Audi A6 Avant - diesel recommendations??

[jamesk]

Hey guys,

Am strongly considering an A6 Avant as my next family car. Always liked them and have come round to the idea of a diesel as I get older (want an S6 but cant justify the cost).

Which engine should I go for as the best performance/economy comprimise? The 1.9 is gutless if I remember right? Cant afford the new 3.0 TDI but could go to a 2.5 if thats the best option, probably on a 2000-01 plate.

I'll probably chip it anyway :)

[vagman]

Hi,
I too 'got old' and bought an oil-burner. I have the A4 (B6 shape 2002)Avant and thats a 1.9 PD130. I had an A4 1.8T sport prior to that and was expecting to be frustrated with the power difference.... but I wasn't. OK, dropping gears to accelerate past something is not the same but overall torque and refinement and effortless cruising on mororways returning 50mpg without trying.... I got the diesel for no other reason than economy.... a 2.5 V6 TDI will probably give a similar mpg return to an A6 1.8T...depends what your criteria is.

[jamesk]

Thanks vagman. I am still a little confused with all the variants of the diesel engines. Is the 130PD 1.9 the bigger one or is there a 150PD 1.9? I think the 2.5 TDi is 180bhp is that right?

I am after the best compromise really between performance and economy. I currently drive a BMW540i auto which generally returns about 22-25 depending on conditions - if the 130PD 1.9 gives arounf 50mpg that is over twice as good!!! What would the 2.5 V6 give?

[456mgt]

It's a 2.5TDi in my 2003 Allroad, and economical it ain't. Doesn't seem to matter if I cruise or push it, I always get 27-28mpg. OK, so it's a heavy old bus and 4wd, but it's not great and I can't see it doing more than 32-33 in A6 configuration.

[garreth64]

I purchased a B6 A4 2.5TDi Avant Quattro 180bhp in September as I wanted a diesel with a compromise of performance and economy. I particularly wanted Quattro and found the 1.9 a bit lacking so went for the 2.5.

At the moment Im getting 35-37mpg on normal driving, I havent been on any long runs yet. Im more than happy with this as my last car did 18/19 mpg!

For economy the 1.9 is definately the best bet and goes OK, but the 2.5 has the extra performance and the other thing that sold it for me is the V6 engine actually sounds nice under acceleration and not like a taxi!!

[huge]

Im not hijacking the thread guys honestly....but have you considered a Volvo v70 D5 ??
If you want me to push off back to Volvo-land I will...just throwing my hat in the ring?
ps mine does 50-52 mpg.....sorry Im going now

[jamesk]

Thanks Gareth. 35 odd would be more than acceptable trust me! My gut says go for the 2.5 but in the price range I am looking I think I am only able to get the 155bhp 2.5 - not sure that it makes much difference - kind of why I am posting here I guess hehe! Also, hulking the A6 around is going to impact on performance and economy over an A4 sadly...

[Justin S]

I've got the A4 2.5tdi and I guess the 155bhp.I had it remapped and is now 190bhp,but way more torque.Tows my Westfield on a trailor heavier than the car at 33mpg.General pottering that the wife does is 38mpg and a steady run is 45mpg.Apparantly does 40mpg at 110mph.This is a 2wd car,but does eat front tyres.I found that the 2.5 is not as nimble as a 1.9 I drove,but after the mapping and squeeze the throttle in a straight line and has embarressed many a sporty number.the wife even 'porsche baits' for boxster.The last one apparently backed off at 145mph on a track obviuosly.

[jamesk]

I think the quattro system accounts for a fair few mpg then. Shame as I intended to get 4wd. Hmmm.....

[mag76]

I bought the 1.9 tdi 130 Avant in June. Pretty pleased with it and economy really is very good for a car of this size - generally getting 40 MPG on mixed driving. I bought this as a family car and hence take it easy with the kids on board, but have to admit that when I am on my own it is not really much of a steer - it's a heavy car after all. When meandering around on part-throttle the acccelartion is fine, but when you decide to get going you discover that full throttle doesn't actually give you any more acceleration! The early tourque delivery does a good job of masking a lack of power. I'll keep this one for a couple of years but when it gets passed on to the wife I really do think that a car with a healthier power/weight ratio is required. Good motorway cruiser, but not much cop on the twisties. 'Horses for courses' as they say...

[Fattb]

You could always go for the 1.9tdi and spend the saved money a re-map at around £500ish

[jamesk]

Knowing me I would get the 2.5 chipped anyway which should take it to 200bhp and superb torque. The only thing that would sway me otherwise is if the A6 quattro 2.5 suffers fuel economy tangeably worse than the 1.9 but I cant find anyone who has a 4wd 2.5 to comment

If its around 30mpg then I can live with that but any less and I would have to rethink.

[Fattb]

I test drove a An A4 2.5 tdi (180Q) a few months ago and the stealer was quite coy on the economy, he gave me the impression it might do 40mpg on a "good run" whilst it was quieter and smoother than the 1.9 TDI it did'nt feel a lot more punchier could of been the tip transmission though

[ian2144]

My other half has a 130 Tdi passat Sport Est, it get's hacked up and down the highlands and never retuns less than 45 mpg. I've not driven a 2.5 Tdi, but a mate has an allroads and recons the Passat has just as much torque.
If your going for a new A6, the 1.9 has been replaced with the new 2.0 Tdi with 140 bhp, or if you hang a bit VW is bringing out a 170 bhp version of the 2.0. This is bound to filter through into the Audi range.

Ian......

[mag76]

Jamesk,
Spoke to a mate at work who choose an A6 Allroad 2.5 tdi quattro auto.
Not sure how much the Allroad / auto options contribute to the equation but he laughed when I mentioned fuel economy. Says that its the most dissapointing aspect of the car and offers no better MPG than his previous BMW petrol saloon - about 27 - 29 mpg. Admits that his driving style is not particularly fuel-friendly but did expect a lot more from a derv drinker.
When he drove my A6 1.9tdi he said that it felt more nimble and not that much slower than his. On the motorway he said the difference was irrelevant and that getting from the South East to Leeds and back on one tank of fuel was a result.
Hope this helps.

[jamesk]

Yeah the economy of scale diminishes alot with the 2.5 and quattro it seems.

Having looked into the stock available, alot of diesel A6's are lease or company cars for the motorway. What this means is there is a real shortage of highly specced cars 2nd hand. My car has to have leather (wipe kids mess off), rear parking sensor (wife), and as many toys as I can get for me . A sport pack with decent alloys and fully colour coded bumpers is also a must have I think as it transforms the look of the car.

With these in mind I think I will have to let fate decide whether I get a 1.9 or a 2.5, quattro or otherwise.

[mag76]

Looking through the thread I am not sure you mentioned your milage/age/cost requirements.
I picked up a an "old-shape" A6 Avant Final Edition - this one was used to flog all the old shapes before the new one came in last year. Mine is in dark met blue, black buffolino leather, colour screen sat nav, rear parking sensors and a full BOSE sound system. I got it as an ex-demo car from a dealer for £20k with 1,500 miles on it. The BOSE was the only option fitted specced by the dealer - the rest was standard to the Final Edition. It's in SE spec with the 16" alloys, but it does have full colour bumpers. It is a bit of a big m-way cruiser so I was OK with not having sport suspension and 17" wheels. If this fits the bill spec/price wise have a look on the Audi website. This morning they had 2 available nationwide - one was a 1.9TDI the other was a 2.5tdi (17" alloys but not quattro).
The new A6 will cause these to depriciate quicker but I intend to pass ours to the wife in a couple if years and keep it in the family for a while as the load-lugger. Due to new A6 being out you can really sqeeze the dealers for a discount on the old one - I got £3k off sticker price.

[jamesk]

Mag that sounds VERY promising. Budget is ideally around £15k or less but for a spec like that I could be pursuaded to top up. I must be dim however as I couldn't find either of the 2 final editions on the audi site. Come to think of it I haven't seen any for sale anywhere so they are either being cherished by current owners or very rare.

[mag76]

Quick cut and paste from he website (thats service for you!!!). 1.9 seems to have gone and this is the last one one the site - this old shape will be hacking dealers off now that the new one has been around for quite a few months now. I think it's a pretty good time to squeeze a deal. I'd kick off at £16k, let the guy have a tantrum and then see what happens. Even at £19k it's a hell of a lot of car for the money.

Model Audi A6 2.5 TDI (163 PS) Final Edition Avant
Registration MJ54 FKW
Price £19,995
Mileage 29932*
Year 2004
Colour Brilliant Blue
Transmission Tiptronic
Fuel Diesel

Audi A6 2.5 TDI (163 PS) Final Edition Avant finished in Brilliant Blue with black leather interior. Specification includes anti-lock brakes, climate control, CD autochanger, power-assisted steering, driver/passenger and front side airbags, 17" alloy wheels, cruise control, electronic stability programme, driver information system, electric front seats, immobiliser, front fog lights, electric/heated door mirrors, front/rear head restraints, split folding rear seat - 60/40 split, rear wash wipe, electric driver/passenger seat height adjustment, radio/cassette, front armrest, front/rear electric windows, remote central door locking and rake/reach adjustable steering column/wheel.

Lancaster Audi
Chester Road, Old Trafford, Manchester, M16 9UA
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

[jamesk]

Many thanks Mag.

That doesn't say it has the sat-nav/DVD player or rear parking sensors which "should" be standard equipment on the final edition according to the press release. Odd....