Audi A4 2.0ltr 130BHP... a good buy?

Viperbot

Thinking of buying one of these or something like it in the near future. Pretty much has everything I want in a car. Any advice would be sweet.

Ferris

Is that the 2L petrol you want? What year would you be looking at?

Berty

I have a 2006 A4 1.9tdi 115bhp -remapped to 145bhp S-line.

There are a few noticable differences with the S-Line exterior and some interior ones also. The front of the S-line is much better than the standard and the boot has a built in spoiler which is nice when you see those with standard A4's.

Coming from a Passat I can say(for me) the drive is much better if a little stiffer with the 17" + sport suspension. The interior is smaller than most cars in its class but as somebody once said, its a drivers car. There is not much legroom in the back. Its probably the only downside I could find.

It has a lot of "poke" anything I have driven before in the same engine size.

I must say in the few months I have had it, it has proven a reliable and good looking car. I drive around 2000kms a week so get a lot of use.

rabbitinlights

130bhp? If you are talking about the 2.0 TDI its either 138bhp or 168bhp. Its a fantastic engine and is easily remapped to 40bhp more.

Viperbot

Yeah it's the 130bhp 20ltr petrol.

Neilw

It's a very underpowered engine, a better bet would be the 1.8t or 1.9tdi 130bhp if you want economy.
The 1.8t is 163bhp iirc and will be cheaper to tax.

What year is the car your looking at?

Viperbot

It's a 2001 with 55,000 miles. The seller (dealer) want's 8950 euros for it, which I think is a bargain. What do ya think?

JJJJNR

awh forget about it.. rip off, its a crap engine, go for the smaller 1.6 version and make sure its the 16v version of that engine, its only 25bhp less than the n/a 2.0 petrol and you'll be paying a fair bit in tax, insurance on the bigger one, with not much in the difference in performance..

1.6 all the way.

Viperbot

Lol, yeah i figured that. Thanks for the info guys. Been a great help.;)

JJJJNR

heres a nice one.


http://www.cbg.ie/Car_Detail.aspx?ID=2500760#

Might be big on the mileage but the 1.6 16v engine is well up to lots more, once its looked after. Get a mechanic to look at it.

colm_mcm

Get a TDI unless you can get a 2.0 petrol for bargain money.

-Chris-

JJJJNR wrote: »

awh forget about it.. rip off, its a crap engine, go for the smaller 1.6 version and make sure its the 16v version of that engine, its only 25bhp less than the n/a 2.0 petrol and you'll be paying a fair bit in tax, insurance on the bigger one, with not much in the difference in performance..

1.6 all the way.

You're saying that you won't feel the difference between 102BHP and 130BHP in the same size car?

bazz26

The 1.6 litre engine in the A4 is not a 16 valve unit, it is the old 8 valve engine that was fitted to various VAG cars since the mid 1990s. Very underpowered in the heavy A4.

The 2.0 litre petrol only had 130bhp while miles better than the 1.6 litre it still is nothing to write home about power wise. Defintately not worth paying the additional tax, insurance and fuel bills on.

The best 4 cylinder petrol engine in the A4 was the 1.8T which was a 20 valve turbo charged unit with a very respectable 163bhp. Other than that get the 130bhp TDi.

PauloMN

JJJJNR wrote: »

1.6 all the way.

...unless you like the sensation of actually moving.

Throw an extra grand on that and get the 1.8T or a 1.9TDi depending on your needs/mileage. The 1.6 litre will most likely wreck your head after a while.

Loads of them around like this one:
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=1229056

E92

The 2.0 sounds like a diesel when it's cold too.

I'd have it over the diesel every time though, that 1.9 TDI is an appalling engine; yes it can move but so can roller coasters(though roller coasters are far more exciting:D), it's noisy, unrefined, has a narrow power band, delivers all its power in one BIG lump.

The 1.9 TDI is one of my least favourite engines of all time, I don't know what the 2.0 petrol is like but it is a modern 20 valve engine which should endow it with a bit of poke at the higher end of the rev range and it's infinitely quieter too, plus it doubtless is far more refined and smooth to drive because it's petrol.

Having said all that, the 1.8T has 20 bhp more than either the 2.0 or the 1.9 TDI 130, delivers peak torque from only 1750 rpm IIRC giving it diesel style low range shove, but with the extra power it'll no doubt have more go when you really need it for overtaking, and you've the tax savings too because of the smaller engine size(though it's barely more than a euro a day over a full year), so on paper this looks like the best A4 you can buy, so that would be my recommendation. Last time I checked they were dirt cheap compared to the 1.9 TDI too, so you'd save a packet to buy a car that's faster, smoother, quieter, more refined, much nicer sounding and cheaper to tax too.

Facelifted 1.8Ts have even more power and torque, 163 bhp IIRC, but the antiquated 1.9 TDI gave way to the more modern 2.0 TDI which is reportedly a far nicer engine than the 1.9 TDI to drive, with 16 valves(which theorectically allows it to have it a wider powerband and it'll rev higher too)more power and torque, as well as mpg(though it's still rather noisy).

colm_mcm

E92, you need to drive a 130 TDI A4. It's one of the fastest production cars ever built. Ask anyone.

legend1981

id deffo go for the higher spec s-line if you can and the higher hp...the a4's a big car get the big engine to pull it and a bit of hp if you want to be any type of man haha

-Chris-

E92, you need to rewrite your sig to include your opinion on the 1.9TDi. It could save you a lot of typing (over and over...)!! :D

E92

colm_mcm wrote: »

E92, you need to drive a 130 TDI A4. It's one of the fastest production cars ever built. Ask anyone.

No, I was in such shock and awe after the performance 100 bhp TDI in the Golf, what with it's well known ability to travel faster than the speed of sound, I don't think I could deal with anything as quick as a 130 bhp TDI, sure those yokes can hit what is it.... the speed of light or was it something faster(it wouldn't surprise me if they could!):D?

Ferris

Having driven (always a good place to start) all 3 engines in Passats the best engine by far is the 1.8T. It has a really flat power curve and very little lag. This means that high speed overtaking is a doddle for instance. It'll still do 35-40mpg too.

The 1.9TDi is still a great engine if you want to shift for not a lot of juice, forget the nonsense about power bands, thats what gearboxes are for.

The 2L petrol is an appaling waste of time. Its rough, breathless, uses more juice than the other two and costs more to tax.

mickdw

Forget the 2.0 petrol. Should never have been offered here with our previous tax system when the 1.8T was available.

Then if you like petrol power with plenty revs and dont mind stopping at the pumps more often, get the 1.8T
or
if ya want the noisy cheap to run one, get the 1.9tdi.

Viperbot

Nice one guys you have given me much to think about.

yayamark

You could always go for the 2.4 V6SE Audi A4

165hp

Sweet as a nut

E92

yayamark wrote: »

You could always go for the 2.4 V6SE Audi A4

165hp

Sweet as a nut

6 cylinders are so much better than 4, but unfortunately the only 6 pot A4 of the type the OP is interested in starts at 2.5 litres for diesel and 3.0 litres for petrol.

caesar

E92 wrote: »

6 cylinders are so much better than 4

A few months back I had to leave the Passat down in Mayo for the week so I took my brother in laws 95 BMW e36 320 for the week.....its didnt look like anything special, its a saloon and the dog spent its time in the back seat so I wasnt expecting much and I wasnt really aware of the fact that 6 cylinders could be so nice.

Anyway after the week was up I couldnt put those 6 cyclinders out of my head - hence the sig:P. It really is a nice sweet sound, I was driving from drumcondra to leopardstown through the city but they are just so nice even on a trip like this.

No one believed me when I said it was far nicer to drive than my own car but it was. The 6 pot was music to my ears ....really, I didnt even want to listen to the radio.

groupb

colm_mcm wrote: »

E92, you need to drive a 130 TDI A4. It's one of the fastest production cars ever built. Ask anyone.

Its Halloween. Not Aprils fool!
And I asked "anyone".

E92

caesar wrote: »

I wasnt really aware of the fact that 6 cylinders could be so nice.

Anyway after the week was up I couldnt put those 6 cyclinders out of my head - hence the sig:P. It really is a nice sweet sound, I was driving from drumcondra to leopardstown through the city but they are just so nice even on a trip like this.

No one believed me when I said it was far nicer to drive than my own car but it was. The 6 pot was music to my ears ....really, I didnt even want to listen to the radio.

I know what you mean - those extra 2 cylinders really do make such a difference. And like you say, you have to drive one to understand what's so special. BMW's straight 6 is nothing less than automotive heaven.

Now that the 330d does 50 mpg and only costs €302 to tax there's never been a better time NOT to go for a 4 cylinder BMW.

The 2.0 is quite underpowered in the 5 series(it's not terribly fast in the 3 series let it be said) but because it is so outstanding in other areas bar fuel consumption I don't even care about the lack of grunt, if anything it means having to hear that delightful sounding engine at higher revs more often:D!

galwaytt

E92 wrote: »

I know what you mean - those extra 2 cylinders really do make such a difference. And like you say, you have to drive one to understand what's so special. BMW's straight 6 is nothing less than automotive heaven.

let's just think about that for a minute..............ah, but no.

My old boss bought a brand new 320 in 00 - and I drove it on the first day he got it. A more gutless, uninspiring, neutered car I could never did drive, tbh. Mind you, as mentioned by poster above, I'd just got out of my TT. 1.8t. - now, there's an engine. Pity it's a C02 monster - if that kind of thing worries you - but outside of that, on bang-per-buck basis, that 1.8t is astonishing - and you can find it under a whole host of bonnets, from coupes to saloons to estates. I even remember a guy buying an A6 2.5tdi tiptronic and he always said he wished he'd bought the 1.8t instead.

Light of foot, with inherently less crank mass (and inertia...) than a 6, it has huge scope. A colleague currently has a 270bhp remapped one. Outrageous is the only word for it. Now a tuned, or larger capacity 6 would be better, but in a 2.0, it's wasted.

But, back to the OP - and E92 - nah, ye're missing the whole point. Imagine if you had to handle my 150bhp 1.9 Tid Saab Now, there's...........another kind of engine Did I mention it's for sale ? :P

Anan1

galwaytt wrote: »

My old boss bought a brand new 320 in 00 - and I drove it on the first day he got it. A more gutless, uninspiring, neutered car I could never did drive, tbh. Mind you, as mentioned by poster above, I'd just got out of my TT. 1.8t. - now, there's an engine. Pity it's a C02 monster - if that kind of thing worries you - but outside of that, on bang-per-buck basis, that 1.8t is astonishing

That's like comparing a teaspoon of caviar to a Whopper Meal, galwaytt.

Biro

galwaytt wrote: »

let's just think about that for a minute..............ah, but no.

My old boss bought a brand new 320 in 00 - and I drove it on the first day he got it. A more gutless, uninspiring, neutered car I could never did drive, tbh. Mind you, as mentioned by poster above, I'd just got out of my TT. 1.8t. - now, there's an engine. Pity it's a C02 monster - if that kind of thing worries you - but outside of that, on bang-per-buck basis, that 1.8t is astonishing - and you can find it under a whole host of bonnets, from coupes to saloons to estates. I even remember a guy buying an A6 2.5tdi tiptronic and he always said he wished he'd bought the 1.8t instead.

Light of foot, with inherently less crank mass (and inertia...) than a 6, it has huge scope. A colleague currently has a 270bhp remapped one. Outrageous is the only word for it. Now a tuned, or larger capacity 6 would be better, but in a 2.0, it's wasted.

But, back to the OP - and E92 - nah, ye're missing the whole point. Imagine if you had to handle my 150bhp 1.9 Tid Saab Now, there's...........another kind of engine Did I mention it's for sale ? :P

I was never a fan of that 1.8T engine funnily enough. And I was in an S3 with that engine tuned to 342bhp by MTM, using an RS4 turbo among other things. Was looking forward to the spin but was left completely unimpressed. Sure it was quick, but that's it really. I preferred my spin in a VR6 Corrado to be honest!