A4 or A6 which one ?

[Ecosseman]

Looking to change my car and can't decide on either A4 or an A6 so any help would be great. Daily drive is about 30 miles, mostly dual carriageway and will also be used to drive on holidays of approx 500 miles at a time a well as trips at weekends. Been looking thro' Auto trader and for my budget of £8k there are a few of both models but I'd really like a car with 200bhp. Any suggestions or tips on what best to go for?, happy to have a quattro model and insurance not an issue cos I'm an oldy but didn't really want anything too miley as I'll probably only keep the car 2 years at most

cheers
Al

[agent006]

I'd always go for an A6, but that's just personal preference.

1.8 turbo will get 180bhp on various models.
2.8V6 in 30 valve guise tops 200bhp i believe.

There's little point having an Audi if you don't get a quattro model really, you'll really struggle for traction without, especially on the 2.8.

[tvrforever]

On my 3rd of the recent Audi models :-

'98 A4 1.8auto - nice car, very well made, chose auto to slow me down so was ok re power but...

'98 A6 2.4 v6 - very nice car, used oil a bit, and a bit more petrol thirsty, but very well made and loads of room (back & boot). Got it with 60k on the clock for £12k, sold it with 130k miles on the clock just under 3 years later for £3k.

'02 A6 Avant 2.5 TDI Quattro Sport - stunning allround car, pulls like a train, loads of grip, vast space, fun to drive (for an Audi), good with oil & fuel, great build quality.

I do 110 miles every day to & from work, drive skiing at least once a year, and overall average 30K miles per year in the family/commute car (not enough in the Chimaera though).

Would fully recommend the A6 but be aware bigger engines & more toys = not cheap to fix...

[TDI_MAN]

For the age of car you will be looking at the A4 is a better car than the 6.

I've had 2 A4's and 1 A6...

96 A4 1.9 TDI 110 - What a car, 50mpg and enough power to upset many many petrols.

98 A4 1.8 SE - Nice toys but fuel economy dreadful (28mpg), no power at all unless you're doing 4500rpm +

96 A6 2.5 Avant - This was the 115Hp model and what a donkey, not fast, not great on fuel and dissapointingly not a very big load space.

My advice would be to go for an A4 2.5 TDI Quattro. (If you can find one for 8K) failing that a 115Pd should be within your price range or possibly a leggy 130Pd

[liszt]

If space is a premium forget the A4. I have one at the minute and it is not big at all.

[M@H]

Have a look at all audi..www.allaudi.co.uk/ they have some interesting cars at times, such as this one for example:

www.allaudi.co.uk/salvage_car.asp?lpSalvageCar=198

Cheers
Matt

[M@H]

TDI_MAN said:

I've had 2 A4's and 1 A6... 96 A4 1.9 TDI 110 - What a car, 50mpg and enough power to upset many many petrols.

Without upsetting the applecart as my father has had a 115 and currently drives a 130 TDI Avant, and I do like them.. I was looking to get a TDI A4 last week and test drove a couple of 110's at the weekend on an R and P plate.. I was hugely dissapointed with the performance I'm afraid, to the extent that I bought a petrol Peugeot instead.

Cheers
Matt.


>> Edited by M@H on Tuesday 29th March 09:30

[timwatsham]

I just bought a 2.0 A6 Avant (M reg, so old style and rather cheaper than you were looking at) a month or so back. Not quick, but a lovely cruiser all the same. Just driven to France and back to go skiing over the weekend, and it sat all night at 100-105 both ways. Didn't need any more power as you never needed to slow down. Lots of space for 4 of us and all the sking gear.

Very comfortable and quiet at speed and rock-solid. Hardly felt you were moving...

[Ecosseman]

Folks,

thanks for the replies, looks like there are two schools of thought here. Space isn't a major issue, as long as I can get a couple of cases in the boot then thats's fine, just thought the A6 would be more to my liking as all my last cars have been on the large side and to downsize might be a bit much. Hadn't thought of a diesel before, but after your comments I can't ignore them, will try and get a few test drives and see what I prefer.

thanks again

[pentoman]

Try sitting in each of the A4 & A6 in silence for 10 minutes.

Many will come out wanting an A6.

The A4 is great and probably makes more sense, but it feels only like a well-executed souped up repmobile.

An A6 on the other hand feels a little more like it was crafted for a discerning individual (well, 100,000 discerning individuals). If you like that kind of thing, get an A6, if you don't care a mule's reproductive organ then get the A4.


Russ
'62 Elan
'86 190E

[kevinday]

I am just in the process of changing from a Skoda Octavia combi to an Audi avant. Originally wanted an A4 but am getting an A6, the difference in rear seat space is significant, and the general feel of the car is better. I also prefer the quattro system in the Audi to the 4-motion in the Skoda. My Octavia was the 1.9 TDi 4x4, the A6 is the 2.5 Tdi quattro tiptronic, performance is a 'little' better too

[targarama]

Another A6 owner here. I originally was looking into A4 Avants, then I found out the A6 was cheaper to insure and had similar MPG. The interior ambience of the A6 is several rungs up the ladder from the A4, the newer model A4 is nicer though. The A6 has many more toys as std too like interior lighting, dual zone climate control.

A6s are also dirt cheap 2nd hand and a rarer sight on the road makes them more exclusive.

I've had mine 3 years and will probably get another one in a few years time.

[Gren]

I'd go for the A4 unless you need the legroom in the back and load space. The A4 has little of either.

If you don't then you'll get more for your money and will be a little lighter etc.