My A4 190tdi s-line

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scottoliver252

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Hi All,


Picked this up last week and I love it so thought I would share my initial thoughts. I'm coming out of 3 back to back VW CC's and must say the refinement feels more than a few grades up. Getting around 50mpg (according to the car) but the small fuel tank makes it feel like your burning through diesel.
Best part of the car has to be the technology. I would highly recommend the virtual cockpit / tech pack and the head up display. Both options make the car feel very premium.
Alcantara seats are really comfortable although the lumber has already packed up in mine. Flat bottom wheel looks nice but not the most practical shape and with 16 buttons (for virtual cockpit) on the face alone takes a day or two to get your head round. Small point but if you have 2 phones the new MMI handles both with ease accepting calls on either and very easy to switch primary on the fly.
Love the look of the 19" alloys but they are hard to keep clean and alongside the sport suspension do result in a firm ride but not what I would call harsh.
Wish they offered the black edition on launch but that should give me some small projects!
Only thing I have done to date is add the logo puddle lights (see thread).

If your thinking of making a purchase, demonstrator cars are becoming available on the approved used scheme. I think the dealerships need to keep them for 4 months. I was able to get the car for around £11k off new list price with the normal approved Audi extras. Well worth considering.

Look forward are to seeing all the new B9's and see what people get up to with them. Any questions about the car feel free to ask.
http://configurator.audi.co.uk/entry?mandant=accx-uk&audicode=A9Y5TZUV.
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Thanks for the review!

How are you finding the mpg and performance?

Are there any other options you wish you had?

Do you recommend the alcantara seats or cloth seats?

Also what do you make of the standard sound system quality?

Sorry for all the questions.
 
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Very nice! , how you finding the 2.0tdi in terms of power delivery , as well as the s tronic box?
 
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Also keen to here how the 190d auto combo works, does it eliminate wheel spin from junctions etc?
 
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From what I observed on a test drive of the 190d auto, no. Even with a relatively light foot and the auto box I was still getting wheel spin at junctions that my current 335d BMW would never spin on unless I really hammered it. That's one of the main reason I ended up ordering a quattro.
 
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For what it's worth I really wanted to go with the 2.0 engine for cost/economy reasons but had to have an auto (I'm 6'5" and the offset pedals in the manual just wouldn't work for comfort). In general I felt that combination worked pretty well but was too sluggish for my liking for overtaking in the 50-80mph range, even in dynamic mode.

This may be related to the odd ratios that some of the UK press have picked up on and complained about with the S-Tronic box.

Now part of that may be just me coming from a much more powerful car, and I'm sure some wouldn't find it an issue at all but I also test drove a manual 190 and, to me at least, it felt much more responsive and willing to push on at all speeds.....although the vibration through the gear-stick with the 2.0 engine was noticeable and not very pleasant.
 
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....but I'm really nit-picking here, the b9 in all guises is a really impressive car. I'm sure the 2.0 with or without the auto will be not only adequate for most people but really well liked (as per the OP of this thread), for me though it just didn't quite meet my needs.
 
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TunedMassDamper said:
From what I observed on a test drive of the 190d auto, no. Even with a relatively light foot and the auto box I was still getting wheel spin at junctions that my current 335d BMW would never spin on unless I really hammered it. That's one of the main reason I ended up ordering a quattro.
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I really don't know what it is about audi that makes it so easy to spin up the front wheels. I had a petrol and diesel ford, both were remapped and on the same roads both performed far better than my 1.4 a3 does. But isn't a quattro essentially a front wheel biased drive anyway?
 
cuke2u said:
But isn't a quattro essentially a front wheel biased drive anyway?
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Only on the A3 and TT I think. A4 and up have permanent rear biased AWD
 
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Oh and I've never wheel spun my quattro S4. My remapped B7 2.0T FSI however did like to. It was FWD.
 
Mpg is good getting 44 around town but 53 on runs into Manchester from southport.
Pleased with the performance. Don't think you would want much more than 190 without going Quattro.

Are there any other options you wish you had?- I would go for comfort suspension

Do you recommend the alcantara seats or cloth seats? Like the alcantara and only seen leather apart from thatso can't compare

Also what do you make of the standard sound system quality? - Standard system is good not great, It's very much a front stage farther than surround sound, getting a slight rattle on the dash speaker. Wouldn't say it's that loud though

Sorry for all the questions.[/QUOTE]
Hope that helps
 
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h1r4 said:
Very nice! , how you finding the 2.0tdi in terms of power delivery , as well as the s tronic box?
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Nice on the whole, im sometimes amazed looking down to see the car is in 6th already with little sign of any changes. it can be a little odd on lower revs, hard to explain just feels like it adds a dead spot in sort of a wave, I'm nit picking though. Spent most of the time in efficiency, so guess that will have a big impact. Also my first s tronic , I'm normally a heal toe legend!! Ha
 
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Stuhil said:
Also keen to here how the 190d auto combo works, does it eliminate wheel spin from junctions etc?
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It's not too bad but spent most of the first two weeks in efficiency setting so I will try some hard starts and get back to you
 
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Thanks for answering the questions guys.
I'm getting a 190 TDi manual. I only ever test drove the 190 TDi Quattro S tronic so I'm hoping the manual is as good.
 
TunedMassDamper said:
Now part of that may be just me coming from a much more powerful car, and I'm sure some wouldn't find it an issue at all but I also test drove a manual 190 and, to me at least, it felt much more responsive and willing to push on at all speeds.....although the vibration through the gear-stick with the 2.0 engine was noticeable and not very pleasant.
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Good info there as I really don't know what my 190 TDi manual will drive like.
 
Did you manage to know much off advertised price? Or was it priced at 11k cheaper?
 
scottoliver252 said:
Nice on the whole, im sometimes amazed looking down to see the car is in 6th already with little sign of any changes. it can be a little odd on lower revs, hard to explain just feels like it adds a dead spot in sort of a wave, I'm nit picking though. Spent most of the time in efficiency, so guess that will have a big impact. Also my first s tronic , I'm normally a heal toe legend!! Ha
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Hi. My S4 was my first automatic / S Tronic. I find on hilly or undulating roads I prefer to knock it into S mode. I also do this on the approach to certain roundabouts for a quick getaway. I'm assuming the B9 has D and S modes so try that and see if it helps with the flat spots.

I also use the paddles for overtakes and let the box change up itself at the redline then knock the stick to put it back in D once on the cruise.

I'd say it took me 12 months to understand and get the best from S Tronic.
 
TunedMassDamper said:
Now part of that may be just me coming from a much more powerful car, and I'm sure some wouldn't find it an issue at all but I also test drove a manual 190 and, to me at least, it felt much more responsive and willing to push on at all speeds.....although the vibration through the gear-stick with the 2.0 engine was noticeable and not very pleasant.
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So you would recommend a 190 TDi manual then?
 
ScottishS3 said:
So you would recommend a 190 TDi manual then?
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Lol, nerves kicking in, I know the feeling There's nothing really wrong with the 190 manual in my eyes, just the offset pedals were the deal breaker for me. It's a little bit noisy from idle and there's a touch of vibration through the gearstick at times but other than that I can't really fault the engine. The b9 does feel really light in the 2.0 fwd setup so there's more than enough power there for sure
 
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ScottishS3 said:
I had a BMW E90 320d 5 years ago. It was a good car but guzzled fuel around town. It was only good on long journeys and I hated having to change gear every 5 seconds, or so it seemed!
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We've got a VW Jetta TDi. This is the issue I have with it. The rev band is narrow. On dual carriageways and motorways it's fine. I hate to say it @ScottishS3 but I always thought it'd suit an auto box.
 
I drove the manual 150tdi and I didn't find myself always having to change gear so the 190 should be ok.
 
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Depends what you want and what style suits you. I'm used to petrol a so feel restrict in the tdi as it doesn't rev. Each to their own and if you have had tdi before u will be fine
 
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I have also been the owner of a 190 tdi avant sline now for just over a week. Overall I am very pleased with the car.
First of all looks - Daytona grey, privacy glass and 19" inch v spoke alloys. It's a good looking motor.
There has been plenty already said about tech and the quality of the interior so no point in repeating,
A couple of niggles.
The std sline suspension and 19" wheels is too firm for all but the smoothest surfaced roads. You feel every bump, and the car clatters over ridges and imperfections in the road surface. Coupled with that my car rattles and squeaks from the boot. I have taken out the spare wheel, the spare litre of oil, anything that isn't fixed and it hasn't helped.
Periodically the car will disconnect from my iPhone and I have to go back into the connection manager and recheck my phone in the selection menu, it's a bit annoying, I have bought a better quality usb cable so hopefully this will fix the problem.
MPG - 41 on a 22 mile commute on B roads to work. Not great.
Car only has a range of 450 miles on a full tank of diesel. If you haven't ordered yet spec the larger tank!

The stronic gearbox is superb. The only slight criticism is that it holds onto low gears a tad too long even in comfort mode.

I really like the car and if I can get the annoying rattle sorted I will love it. Fickle I know but I don't expect a £40k car to have rattles.
 
I've got the bigger fuel tank and my fuel range is only 415 miles. That said its a quattro and I've only done 130 miles...
 
RichMK said:
I really like the car and if I can get the annoying rattle sorted I will love it. Fickle I know but I don't expect a £40k car to have rattles.
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That 40k is merely what Audi are charging you for the privilege (Take away the badge markup and it's somewhat less). It's still a massed produced car so will have its niggles like any other unfortunately.

Most issues will gradually be worked out/through and maybe a little running in may ease things up more.
 
A4B9 said:
I've got the bigger fuel tank and my fuel range is only 415 miles. That said its a quattro and I've only done 130 miles...
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I was under the assumption that more miles make for better average economy. 1 week in car shouldn't give any real indication of what mpg you can expect. The other halfs Mondeo was on 25mpg for the first couple of weeks, it's now on 51 after 5 months.
 
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Sorry but I very much doubt that a run in engine will produce 25mpg difference in fuel consumption. It must be the driving style thats changed and/or the driving conditions.
 
RichMK said:
Coupled with that my car rattles and squeaks from the boot. I have taken out the spare wheel, the spare litre of oil, anything that isn't fixed and it hasn't helped.

The stronic gearbox is superb. The only slight criticism is that it holds onto low gears a tad too long even in comfort mode.
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I'd get the rattles looked at under warranty. I had a rattle from one of the rear doors which turned out to be the window regulator but was fixed for free under warranty.

Suprised the S Tronic is holding onto low gears. In Auto/Comfort mine is in D5 at 30mph, it loves an early change up! I often flick to S mode as it can be annoying.

And finally, I'm sure the fuel economy will improve as things loosen up.
 
cuke2u said:
Sorry but I very much doubt that a run in engine will produce 25mpg difference in fuel consumption. It must be the driving style thats changed and/or the driving conditions.
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Partly, but it's an average not an actual indication. my point is worrying about the Mpg so soon is pointless. It wont settle until a fair few miles have clocked up.
When I picked up my car it very quickly dropped to a ridiculously low mpg but adding the miles soon eased it without any obvious difference in driving style
 
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audi upgrades
I have never known the mpg to change much from a new engine to one that's run i, its just not possible with today's engine which need very little running in compared to the engines of old. The engineering design and tolerances are so much improved, as is oil and fuel. My a3 hasn't changed at all, averaged 44mpg still averaging 44mpg. Of course with diesels there can be a great deal of difference in the mog between summer and winter because diesels take much longer to warm up..
 
I was going to say. I did think modern engines were already run in these days it at least didn't require running in
 
There surely must be something wrong with it if you're only getting that many miles out of a tank or your right foot is huge and heavy. My b8 3.0 tdi Quattro 240ps gets 450 out of a tank on town driving
 
lol It's not about running the engine in, its about adding miles. All about averages
 
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