Want an A5, but muddled on choice, help!!

[marwayg]

Hi guys...

First off, i used to be part of the A3 section of ASN.
Sold my last to A3's (3.2 V6, and 2.0 Tdi). Since then, ive had a company car (horrid 2011 toyota avensis!)

But now ive changed jobs and I get £400 of car allowance to get my own car. Fuel is also paid for at a fixed rate of 0.16p per business mile. Everything else is stuff I will have to pay for (Insurance/tax/modding lol)

I do 20K mileage a year, as i work as a medical rep down in Devon/Cornwall (roads here are lovely to drive on)

Right... I have 2 options.... Lease, or buy my own car. But pushed to buying a second hand car.


I was thinking S5 (v8) first, but that didnt make any sense in the mileage depaterment.
So i'm set on the 3.0 Tdi - it is fast, can be made to sound immense, and i think provides good mileage when driven clean.


What are your views? Any help would be appreciated... know any sellers? best spec? experience in owning one? things i should be aware of?

I have seen this one here... what are your views... its pre-modded a litttle so it means I will have to do less...

Audi A5 3.0 TDI Quattro Sport 2dr

P.s. I will going to the Audi dealership tommorow to have a look around, prehaps test drive one. I wont be getting a brand new one, but Im assuming the newer ones drive the same as the older ones (2008)

Many thanks in advance!

Gurps

 

[marwayg]

*bump*

 

[crmatthews]

I have just brought an A5 3.0TDI Quattro Sport 2dr, on a 57 plate and its a really nice car. Has plenty of power and yet on the motorway i seem to average 45mpg. Before this car i had an S3 and the difference in quality is big, the A5 has way more equiptment and just feels so much better inside. In terms of things to look out for, i have only had mine for 3 weeks but my intake manifolds have already gone. Apparently its quite common on that engine.

 

[Shrek5]

You don't sound too muddled on choice to me...

The 3.0 TDi is, as has often been said, a cracking engine and does offer a good balance between performance, economy and refinement. I think the swirl flaps on the intake is the only real headache, in general the engines are fairly robust if looked after and it's usually the normal wear and tear items that go rather than anything major. I think for a complete replacement the flaps can be a little expensive but if you know what you are doing I believe you can sort a repair reasonably cheaply.

 

[marwayg]

Fantastic!

I test drove a 2.7 A5 today and to be honest, it was quite slow. It did not feel as fast as my friends merc CLA200 (1.8litre)- 140bhp!!
Shocking i know!

Also, in terms of mileage, that is the only thing bugging me right now. I dont know what to ACTUALLY expect. In terms of current, i do a lot of motorway mileage. I get approx 450-500 miles from a full tank. that is with about £68 of diesel.
Would i expect someting similar with the a5 3.0tdi?
I cannot get my head around mpg numbers, but my friend who has a 3.0 tdi had everything modded onto it (exhaust/dpf delete/remap etc), and he got 320 miles to the tank when driving aggressively, and 380 when his wife drove sensibly.

 

[Shrek5]

I can't speak for the 2.7 directly but I had an A4 Avant that had the 2.5TDi engine in and found it to be a bit of an in-betweener, i.e. Wasn't powerful enough or economical enough to differentiate itself from the 2.0 4-pot TDi's, although it was lovely and smooth.

Sounds like the 2.7 TDi is the same IMHO.

Was it an auto or manual? If it was an auto then it might have been the multitronic gearbox which doesn't get great reviews, although I cannot speak from experience.

Try and get a test drive in a 'proper' 3.0TDi, the ~240bhp variant, not the detuned one - might not be an issue depending on the age as the 2.7TDi was superseded by the de-tuned 3.0TDi. Then you'll know the difference, good performance with a reasonable trade off in fuel economy. Under reasonable driving conditions expect ~40mpg as a realistic number.

 

[crmatthews]

Fantastic!

I test drove a 2.7 A5 today and to be honest, it was quite slow. It did not feel as fast as my friends merc CLA200 (1.8litre)- 140bhp!!
Shocking i know!

Also, in terms of mileage, that is the only thing bugging me right now. I dont know what to ACTUALLY expect. In terms of current, i do a lot of motorway mileage. I get approx 450-500 miles from a full tank. that is with about £68 of diesel.
Would i expect someting similar with the a5 3.0tdi?
I cannot get my head around mpg numbers, but my friend who has a 3.0 tdi had everything modded onto it (exhaust/dpf delete/remap etc), and he got 320 miles to the tank when driving aggressively, and 380 when his wife drove sensibly.

In terms of fuel, I get between 450-550 miles out of a full tank. I do a lot of motorway miles and national roads so i don't really sit in two much traffic, but some. So i think you should expect the same as you already are getting. In terms of power the 3.0tdi has quite a bit, coming from an S3, yeah the S3 was more powerful but it's not a massive difference. The A5 can still kick you in the back when you accelerate hard.

 

[jezzy]

Hi mate
Just bought a 3.0tdi quattro sport a5, lovely motor.
Coming from a S3 8l, bags of torque and not stoping at every garage for fuel helps.
Make sure the DPF has been changed if high mileage, mine was just under 100k and the DPF knackered after 3 weeks.
Not a cheap job either.

 

[AdamZA]

I had a 24 hour test drive in the latest 3.0 TDi 245PS engine A5 quattro and it really is a fine car. It's very economical for what it is and what it can do. Plenty of torque and a really good drive. I would suggest that if its within your budget, to go for that engine. In the past I had test driven the 2.7 TDi and found it very disappointing.

Also, the way they have mapped the engine is superb. In some ways it felt quicker than my 300bhp BMW E92 which had a 3.0L diesel engine as well. That's really saying something...

Sorry to those with the 2.7 TDi engine! Just my opinion.