Info needed Audi A4 (1.8T vs. 3.0 six)

[james t kirk]

I am curious if anyone has any information on which is the better bet in terms of an engine choice for a new Audi A4.

The 1.8 Turbo has been around for a coons age and I believe is also the same plant that VW uses in its Jettas.

Audi has recently introduced a 3.0 litre all aluminum 6 cylinder engine.

I am by nature very wary of an all aluminum engine, though would be far more so wary if it was a north american rather than German engine.

But, it is a new design, and generally new designs are to be avoided for a few years till they work out the bugs.

Anyone have any usefull first hand information??

 

[YorkNorthGuy]

I am not sure about the new 6 but as the owner of a car that is turbo charged (Stealth R/T Twin Turbo) let me tell you some things that you have to be aware of with a turbo charged car and make sure you fit the bill.

1. With a turbo-charged engine, do not start it, drop it in gear and step on the gas. You must let the oil get into the turbo bearings - idle for at least 15 seconds. I know some guys who will not step on it until the engine temp is at normal before they step on it.

2. Do not get off the highway and turn the engine off. You must let the engine idle for at least 30 seconds to allow the oil to cool the turbo bearings before you shut it down.

3. If you have any problems with regular scheduled service, do not get a turbo charged car. Oil must be changed at the prescibed intervals or will risk cooking your turbo.

4. You will have to buy premium fuel. Regular 87 octane is not enough. You will need at least 91/92 octance which is $0.10 / litre more than regular. If you opt for Sunoco's 94, it's $0./12 more than regular.

No, I have not driven an A4 nor a Jetta to speak to the VW 1.8 but the above relate to any turbo-charged car. The power available is amazing (especially when I open mine up and I have 320 horses at my disposal) but you have to know how to take care of them.

 

[impala77]

in the october issue of automobile magazine they did a wrap up of a long term test for the audi a4 with the 3.0 litre engine and gave it a 4/5 star rating. might be somewhere to start evaluating the car. they drove it for about 35,000 miles.

 

[james t kirk]

No car holds its value, and i like the A4.

BMW is getting pretty tired looking in its 3 series, and they don't hold their value either.

I have a preference for the 6, just not sure i trust a new design or not.

 

[xarir]

I drive an A4 1.8T Quattro model year 2001. I bought the car knowing that the new body was coming out in a few months time, but I liked the older body and I was impatient to wait. I had also seen the newer body in Europe and didn't think I was really missing out on anything.

I got my A4 with the sports package and the tiptronic transmission. For sheer performance, I have never, not once found the 1.8T lacking. This is an enourmous change from my old Audi - a 90 Quattro. The old 90 felt like blowing into a balloon that had a small hole in it - you'd try to go and the oomph would just go out the other end leaving you with no net gain. The 1.8T is peppy and can really haul ass when you want / need to. I have never wished for more power and I can drive a car pretty hard (safely of course!

I have no doubt that the 3.0 is a better engine. For starters it must be smoother and have more torque not to mention horsepower. My dad drives a BMW and that 6 cyclinder engine is unquestionably more powerful and smoother than my 1.8T.

If you can afford the extra $$$, go for the 3.0. But I don't think you'll be unhappy with the 1.8T.

 

[Blakjak]

I drive an A4 1.8T Quattro model year 2001. .......

I have no doubt that the 3.0 is a better engine. For starters it must be smoother and have more torque not to mention horsepower. My dad drives a BMW and that 6 cyclinder engine is unquestionably more powerful and smoother than my 1.8T.

If you can afford the extra $$$, go for the 3.0. But I don't think you'll be unhappy with the 1.8T.

Turbos can never substitute the raw power of a larger engine......the torque curves are undeniably different(albeit the A6 turbo is pretty darn good.....so just two thoughts:

1. Is that new S4 available yet?.....if you can afford the extra $$$

2. BMW owners tend to be meticulous with their ownership.....so why not buy a used M3 instead

 

[james t kirk]

Turbos can never substitute the raw power of a larger engine......the torque curves are undeniably different(albeit the A6 turbo is pretty darn good.....so just two thoughts:

1. Is that new S4 available yet?.....if you can afford the extra $$$

2. BMW owners tend to be meticulous with their ownership.....so why not buy a used M3 instead

I am not a big BMW fan. I do like the 500 series, but for me to admit that is like Ted Lindsey admitting that he had respect for Rocket Richard.

I was just poking around the Audi site, and to my suprise, a 3.0 A6 is about the same price as a 3.0 A4.

The other thing i find kind of annoying is that with an A4 they have a paint option for 650 bucks, and an interior "premium leather option" for 1500 bucks (which is crazy). If the leather is the same, and it's just that they do the entire seat in leather as opposed to the seating surfaces, then who the fuck cares. 1500 is not worth having the rest of the seat in leather. I noticed the A6 has no such silly options and only offers leather seating surfaces. In some ways, the vynals that are out there are superior to leather.

I think that if i was to buy the A4, i would get a 6 speed manual transmission, though i do see the advantages of an Automatic in traffic, etc.

The other consideration is do i fit in a A4. At 6-2 or so, that was an issue with the older model A4 where i felt a little cramped and could feel what is left of my hair rubbing the head liner.

 

[xarir]

The other thing i find kind of annoying is that with an A4 they have a paint option for 650 bucks, and an interior "premium leather option" for 1500 bucks (which is crazy). If the leather is the same, and it's just that they do the entire seat in leather as opposed to the seating surfaces, then who the fuck cares. 1500 is not worth having the rest of the seat in leather

The A4 standard is "leatherette". i.e. It's not real leather. The $1500 option gets you real leather seats. The paint option is for metallic paint as opposed to regular, "flat" paint.

These options are nothing new. All German cars offer more or less the same options at more or less the same price. That's why there's such a huge price difference between base price and "as tested" prices in magazines. For example, a base A4 is less than $40K. But if you load it with every option there is, you'll easily spend another $15K. This is neither good nor bad - it's just the way the pricing structure works with German cars.

The difference between the German pricing structure and other cars is that not all car manufacturers give you the option to put leather seats in an "entry level" product. Ditto for metallic paint, premium sound, sunroof, xenon lights ...

 

[wrong hole]

I didn't like the A4 when I took it for a test drive. I found the car to be sluggish in the performance department. Audi's aren't known for performance, they are very nice to look at with great care for detail compared to other auto companies. But I found them lacking in the perfomance department. Since you don't want a bimmer, you might want to test drive an Infiniti G35. They are not bad and pretty inexpensive compared with the competition.

 

[Mack Bolan]

Not worth the momey to FIX

The Turbo, will cost you big bucks to fix in 3 or 4 years. I know of 3 recalls on the 1.8t in the last 3 years. All the recall were do to the turbo. Go for the 6, it better and very easy on the fuel.


Regards

Mack