fwd v quattro 1.9 tdi

fwd or quattro 1.9 tdi sport avant?

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troopa

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So ive been looking for a b6 1.9tdi sport avant but theres not many about. So im thinking of widening my search to include quattro....
I know quattro has a smaler fuel tank, does less mpg (much less?) and is a higher tax bracket. Not sure if its more on insurance.
Just wanted to hear what you guys think as im sure theres a few on here who have owned both!
Any issues to look out for, or stories of how good the quattro is in the snow/ice?

cheers guys
 
I haven't owned both sadly. But I've owned 3 Audis now with an without Quattro. I have a A6 FWD 130PD and a Quattro 2.5tdi. We used to have a 100PD A3 FWD.
Quattro is great on the snow. I reley on my car in winter for getting to the fire station for fire calls and it's never let down, even parking at the bottom of a hill. It's sill limited by physics when it comes to braking though.
The A3 was terrible in the snow but it had crap tyres. So it's a unfair comment.

A6 seems great so far but haven't tried it in snow yet. Hopefully it's great so the Mrs won't be stealing the A4 for work.
 
I wanted fuel economy so I wanted a 1.9 fwd for that reason I love it considering I brought it as a cheap diesel dog
 
quattro is immense and has to be experienced to believed, it's virtually unstoppable in any conditions you're realistically likely to encounter.

That said. 1.9q's are pretty rare, so adding them into the mix isn't going to help you hugely!
 
Well the main reason i have added it is because i have found one i like and whilst searching found it was quattro.
Black 130,000 fsh just had cambelt, wheel bearing and air con pulley. bose, cruise and parking sensors, plus all electric windows. £4500 however im really easily put off and now everyones saying 1.9 quattro's are rare im wondering if its too good to be true. Man sucks to be me!
 
TBH, the price seems fairly realistic for that car.

I haven't driven a Quattro, like others I bought mine as a daily lugger so the cost savings of a FWD were a big plus but I often wish it was a quattro as the front wheels get muddled up easily with the diesel torque and the 'front pull' of the drivetrain makes it a bit unsuited to a fairly large car making it a bit passat-ish. I wonder if quattro would make the handling feel more suited to the car, I mean A4's that aren't sports versions will never be drivers cars, but large FWD cars are always quite a compromise.
 
Yeh i agree it will never be a sporty drivers car but i think quattro will help me cling on to my youth hahahahaha.
What kind of mpg can you expect from a quattro and how much is it to fill a tan nows days?
 
I get about 45mpg in my fwd A4, I think it's about 4mpg less for a quattro. No idea on how much it takes to fill a smaller Quattro tank, but mine is usually about £70+ but that's all down to tank size.
 
hi all now this is just my personal view so i dont want all the quattro fans jumping on me and telling me how wrong i am . i am on my eighth audi 5 a4s 1 a3 and 2 a6s the 2 a6s was quatro 2.8 v6s one of the a4s was a 2.5tdi quattro all the others was fwd . and i can say with hand on heart i have never missed quattro for a second ok its better in the snow but for the few days a year we have it i would rather have the better mpg all year in normal everyday use you dont realy need 4 wheel drive just my oppinion at the moment my car is a fwd a4 avant sport 1.9tdi 2004 i have owned it for almost 3 years and it as handled the snow fine never let me down and is cheaper to run than the equivalent quattro . i am not saying dont buy quattro what i am saying is in the real world you dont need it
 
quattro, every time. wheel spin and traction lights flashing at me isnt my thing.
 
oooh thanks guys, how do i start a poll hehe

EDIT: poll added, going to be viewing a few cars of both kinds the weekend so vote till saturday.
thanks guys
 
yendall24 said:
i must drive like miss daisy because i never see traction lights nor do my front wheels spin ever
Click to expand...
You definitely do drive like miss daisy ! I drive quattro's nearly every day and i have just rebuilt a 2004 audi a4 1.9 Tdi. Even with fully sorted suspension, rear anti roll bar and wide 9" wheels it's not a patch on the quattro for handling and traction ! More so when you consider that half the guys on this forum just want more power from their cars in first place without bothering about handling in the first place !
 
I think it's just a case of some people enjoy the looks and economy of these cars, and appreciate the power and torque available, couple that with Quattro and I can imagine you could have a fun fast big family car.
Thats me sold haha.
 
i have fwd and it seems ok in the snow and i live on a hill to be fair its done really well but i think its a lot about how you drive as the guy down the road has a jag all wheel drive and could not get up the rd with the snow we had. i like the idea of 4wd but as a few have said its not really needed but in saying that i dont drive like i did when i was in my 20s if i did id not want an audi ;-) but thats not to say i would not buy a quattro if i was looking for a new car and see the right one.
 
I wanted a Quattro version of my 04 1.9tdi 50k miles sport with GMBH kit but never found a decent one and then this immaculate fwd one came and I grabbed it........handling is good and can be improved with the RS4 ARB and 312mm brakes etc, but still would have loved the Quattro after having my S3

I don't think you will be disappointed with a fwd in sport mode and then a few modson top
 
I think thats the key, as desirable as quattro is, if you find a perfect fwd example you'd be mad to turn it down.
 
Last winter i had a b6 audi a4 2.5 tdi FWD 163 Bhp, i had to move the car on a little snow and slush and with 18" and brand new Marangoni tyres i could not go on a 5% incline ! Don't think i don't know how to drive, born and raised in Eastern Europe where winters are harsh !
On the other hand the allroad i had at the time had no issues going on steep hills even on rubbish Accelera tyres and it was un-stoppable on winter tyres and i even went to tow cars on my Iffor Williams trailer.
Sold the a4 and kept the quattro and i am sure you'll congratulate yourself these few days when it's really bad outside !
 
quattrojames said:
I think thats the key, as desirable as quattro is, if you find a perfect fwd example you'd be mad to turn it down.
Click to expand...
I'd rather look for a decent quattro in decent mechanical nick and work with that ! Most mods can be retrofitted even the quattro drivetrain - that's what i am looking to do on a FWD b6 tdi. It will be cheaper on insurance and sure footed but you need a full donor car so you can swap the required parts...
 
It depends what you want. While the majority of people like to modify a car, I'm sure not many would be looking to go as far as retrofitting a quattro drivetrain!

My point was, that decent Sport TDi Avants seem to be fairly thin on the ground, and that if you found one that was perfect in every way, but fwd, you might want to think long and hard about it before you turn it down. And this from someone who loves quattro.
 
My 2.5TDi is the first AWD car I have driven.
I am still fairly young but my previous cars have all been FWD (250bhp Ibiza Cupra, Vectra C 1.9CDTi, Fiesta Zetec S)

I can honestly say, I don't think I will go back to FWD - even though the 2.5TDi isn't a particularly powerful car.
Like others have said, its not a sports car, but it is definitely more poised and balanced than any other car I have had.
As for the Quattro, I have really noticed the power coming through the rear, allows you to push on and keep the power down around corners, where as Im pretty sure I would have needed to lift off if it was FWD.
For the first time in my life I am actually looking forward to winter!

I was prepared to pay abit more for the Quattro and have slightly higher running costs for the above reasons.
I managed an average of 42.3MPG according to the display on Monday, that was 130 miles of motorway driving at around 65mph.
 
We live in a country that has an average of 190 days a year of rain.

People always default to thinking about snow; and whilst Quattro / Haldex copes with snow reasonably well, where it really shines is anything that isn't dry.

I have S3 with basic Haldex system (gen 4), brother in law has A3 2.0TDi 170bhp. He used our car for a few days when his was having injector loom replaced and he said that whereas his car regularly lights up his front tyres (even in the dry), the S3 just grips all of the time. Yes you suffer drivetrain losses, and yes you suffer lesser MPG figures, but on the whole I think the gains outweigh the negatives. If I lived somewhere warm/dry I might think differently, but given the summer we've just had I'll stick with Haldex!

Think:

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and

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Nice description.

I was under the impression the Quattro system on the B6 A4 is torson? - permanent 50/50?

A friend of mine has found Haldex to be a little problematic where traction is needed (mud,snow.etc) but rates it when driving hard.
 
AlexGSi2000 said:
A friend of mine has found Haldex to be a little problematic where traction is needed (mud,snow.etc) but rates it when driving hard.
Click to expand...

Last year in the snow I was running summer tyres (235/35/19's), that had about 3mm of tread. They're not a great tyre as the tread blocks are more akin to shifting water, not snow (Uniroyal Rain Sport), and I was amazed how on anything other than full lock the car just went where it was told. The limiting factor was ride height rather than grip as on driveways the splitter dug into snow and then the wheels would start to slip. As has been said, it's not invincible, and you still need to drive according to conditions (braking is just as precarious as 2wd), but I drove 130 mile round trip to family when they couldn't get off the drive.

It's very surefooted when driving hard; saved me from a big off at Castle Combe after someone's engine blew and oil was in the braking area at the end of the main straight. That aside it's a great safety net, and when I did the Ring in 2011 and the rain started half way round the lap the car felt planted. It's confidence inspiring rather than fun, but then fun always gets you in more trouble! As I'm not the Stig, and have no illusions of being a driving god every little helps!

Latest gen haldex sends more power to the back, more quickly, and can put more % power to any one wheel so it's an improvement over the earlier gen 2 models.
 
Good to know - I guess different factors in different situations - he needed a tractor to pull him out of mud at a festival!

Half the battle for me was disciplining myself to keep my foot buried round corners rather than lifting off.... its quite alien at first!
 
Quattro for me all the way, however I do live on the west coast of Scotland, so it's rarely dry! If I remember correctly, I don't think the fuel tank is smaller, best thing you can do to any TDI Audi is get it chipped, more power, better fuel economy and smoother to drive.......
 
I've managed to get close to 50mpg out of my 1.9tdi Avant Quattro, nearly got 700 miles out of a tank of fuel, admittedly i drive motorway mostly and i was driving 55/60 mph most of the time but it is possible..... i've driven my sons FWD 1.9 tdi saloon and it feels like a totally diferent car ... to the point where i suspect it may have had a remmap at some point.... if you accellerate on a bend it just lights the inside front wheel up and the whole car feels much lighter, obviously , but there in lies the problem for me, my car feels a much better quality car, it's weired because there both the same age and to sit in there identical other than my 6 speed box but my Quattro just seems much more refined somehow .... i've had loads of Audis both FWD and Quattro , still got my A3 Quattro in the garage but this is by far my favorite so far,,,,,, either way though i think you will be happy
 
I had a B5 FWD A4 and now have the B6 quattro, I honestly don't think I'd ever consider buying a non-quattro ever again. If it wasn't for traffic lights and junctions I could probably remove my brakes, in a quattro you definitely don't need to use them for corners.

Plus when the BMW fans scoff at the four rings and pipe up about their supposed "ultimate driving machines," the mere mention of "quattro" shuts them up in a heartbeat, haha.
 
I was looking for 1.9quattro in Avant form for 5 months, those that I got to see were not in the best condition, despite being advertised as MINT! Since when did MINT means it's got a few minor scratches around the bodywork, the inside needs a vacuum, and the rear load cover is either missing or broke!? I'm sure there was a few minter ones out there, but I never went to see them, as they were a good £2k overpriced!
 
AlexGSi2000 said:
I was under the impression the Quattro system on the B6 A4 is torson? - permanent 50/50?
Click to expand...

B6 is Torsen yes, 50:50 with up to a 75% shift from memory.

The A3's are Haldex.

For me the best benefit is you can get into any gap on a roundabout, or into traffic in any conditions, clutch, throttle, gone. No drama.
 
I have a 1.9tdi Sport Quattro Avant and yes the 2wd is a little nippier, more economical and cheaper to tax but I could not live without my Quattro now, it just feels so much more "planted" on the road and feels much safer on soaking wet roads plus it is epic in the snow.
 
quattrojames said:
B6 is Torsen yes, 50:50 with up to a 75% shift from memory.

The A3's are Haldex.

For me the best benefit is you can get into any gap on a roundabout, or into traffic in any conditions, clutch, throttle, gone. No drama.
Click to expand...

Yep it's 50:50 split but below 30mph (S4 up to 50mph) it can transfer up to 80% drive to either front or rear axle and you can really feel it work in the snow.
 
quattrojames said:
For me the best benefit is you can get into any gap on a roundabout, or into traffic in any conditions, clutch, throttle, gone. No drama.
Click to expand...

^^^^ this! my 100 is a big car and you can really nip out on to wet round abouts, then ease off a touch as you turn in just till the back starts to step out. then simply aim it at the exit and boot it! if it was front wheel drive you simply couldnt do this at all. imo an audi without quattro is simply like other cars.

wet or dry it makes such a difference! look at the a4 british touring cars of the mid 90's. (frank beila or what ever his name was) they had to carry something like 50-75kgs to keep all the other cars competative! thats the wieght of a ****** passenger...... in a racing car! then if it rained theyd win every time even with the weight.
 
I am loving these stories guys.
Going to look at Quattro tomorrow.
2 questions.
: Do these 1.9s have enough oomph to step it out in dry?
Also what should I be looking or listening for extra on a Quattro, before I buy?
 
Quattro's are pretty bombproof, just check the rear driveshafts are in place and it's not just some hopeful with a grille badge!

You'd have to drive like a hooligan go step the back out in the dry I think!
 
quattro is about traction and control. not so much stepping it out.

apart from listening for any usual rumbles etc youd normally be listening for. no not really.
but stick your head under the back to check the rear diff is a) actually there, and b) without oil leaks.
 
people saying they were looking for a quattro but found a mint fwd lol. id rather buy a quattro missing all its corners than a fwd.
 
That is your opinion but I am happy with my FWD after giving up looking for a quattro 1.9 version..........maybe in the future I will get another Quattro, but it does not bother me
 
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