Which A4?

[chocolatedobe]

Hi all, Forgive my first post as i am not yet an Audi owner, my question is, with £4000 what Audi should I go for, I have been driving the A4 T SPORT 1.8 2001, and really liked it compared to the BMW 323se, it responded quicker and felt more solid throughout. However, I have been told that if I am after something that has the acceleration and the extras a TDI might be best, can this be right? what do you guys think? Any help is most appreciated.

Thanks, Lorraine

 

[Siena]

Welcome aboard!

For your budget, you can pick up a 2001 B5 TDI PD 115 quattro. Drive is good, and will still return good MPG.

If you fancy something newer, then a 2002 B6 TDI PD 130 Sport can be had in FWD guise. They are very flexible, and can be mapped to 150hp and beyond for not too much money.

 

[aragorn]

It depends how much accelleration/performance your wanting from it.

Personally i think even the 130TDI is going to be a bit limp wristed, especially in the heavier B6 bodyshell. The 150hp that a FWD 1.8T B5 provides is the absolute bare minimum of power i'd be wanting to drive with on the road, and even that cant really be described as fast, merely adequate, but they can easily be remapped to close to 200hp which will make it far more lively.

IMO the 1.8T is the model to go for, and with the budget you have available, i'd be looking at either a late B5 1.8T Quattro (1999-2001) or a early B6 1.8T in quattro guise if you can find it. Personally i recon the B5 option is the better one, as with your budget you can afford to buy a good example and have money left over for a remap and any repairs that it may need, rather than buying a bargain basement B6.

 

[jcb]

the 2.5l diesel B6 my mate had was very swift...but I would have to agree on the 1.8t (quattro of course!)

 

[Tavli]

all the way lol.

 

[Nez]

If you after good MPG then go for TDI but if you after power then 1.8T is all the way

 

[Dan Gliballs]

Welcome to our humble forum

Yeah, higher mileage S4's are almost in your budget.

 

[aragorn]

Depends on the mileage hes doing though.

As an everyday car i'd personally rather have a chipped 1.8T. Less to go wrong, less cost to fix when it does go wrong, better availability of parts, better fuel economy, and for that budget your buying a top end 1.8TQS rather than the cheapest S4 you can find.

 

[Dan Gliballs]

Thanks, Lorraine

Depends on the mileage hes doing though.

Yeah, I would never use my car as a long distance commuter car, but it's a damn fine practical day to day second/family/fun car.

I see no mention from Lorraine's post about economy though (yet). I think she may be wanting some proper torque and power

 

[aragorn]

Oops! Didnt notice that. My apologies!

As i say though, buying an S4 for 4k without a contingency fund seems a bit foolish to me. It will almost certainly be needing SOMETHING done to it, and they arent the cheapest of things to maintain.

 

[Dan Gliballs]

buying an S4 for 4k without a contingency fund seems a bit foolish to me.

Hence the word 'almost'.

higher mileage S4's are almost in your budget.

Some very healthy S4's are changing hands for circa £5K,...........not "foolish" at all IMO. Even the expensive top of the pile low mileage facelift £7-8K ones will usually need something doing sooner or later,.........but that's cars for ya.

 

[Broken Byzan]

I know for a lovely 1.8t Audi A4..................:sign_plug:

 

[JAM35F]

...and i know of a mint low mileage 1.8TQS b5 for sale soon.