Audi A4 Avant 1.9 TDi Sport 130 - One Year Review

[NewNiceMrMe]

Well it's now been coming up to a year since I took delivery of the A4.

For those that don't recall, or weren't on TSN at the time, this car was a company purchase and the requirements were somewhat specific.

Firstly, a bit of explanation as to how and why I got to choosing an A4 Avant (because this might explain some of my later opinions more easily).

Reasoning

I had just taken delivery of my 6-series. However, no sooner had I done so I found out I'd be increasing my mileage significantly. Destroying the value of the 6-series with 20,000+ miles per annum on top of my anticipated 8,000 to 10,000 per annum just wasn't on my wishlist. So, I opted back in to a company car scheme in which I could choose a car up to the value of £35,000. The car could be new or used, with our preference being for used cars with up to 12,000 miles on the clock.

However, I'd be paying tax on the full list price of the car, based on its CO2 emissions of course. Bearing this in mind I decided to limit myself to £20,000 of choice and a car that fell kindly into a lower tax bracket.

Other factors were that we had the 6-series - so I didn't need a large cruiser or weekend type car. We also have my wifes 320d SE Saloon - so I didn't really want another normal saloon car. Add to that the fact that the neighbours might start to think I was a salesman for the local BMW garage and I decided I'd listen to the qualified accounts of the many Audi fans on TSN.

Furthermore, the idea of an estate car appealed as we'd then have a weekend car, a saloon car, and a load lugger - a nice combination for every occasion that could arise.

I liked the look of the B6 A4 Avant. It's a good looking car and remains so. I could have just crept into a B7 A4 Avant too though, but I wasn't overly enthusiastic about the face of the car and whilst it has grown on me I'm still not over the moon about it. Nonetheless, in retrospect perhaps I should have opted for the B7 for other reasons covered hereon.

Specification

The A4 I found was a 54 plater with 9,000 miles on the clock and one owner from new. It was at a main dealers. The car was pretty much base specification. However, it did have an after market DVD player fitted with a roof mounted rear screen for the kids to watch. That appealed and I found the colour (later found to be Akoya Silver) rather fetching too.

Reliability

In a year of motoring the A4 has been largely faultless, mechanically. It has now covered 29,500 miles and has had a single service in that period. Nothing has gone wrong with it other than it having a habit of blowing number plates bulbs and the glovebox handle snapping off following a bout of temper (because the glovebox refused to open). The DVD player has never emitted a single decibel of sound since I bought it though - and still doesn't. That was never rectified by the dealer and I gave up in the end as the kids don't like the car so never go in it! It doesn't bother me and I'll eventually get around to fixing it somehow.

The car tailgate is a bit tempermental but I've since discovered this is common. Whether or not its acceptable is another thing, but its not the end of the world and once I'd mastered the technique needed to close it I can't say it's presented me with many moments of frustration.

Drive

Make no mistake about it, whatever you have read previously, and are about to again, this is a very accomplished family estate car. It is of superior build quality to most cars out there and the fact it has given me a year of almost trouble free motoring when being abused like an abused thing is testament to that.

The cars economy is simply breathtaking. I think it is abormal. In fact I think it has a diesel tank I don't know of and someone creeps up in the night and tops it up for me - they must do. I average anywhere between 45mpg and 49mpg no matter how I drive the car. It's DIS has shown a range of 995 miles. Thats on £60 worth of fuel. Its quite incredible. To that end, it serves its purpose alone - reasonably comfortable, cheap and troublefree motoring in the face of constant criticism.

So, on to the criticism. Well firstly whilst the interior is very nicely trimmed, of good quality with solid materials and a nice feel, I find the driver lateral leg space very confined indeed. This is in comparison to a 320d where you have much more leg movement available. I've grown used to it and it's not a major issue - but I think it could be improved upon.

To dispel any chance of causing major upset to the A4 owners on TSN, I'll cover my major criticms very briefly. If you want more detail on them then just look in the A4 Forum and do a search. You'll find ample mention of them.

The ESP is shocking. Its dangerous IMO. I have driven god knows how many FWD cars in my time, owning many, but never have I come across such a flawed system with an abject lack of grip on the front wheels.

The handling is wallow-like. It bounces and skips far too much for my liking.

The engine is noisey and industrial-like in its efforts. Its reasonably nippy, but nothing more. The 320d destroys it is almost every respect - refinement, noise, acceleration, smoothness of transmission, everything - but it won't touch the Audi's economy.

The gearchange is lovely though. Nice and notchy, yet lacking resistance (which I like). It's a good 6-speed box with no sign of slackening after a year of abuse. I'm impressed with it.

In terms of practicality then the car does its job. However, anyone choosing an A4 for loadspace should be aware that if you don't want to endanger your passengers in an accident - then the loadspace is really no better than an A4 Saloon. Legroom in the back is adequate and we've taken the kids down to Alton Towers in it with few complaints from the 14 year old.

A few other bits

The paintwork quality of the car is excellent. Much better than BMW in my opinion. The interior trim is too, but its of no better quality in terms of materials - it just looks a lot nicer than an E46 3-series. It's more welcoming, warmer and generally a nicer place to be.

The service I have received as an Audi driver is much as I expected. Poor. They don't have same customer focus as BMW and frankly I'd be hard pushed to buy an Audi personally if I thought I'd have to deal with this on a regular basis.

Summary

The car serves it purpose.

Its a good mile cruncher and its a capable machine.

Would I choose the same again if I could go back in time?

No. A very firm no too. I'd choose a 320d Tourer and ignore what my neighbours might think! I simply find the BMW much more stable, much more refined as a driving machine and a whole lot more pleasurable to drive. In my opinion, just my opinion perhaps, it's the far better car (even in SE guise as opposed to Sport guise).

I could change the A4 by breaking a few policies that would then have me berated as observing a different rule to others, but it's not bad enough for me to do so. It's liveable with.

So, on the whole, the car does its job. Enough said.

[Big_Dan]

The DVD player thingy, is it supposed to put the sound over the car speakers? The one in my Disco does this, but you have to put the head unit into CD changer mode to get the sound, otherwise headphones only ... just a thought!

[Soapsuds]

good review - i know what you mean about the ride and that is something that annoyed me so much that i just had to change my car in the end (especially after a long Scumball weekend in my Starion - back driving a REAL car!!)..... ok, to my Megane which isnt exactly a luxury ride!!!

I do miss the fuel economy - you are right - stunning is a good word to describe it!!!

I actually agree with most of what you say in that review and must admit that it wasnt until changing my car that i realised that i DID agree with you on many points..... a bit TSN Audi biased i was in the past!!!

Good review and like you say, a workhorse PERFECT for what you want and need it for.

[Alastair_A3]

good review

So how long are you keeping it for?

[NewNiceMrMe]

[ QUOTE ]

The DVD player thingy, is it supposed to put the sound over the car speakers? The one in my Disco does this, but you have to put the head unit into CD changer mode to get the sound, otherwise headphones only ... just a thought!

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks Dan, but been there and tried all that - I believe there is a fault with the system somewhere.

[NewNiceMrMe]

[ QUOTE ]

good review

So how long are you keeping it for?

[/ QUOTE ]

Our policy is for 80,000 miles or 4 years. However, lots of diesel cars are kept beyond 100,000 miles on our fleet because of the reliability of them these days.

Being honest, that won't happen with me. I'd suspect I'll have it at least another 18 months though, probably 2 years. If my mileage requirement were to change again then I'd drop the car.

[Milo]

A fair review I think. I had a B6 130 Tdi for 3 years and while I enjoyed the car more than you, I was well aware of its shortcomings. As we've covered before (and I mentioned in the end of term review) I too struggled with FWD grip in damp or wet conditions. The ESP, well the traction control to be precise, did/does not kick in in time and could leave you stranded at junctions while struggling for grip. It's not just down to driving style either. I don't drive fast by any standards and after 3 years of learning how to drive the car, you just knew exactly how much power you could put down before the all too familiar wheelspin would kick in. Pulling out in the wet had to planned to perfection; there was no trying to nip out in a small gap.

I've said it before in terms of performance I don't think it's fair to compare your car to the 320d as their is a significant power and torque advantage in the BMW. Having not driven a 320d I can't comment on the refinement but I found my A4 quite noisy and intrusive at low speed (1st gear) or idle. Especially when the engine was cold.

The avant is never going to be a load lugger and to be honest, I'm not expecting to be able to fit much more in mine over the saloon. The advantage though will be the ease of loading it and the fact I can carry items that wouldn't fit through the boot opening on the saloon.

I suppose at the end of the day, it's done what you wanted though. The P11D value was low and it's reliable and economical. Its also usually filthy! Get it cleaned

[Sparky]

You think it's ****. Just say it!

[martin275]

I'm still confused. Why on earth did you buy it/choose it if you thought it was so poor to drive? Didn't you have a proper test drive, because most of the faults you've pointed out would have been obvious in the first few miles.

They were to me when I tried a B7 anyway

[NewNiceMrMe]

[ QUOTE ]

I'm still confused. Why on earth did you buy it/choose it if you thought it was so poor to drive? Didn't you have a proper test drive, because most of the faults you've pointed out would have been obvious in the first few miles.

They were to me when I tried a B7 anyway

[/ QUOTE ]

The honest truth is simple. I had, quite literally, 3 miles in a car. I relied heavily on the opinions of others on here, but thats not their fault. Its mine for not taking the car on a good long test drive.

Ultimately, I don't think you get to know a great deal about a car if you drive less than 20 miles or not on your 'normal route' anyway.

That car isn't '****' though.

Not quite, anyway.

[martin275]

Fair enough, as long as you've learnt your lesson

I quite agree about the length of the test drive, I always make sure I try the car for at least a full day. I had the Passat for 48 hours and some of the others (A4, Accord etc) for a full day. Saab lent me an 93 for 4 days!

I couldn't get a full day out of BMW in the 130, but we did manage about 50 miles on A/B roads, motorway and through town (with the salesman), so it wasn't too bad.

[gizze]

I agree, you really do need to take them out for a good drive, I had the new ML320cdi recently for a day and loved it for the first hour or so, but after a couple of hours things started to annoy me, and by 2pm I took the thing back, I'd had enough!

Well at least I hadn't paid £45k for it and then realised.