few years in the GTD with its relative shopping trolley like suspension.

Which brings me to pace on the move... So obviously I get that this is a bigger car, in another class, with more weight, more gears and four wheels to drive.... but it feels a little lack lustre on the move...

The best thing about the 170/184/190 diesels in my mind is the ability to change speed quickly and lazily in gear without biffing the engine - for instance the with the Golf if I put in 4th at 60 was right on the torque curve and gave you that 'kick in the pants' for a couple of thousand revs, it just felt faster than a 2.0 derv ever should, even a company 140 Jetta I had use of a few years back had it - its just not there in the A4 - at similar speeds with the 7 speed 4th is too high rpm and 5th is too low, at least that's how it feels, you just don't seem to be able to ride the torque curve as effectively at legal speeds. I understand that producing power over a broader torque curve is more efficient and probably faster on paper, but its just feels.... well a little bit boring in the context of the other 2.0 VAG TD's I've owned and driven. Perhaps all that extra weight is just too much for the 2.0... perhaps I just need to sync up with the longer gearing.. or perhaps I'm just asking too much of a 500mile old engine and it will loosen up.

So I guess in summary I had a PCP budget to stick to, I knew I wanted the Virtual Dash and Quattro. The 2.0 TDI is the 'cheapest' way to go Quattro so in effect that was my compromise to get the tech pack and VD - I wouldn't have stretched to the 3.0 TDIs but I was looking at the 252 TFSI. I would certainly stick with Quattro, but I have to be honest that whilst the VD looks very impressive and is a talking point... it doesn't really do all that much - I guess for now I'll just hope the TDI loosens up and I don't come to rue the day I didn't go for the 252 TFSI and leave the tech pack - then again there's always DTUK if it doesn't!

Will be sure to update after the next 1000 miles or so to see how she feels then, in the meantime will be glad to hear from any fellow owners on how their 2.0 190s feel as the miles clock up, or if anyone else has the 2.0 Quattro to add their thoughts for others benefit.

Thanks for listening...

ANX

 

[ANX]

Well what do I know... according to 'automobile-catalogue.com' 80-120 Km/h in 4th gear is 5.5 seconds in the 2.0 B9 Quattro and 5.8 seconds in the 8V 2.0 TDI 184 A3 (doesn't list the golf). Still feels a little boring in comparison, hope it loosens up.

http://www.automobile-catalog.com/p...di_a4_avant_2_0_tdi_190_quattro_s-tronic.html

Thats quite enough facts and figures for one evening!

 

[h1r4]

I also have the 2.0tdi quattro and yes there isn't that sense of urgency with the car.... however stick a dtuk box on it and it transforms the car into a speed machine! ( within speed limits of course )

 

[ANX]

I also have the 2.0tdi quattro and yes there isn't that sense of urgency with the car.... however stick a dtuk box on it and it transforms the car into a speed machine! ( within speed limits of course )

Good to know that people here have experience of that option should I ever be 'brave' enough to follow suit! Could I ask how many miles you gave the car before adding the DTUK box and if you have any indication of insurance costs difference?

Cheers

 

[Simonb1975]

Anx

I assume you have the stronic in your car.
If so how do you find the gearbox/engine combo when at roundabouts etc. Do you get any annoykng lag before liftoff?

 

[ANX]

Hello yes, S tronic as standard with the 2.0 TDI quattro.

I wrote the below on another thread, but info is better here I guess. In summary with my driving style, no I don't personally find it an issue. I suspect if you where to drive around in efficiency mode, are used to other autos, or expect the DSG to behave somewhat like a conventional auto then I can understand why it could be considered laggy. If any of those things are true you would need to adapt your driving style to the car... i'd suggest that efficiency mode and drive are reserved for stop start straight line traffic/cruising and little else. I'm still adapting mine to some degree after 3 years in a manual, but get more comfortable with the box each time I drive the car. Admittedly I find it odd that Audi set up their mass produced cars this way as people will just expect to get in and drive. Again all of that might loosen up after the engine has a few more miles on it. I have owned both tiptronic and s-tronic audis in the past so I have good points of reference (neither had drive select so just 'worked').

1. I find no issue with lag in manual and dynamic mode.. for me that seems to be the only safe/predictable way to approach a giveway/roundabout and be ready to go again.. not to drive it hard, the opposite for the moment at least... Roll up to your turn conservatively, watch car downshift automatically so your in 2nd gear as you turn out and ready to go again and know it's going to hold the gear for as long as you want it. In drive it seems to want to hang on to 3rd or even 4th on the same kind of junctions so no wonder the lag is real as you roll out below turbo rpm and nothing happens. You react, apply more throttle and it tries to give you another gear in response resulting in a further delay. Sport is OK in these situations but keeps hold of gears too long for general pottering/breaking the engine in and is still so far at least still a little unpredicatble.
   
   I dont have a problem driving in manual and its how i drove my previous DSG 90% of the time... Just a good job I didn't by the auto on the premise of not having to worry about what gear I'm in.

 

[Simonb1975]

thans Anx

Is drive, comfort mode

 

[ANX]

thans Anx

Is drive, comfort mode

Well you have Drive Select which lets you choose from efficiency, comfort and dynamic mode for steering/engine response (also suspension if you where to specify adaptive suspension at additional cost).

That's all aside from the gearbox, which you can use in drive, sport or manual mode.

So much for an Auto

Drive tends to flip through the gears quickly keeping the engine 'off boost' so you of course get turbo lag, sport makes little sense with the way it behaves in a diesel to me... it does hold onto the gears longer, which is good to keep on boost to make progress through country lanes etc, but its far too sensitive on the down shift if you put you foot down - if I want to go faster in a diesel I certainly don't want to be shifting down so I'm doing 4000 rpm, it really needs to learn to shift up a gear when you're going a consistent speed IMO.

You can switch between Drive and sport simply tapping the 'gear stick' but I just drive it in manual so I feel in control and tap the stick or flappy paddles to change gears, DSG was first marketed as an automated manual transmission and that's how I've always viewed it - there's still an element of auto in manual mode in that the engine will shift down automatically with engine speed and if you go near the rev limiter it will shift up for you.

So I guess to clarify if you drive around all day in efficiency mode and drive, then you are going to have some pretty bad take off lag - for me that's left for stop-start motorway traffic/cruising only - not that I can be bothered to change modes 99% of the time. I'd say rolling up to a junction in any drive select mode with the gearbox in drive and expecting it to be in the right gear for you to 'nip out' will result in a tightened sphincter - knock it into sport as you roll up to said junction at least, if not manual to avoid.

Personally I typically have the engine set to dynamic, steering in comfort and the box in manual, that's how I feel most in control of the car. So far that's getting me 48ish MPG on my commute on a brand new engine, the GTD got me 42 and that was on a 30k old engine - I'm more than happy with that given the nature of my drive/driving so have no interest in efficient/comfort mode for the engine anyway!

Of course each to their own, and the only way to get an idea is to drive it.

 

[lord_lorin]

I have to say that engine in the new A4 seems alot better than my current A4 B8! The older 170PS engine in the B8 seemed incredibly sluggish compared to my old A3. I did get a custom remap on my current A4 B8 and it goes like stink!!

 

[ANX]

Yep the 170 2.0 dsg A3 I had was a hoot for an everyday sensible car, actually missed it for quite a while when I got the 3.2 b8. The 186 in the GTD gave enough instant go that I didn't feel underpowered after the 3.2 but man I miss the sweet V6 startup rumble. The 190 quattro B9 for me just looses that instant go feeling when on the move, it's great off the line through second and third but starts to feel a little bit wheezy from there... like where have those 400 torques gone? Maybe it's the 7 speed box - one too many gears for this engine IMO.

All said, I did have a bit of a blast on a/b roads today staying a gear higher than I normally would and that nice in gear peak of power is there..just a bit more of a swell than a kick in the backside. I guess the gears are a bit longer and I'll find where to get the smiles as I get more familiar with the car. If not, DTUK here I come!!

 

[lord_lorin]

Well I will have to let you know what the B9 190PS with a manual box is like when mine turns up in April. I have contacted the remap company I have used for all my previous Audi's and he is happy to write a custom map for the B9 if I am interested.

 

[cuke2u]

I had a 2.0l tdi 190 with a manual gearbox as a loan car recently. The gearbox wasn't as good as the manual one fitted as to my A3, the throw is quite long not very precise and was a real 'tingle stick'. I am glad I didn't go for one in the end.

 

[ANX]

Got a 66 plate a3 tfsi as a loaner whilst mines being looked at.. guess it's a 1.4 as it's got cylinder on demand. Goes well enough for what it is but the gearbox throw is way longer than the GTD was and it's no where near as slick with the changes - feels more like the wife's Qashqai! The A4 will feel like Bentley rocket ship when it comes back