persuade me to buy an Audi A4 3.0 Tdi Quattro?

[DAVIDHUNTER72]

Dear all,

First post here so hello. I presently drive a Seat Leon Cupra 180bhp chipped to 220bhp with awful mpg around 26. Anyway the wife's polo is about to expire and I was thinking of giving her the cupra and buying an Audi A4 3.0 Tdi Quattro.

The question is which version should I buy the 204 ish bhp or the 233 ish bhp one. I am planning on remapping it anyway and not sure if there is much of a difference.

Who are the best remappers for Audis?

I also really want the avant and probably would prefer an S line due to the lower suspension but are there other benefits of the s line?

Is it really worth spending a lot more money and getting a 2008- 240 bhp model? do they really handle better/ are all round better?

Thanks for any help in making me decide.

David

[john-mandy]

Dear all,

First post here so hello. I presently drive a Seat Leon Cupra 180bhp chipped to 220bhp with awful mpg around 26. Anyway the wife's polo is about to expire and I was thinking of giving her the cupra and buying an Audi A4 3.0 Tdi Quattro.

The question is which version should I buy the 204 ish bhp or the 233 ish bhp one. I am planning on remapping it anyway and not sure if there is much of a difference.

Who are the best remappers for Audis?

I also really want the avant and probably would prefer an S line due to the lower suspension but are there other benefits of the s line?

Is it really worth spending a lot more money and getting a 2008- 240 bhp model? do they really handle better/ are all round better?

Thanks for any help in making me decide.

David

Hi david,
i can,t really advise on your cupra, but i have owned a 3.0 litre a4 s-line, 233 bhp, known also as the tdv for 2 years, its been without doubt the best car i have owned.
Can,t really say anything about the gains of remapping, i find theres more than enough power to hand without it.
Here are the pro,s

Good fuel econemy for a 3.0 litre, last weekend i averaged 48 MPG, partially loaded on a trip to the coast, i,m certainly still getting the same average for work as i was getting with some of my previous cars, averaging 30 MPG.
Some say the s-line seems to have a hard ride, but i find the sportier suspension just right, at least in my car.
Mines got most of the toys, and they work well, my cars a 2007 saloon and still looks in showroom condition, so with care they keep their looks.
Go for the upgraded sound system if funds allow, its really worth it.
Wish i had bought the avant myself, though still glad to own the saloon.

There,s one big con as far as i,m concerned, and thats the inlet manifolds and motors, they seem to be mentioned more on these forums and to me are becoming a common fault to watch out for on the 3.0 litre variants. Usually the one nearest the turbo gets fryed and gives up the ghost, the other bank usually carries on working until the connection to the shaft sheers off, so your left with 2 inlet manifolds not working, and the fix with labour could cost with audi £1400, not cheap. My motors have not worked for over 12 months, it as no really effect on fuel consumption, has never failed the 2 mots since, but will occasionally throw up the emissions light, in my case about once a every 2 months, so i,m in no hurry to get it repaired.

I,m sure there will be more technical and better answers to come, just do as much research as possible and of course if purchased ENJOY.

JOHN

[DAVIDHUNTER72]

John,

Thanks very much for all the info. I have seen the TDV mentioned a few times what does it stand for or what does it do? are all the 233bhp TDV then? The Cupra is a fast car but definitely not a comfortable car, you can feel ants as you run over them so I think the s-line is probably more my style of car for a firmer ride. You are getting excellent MPG, well, compared with my car so that's a real bonus.

These inlet manifolds and motors what are they for/ what do they do? are they to take hot air from around the exhaust in heat up mode by way of a flap inside the air inlet pipes?

I am worried if I buy a 201bhp rather than the 233bhp there is a lot less tuning potential but your version seems very rare to actually come to market which again is a good thing as owners obviously like them so much they do not want to sell them.

David

[john-mandy]

Hi david,
I believe all the 233 versions are TDV,s.
I think it relates to the dpf.
As regards the inlet manifold and motors, i,m not positive to what their full function is, but only too say that they possible regulate the air intake for optimum performance, i may be loosing a bit of performance, but its very small.
I think tuning the 233 with a reputable company would bring out the best in it.
Have you considered manual ( if they do a manual), or tiptronic gearbox, i have the tip and really enjoy the almost seamless gear changes, weather in sport mode or booting it with the tip.
One last thing with the 3.0 litre, i believe they.re all quattro based, so with winter coming on you get the added advantage, as i did last year of getting about with extreme care in them snowy conditions.


JOHN

[DAVIDHUNTER72]

Hi John,

The quattro is definitely a big selling point for me. If it was not for that I would go for a VW passat probably. I was really looking at a manual as I just feel the tip version is something more to go wrong, however I hear a lot of people saying its very good. I really need to get out and start driving them to see if I like it but I am already sold from the days of watching quattro rally cars in my youth back in the 80's!!

Cheers

David

[jdp1962]

Hi John,

The quattro is definitely a big selling point for me. If it was not for that I would go for a VW passat probably. I was really looking at a manual as I just feel the tip version is something more to go wrong, however I hear a lot of people saying its very good. I really need to get out and start driving them to see if I like it but I am already sold from the days of watching quattro rally cars in my youth back in the 80's!!

Cheers

David

The tiptronic auto box in the 3.0TDi Quattro is not trouble-prone at all, in contrast, it's virtually bullet-proof. If you have heard scare stories about auto boxes going wrong, they will have been about the Multitronic box fitted to front-wheel drive A4s.

[DAVIDHUNTER72]

thats good to know jdp1962, but is it as much fun to drive an automatic as a manual? I suppose its not like my petrol cars where you rev them hard but I do like the control of a manual maybe I am just fearful of change !! Do they all have the auto handbrake system as found on VW's or is it a manual handbrake as I had major problems in a hired passat with that constantly sticking on.

David

[Issac Hunt]

48 MPG?! Do you tow it instead of driving it? You must drive it very gently? Is that a proper calculation or from the DIS?

To the OP, I'd research MPG a bit more as from your initial post you moan about 26MPG in your current car. My 3.0TDI didnt get much above 30 while commuting.

Yes it can do 40+ whilst crusing slowly but if you are only gogin to potter about in it then why bother with the 3.0? A 2.0TDI would be better if MPG concerns you.

[jdp1962]

thats good to know jdp1962, but is it as much fun to drive an automatic as a manual? I suppose its not like my petrol cars where you rev them hard but I do like the control of a manual maybe I am just fearful of change !! Do they all have the auto handbrake system as found on VW's or is it a manual handbrake as I had major problems in a hired passat with that constantly sticking on.

David

With a tiptronic auto, you get the best of both worlds. If you want to change manually, you can, but you don't have to stamp on a clutch pedal 100 times a day. The B7 A4 does not have an electronic handbrake.

[john-mandy]

48 MPG?! Do you tow it instead of driving it? You must drive it very gently? Is that a proper calculation or from the DIS?

To the OP, I'd research MPG a bit more as from your initial post you moan about 26MPG in your current car. My 3.0TDI didnt get much above 30 while commuting.

Yes it can do 40+ whilst crusing slowly but if you are only gogin to potter about in it then why bother with the 3.0? A 2.0TDI would be better if MPG concerns you.

Actually i do tow, but a caravan, and this is the best tow car i have ever owned,
as regards the MPG, yes it was a Dis reading, but allow for a 10% drop as most forum members would agree and you still get approx 43.
I have in the past carried out a few measured Mpg readings, the last being a month ago, and with the mathematics, mine shows less than 5% discrepency.
I didn,t nurse the car, although 2/3rds of the journey was carried out on motorways etc, at no time did i cruise slowly or potter about, or even drive it gently, why would i have bought the 3.0 litre, i can do that in a ford focus.
My post stated i was also getting around 30 commuting, and i would agree the OP should research more before commiting.
Finally if conditions allow, my cruise is set for 75, and it was used for the most part of the journey stated in my OP.

JOHN