Audi A4 Cabriolet V6 | Shed of the Week

British Summer Time is almost done - how about a 250hp Audi drop-top to make the most of it?

Another Shed debutant this week (sort of) in the lustrous shape of this B7 Audi A4 Cabriolet with a big motor under the lid. We say 'sort of' because we did have a 3.0 TDi one of these a year or so ago, but this is the first 3.1 petrol Cab to appear here.

It’s an all-wheel drive manual one, too. Quattro-ness added 35kg to the weight of the two-wheel-drive petrol version, taking it to 1,695kg, and 32g/km to the CO2 emissions number taking that to a kofftastic 262g/km and a bell-ringing UK vehicle duty bill of £760pa. That, plus the urban fuel consumption figure of 17mpg, is presumably why this car has been sat around unsold in PH classifieds for the last few weeks. It’s the Akita in the dog pound. You can have it for next to nothing – £1,995 or less if you’re good at negotiating – but do you want to foot the costs of running it?

You might want to when you find out some of the other stats. The naturally aspirated 60-degree V6 ‘AUK’ engine, part of the EA837 family, displaced 3,123cc. If anybody knows why Audi put a ‘3.2’ badge on it, well, just keep that to yourself, eh? It made 252hp at 6,500rpm and 243lb ft at 3,250rpm. In manual guise. that made it good for a 0-62mph time of 6.8 seconds (the ZF 6HP Tiptronic version that was an option on quattro models was quite a bit slower at 7.4 seconds) and a presumably limited top speed of 155mph. Unlike Bob the Binman on a Friday night, it was smooth and refined. Also, unlike Bob, it looked great, once you’d got yourself over the B7’s new grille anyway. That did cause some consternation at first, but like BMW’s new grille it turned out to be a grower.

As Shed has discovered on more than one occasion, there’s a downside to everything, and in this case, although the 3.1 V6 was generally pretty reliable, it did suffer from the usual VAG ailments like short-lived coil packs, wonky water pumps and titsy timing chain tensioners. It was direct injection too and therefore prone to carbon buildup in the intake valvegear. Top end oil leaks weren’t unknown either. The hood clearly works on this one, which is a bonus. Other Cabriolet-specific issues included water ingress in heavy rain via poorly-sealed windscreens. Water could also get into the systems for the airbag light, seat belt warning, interior lighting and windows, as well as ECUs. Generically, A4 central locking systems flaked out, as did HVAC blower motors. Cabin rattles could become the bane of your life.

All that said, this car does have a certain air about it. It sits well, the shutlines appear crisp and the hood fabric looks like it’s got some life left in it yet. If you asked a pedestrian to guess its mileage, they’d probably say something quite a way under the 135,000 it’s actually done. The vendors have put the registration plate OV07 OGA in the boot, a trick Shed is thinking of trying next time he fancies a razz past the safety camera van that sits just before the no limit sign on the edge of town. That number unlocks the Audi’s MOT history, which looks very nice with nothing but consumables mentioned on the advisories and a clean ticket issued at the last test in June.

Apart from a saggy net on the back of the passenger seat and some sticky-looking buttons here and there, the cabin appears to be standing up nicely. There’s some extra wear at the 4pm mark on the steering wheel, possibly indicating a fair bit of one-handed, elbow on sill style boulevardier driving. What the left hand might have been doing is anybody’s guess. Shed made a guess based on the postmistress being at the wheel but we’re not allowed to print that. All we can say is that the gearknob has gone the same colour as the wheel, suggesting that one of the previous owners might have been a gardener, a builder, or a high-rollin’ hashish user.

Here’s the ad

OP Posts Only

Prev 2 3 4 Next

OP Posts Only

Author

Discussion

el romeral

Original Poster

1,748 posts

155 months