Newbie MPG Q

[GlennMr2]

hi.

newbie here just saying hi and have a few questions for you,

i went and had a look at a 2001 a4 2.0se auto the other day, it was the first time ive driven an audi and i must say im very impressed, so smooth and silent inside the cabin,

im stuck in 2 minds on weather to go for the petrol 2.0 or the 1.9 tdi both have to be auto. ive had manuals for me last few cars and i wanna nice lazy car to drive.

can you guys tell me how many miles you lot get to a full tank in both your 2.0 petrols and your 1.9 tdi

cheers

 

[s-line stu]

Hello,

Have a look at this link, it should give you a general idea even though both are based on a manual box rather than auto. If you can find a 130bhp tdi then the performance is about the same as the 2.0 petrol although I expect the delivery will be very different with the tdi having more low down pull hence probably feeling faster.

http://www.whatcar.com/car-comparison.aspx?M=3&U=1&ED=5116&ED2=5114&ED3=0

Stu

 

[Macduff]

Given the age of car you're looking at, I'd look VERY carefully at the service history of the gearbox. The Audi Multitronic ECUs have a habit of burning out and it can be very costly to repair.

 

[BahnStormer77]

I've also heard a lot of horror stories with the MULTItronics (product recall on some of the higher torque 2.5TDi's), probably should have been a recall on a lot of others, but the owners are largely having to fork out for the revised 7-plate clutch system and associated labour themselves.

The TIPtronic is just the regular automatic (with tiptronic / paddle-shift overide), which although is higher maintenance than manuals, I don't think they're a huge issue, especially if you don't remap them too high - probably best to stick with one of these...

With regards to fuel economy: it's is largely dependant on how you drive the car (more-so with the turbo charged versions) I think the 2.0 petrols get around 275-325miles on a tank (the 1.8T can be 225-350, depending on driving), the 1.9TDi 130's usually get around 400-500miles. A friend has a 2004 B6 1.9TDi 110 which he reckons he regularly gets 600miles on with mixed A road and town driving, but he does "Drive Miss Daisy".

Six months ago, I was going through a variety of options with regards to engines, although I was looking at Quattro's, but had excluded the 3.2 petrol for insurance and fuel economy reasons...

So my choices were: 1.9TDi 130bhp, 1.8T 180bhp, 2.5TDi 180bhp.

I ended up going for an early 2.5TDi 180bhp Quattro... it's got the power of the 1.8T, but it's a solid V6 engine, insurance is lower than the 1.8T and I get 400miles on a tank if it's mostly around town and 550+ if it's all motorway!

Even if you decide the Quattro's not for you and FWD is fine: keep in mind the 150bhp and 160bhp 2.5Tdi's: the V6 TDi just sounds smoother than the 1.9TDi and it feels a LOT smoother than the four-cylinder models.... it's got a slightly annoyingly narrow power-band, but that's mostly 'cos it can rip through that band so quickly!

 

[BahnStormer77]

double-post, sorry!!

 

[GlennMr2]

thanks for your replys guys. you got me a bit worried now about the auto gearboxes, but that is number 1 priority for me is that its gota be an automatic, ive had enough of manuals

 

[BahnStormer77]

A high mileage auto of any make is almost always more likely to give probs than a high mileage manual... but a well maintained (with service history!) auto is probably still a safer bet than a neglected manual gearbox.

The only ones in the "to avoid" category are the MULTItronics.... with the CVT gearbox.

This is a relatively new type of gearbox and has had some teething problems - especially with the more torque generated by the bigger diesels.

As much as a manual likely to be more reliable than either of the others, don't let the multitronic's chequered history put you off a tiptronic... they're very different beasts and the tiptronic should be as reliable as most other automatics on the market.

Hopefully somebody can offer some first hand experience, my tip/multi experience is driven mostly from what I read when I was looking for mine.

 

[aragorn]

I'm not a fan of slushboxes, but as with anything, you only hear about failures.

There are likely 100's of thousands of these autoboxes in use daily with no issues...

Theres far more to go wrong with a complex CVT than a manual box, even to the point that as far as audi are concerned, the manual box is sealed for life. As such its much more likely you will hear of failures of an Auto/CVT than a manual!

But as has been said, the tip/auto boxes have been around longer then the CVT, so its fair to assume they're going to be a bit more reliable with all the kinks worked out.

 

[GlennMr2]

well i will make sure its got the full service history and check through all the recieps to see if theres any gearbox ones in there...

i had a cooper s previously and was getting 25mpg and thats just around town and on a run was getting about 32/35 mpg...

i was happy with them figures, but wanted better

 

[BahnStormer77]

if u want MPG, then go derv (diesel)... mine is the LEAST frugal of the diesel B6's as it's Quattro, V6 and in the higher 180bhp tuning, but it still gets just under 40mpg avg on a tank with a mix of driving.... closer to 50mpg if it's all motorway from warm and you'd struggle to get it below 30mpg even with a fair bit of caning it around and lots of fairly short trips.

 

[Macduff]

Just to clarify that the Multitronics are on FWD cars and the Tiptronics are on Quattros.

Of the two you're looking at, both came with Multitronic FWD but the TDI only came in manual as a Quattro. If you want a Tiptronic then you'll have to look at bigger engines like the 2.5TDI and 3.0 petrol but they will be Quattro so less MPG but the TDI will probably still be better than your Cooper.

 

[BahnStormer77]

Multitronics are never on the higher torque engines (2.5TDi in Quattro 180bhp tune), so just stick to those and then you know if it's an "auto" then it's the tiptronic, not the Multitronic

I've seen a fair number of auto's around: Try searching on Autotrader for keyword "quattro" and gears-auto and then just be careful of those cars listed with quattro bodykits or from "Audi Quattro Centre".

That search above, with "diesel" yields 114 results....a lthough only 12 are <£7k.

Speakign of which - I've not seen any mention of a budget?

£2k and you're talking a wait and hope.... for a semi-okay B5.
£4k will be a high mileage B6 and you will probably have to wait for a decent one.
£6k should get you a high-ish mileage B6, but very high spec and reasonably quickly.

I saw a tiptronic version of mine (2001 2.5TDi Quattro Sport) but in grey leather, seemed like high-spec finsh and in the same funky blue as J7USS's new ride and about 90k miles.... for £5.5k.

 

[BahnStormer77]

a bit like this one on Autotrader

2001 51 Reg Audi A4 2.5 TDI 180 Quattro SE Sat Nav

Price:
£6,000





Features:

• 82,000 miles
• Automatic
• Silver
• Diesel
• Saloon
• 2500 cc

Full Description:

Glossary of Terms
Automatic, Saloon, Diesel, 82,000 miles, Silver, Diesel, Remote Central Locking, 5 Speed, Alarm, Alloy Wheels, Anti-Lock Braking System, CD 6 Disk Autochanger, Cruise Control, Drivers Information, Electric Mirrors, Electric Seats, Electric Windows, Front Armrest, Full Service History, Immobiliser, Power Assisted Steering, Radio, Rear Parking Sensors, Sat Nav, Wood Inserts. While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of this advert some discrepancies and errors may occur, Please consult the sales advisor for a definitive specification list. Please click on the Dealers Website link to view more details and larger photos. £6,000

 

[BahnStormer77]

and you can replace the wood inserts for £50-£200....

I don't think that has SatNav (nto an issue, since few do, but it says it does in the ad).... and no leather....

bigger issues: it's done 82k miles.... cambelt due every 80k..... also, no mention of service history....

here's the dealer's website: http://www.enterprisegarage.com/index.asp

 

[GlennMr2]

thanks for all your help guys, i fount a 2003 1.9tdi auto (multi) in black full service history loads of reciepts cambelt done recently 100,00 miles on it for £4500 IT SEEMS REALLY CLEAN., touch wood i hope i dont get any problems with the box,,

i will post pics when i get the chance,, standard at the minute , but wanna do a few light mods to it

thanks

 

[BahnStormer77]

Always gonna be a slight gamble on the multitronic, but they're (quite literally) multi-award winning pieces of kit until they go belly up.... then although you'll have a big fat bill for the new parts (re-designed clutch system) you will have the award winning piece of kit again, but just the re-design more robust version.

Hopefully you get a few years use out of it before having to fork out any serious spondoolies - but bear in mind that it's probably NOT worth risking a remap with that Multronic as the diesel remaps just tend to whack up the lower rev torque levels (particularly back for Multitronics).

 

[technics100]

thanks for all your help guys, i fount a 2003 1.9tdi auto (multi) in black full service history loads of reciepts cambelt done recently 100,00 miles on it for £4500 IT SEEMS REALLY CLEAN., touch wood i hope i dont get any problems with the box,,

i will post pics when i get the chance,, standard at the minute , but wanna do a few light mods to it

thanks

You said it had FSH, you should have a look and see if the gearbox oil had been changed. I think it should be done every 40k on the multi-tronic.

 

[jdp1962]

I've got a 2.4 with a multi-tronic box. It's six years old, covered 75,000 miles & had the oil changed twice. It's been good as gold all the time I've had it.

 

[jdp1962]

Nice meeting you today, Glenn, and a pleasure doing business with you. Let's see some pics of your new A4, with my old wheels on it.

 

[GlennMr2]

pics hopefully by tomorrow night,

nice to meet you to jeff