Audi Quattro advice

Stevie Dakota

A family member is looking for a family sized 4WD as she lives up a steep hill that is impassable when snowy/icy. She has considered a second hand BMW X5, and is now looking at an Audi Quattro, A4 or A6, saloon or Avant. Any idea how good these are as 4WD? She wants as small an engine as possible (no bigger than 3 litre), and an auto too. What are they like for running costs, same as any other Audi?

They seem to be very thin on the ground here too.

Any other 4WD suggestions also welcome.

Cheers.

EPM

Impreza or Legacy diesel?

pburns

Well Subaru Legacy would be an obvious choice (unless a prestige German brand a must).

A run-out Lecacy diesel?

I have no experience of Quattros but they got the ball rolling on the whole passanger 4wd thing and it is a cornerstone USP for them so can't go too far wrong. You'll have to import I'd say, most Irish Audis are 1.9TDI boggo-spec.

Biro

The Legacy would be my choice, but there are plenty of options. How about the Citroen C5 with the snow-drive system thingy that they're advertising?
Or how about an Audi All-road? They're kind of the forgotton Audi, and not as ignorant looking as the Q5 or Q7, or X5 for that matter. Winter tyres would help too, as crappy tyres plus 4WD would only lead to floating sideways into the ditch! There are many SUV's with 4WD, or for a more limited budget there are a few odd-ball Jap imports like the Toyota Caldina estate, which has essentially Celica GT4 running gear. Or there's the 4x4 Panda! Couple of VW's came in 4WD too, Passat and Bora would be findable, the Golf only came in 4WD in R32 guise if I'm not mistaken.

R.O.R

Auto & 4x4?

Don't think there is an auto box available with the Scooby diesel.

Santa Fe Deluxe might be a possibility, but based on what she's looking at the badge may be an issue.

Lex Luthor

R.O.R wrote: »

Don't think there is an auto box available with the Scooby diesel.

you're right....

mate has an A4 1.8T quattro (manual) and he says it got him up a hill last winter when all the other cars were getting stuck.

TomMc

Legacy, Outback or Forester have it covered. 2.0 petrol Legacy if you want to keep running costs, road tax etc on the lower side. The 2.5 Outback another option, not that much harder on juice, just higher road tax. Forester if you need something a little more rugged which is good on or off road, although more performance orientated (turbo) models are hard enough on fuel. Better built than any similarly priced Audi and more reliable to boot.

Stevie Dakota

While the Subarus are good cars, she is coming from a Merc so I don't know if she will make that leap. I will pass on the info though.

Anan1

I would have said Subaru Forester or Outback. the Forester came with a 2.0 turbo petrol auto up to 2005, a 2.5 turbo petrol after. The Outback was 2.5NA auto only, although the Legacy was available in 2.0NA auto. From what I gather, Subaru are pretty much the official car of New England, specifically for their performance in snow.

TomMc

Stevie Dakota wrote: »

While the Subarus are good cars, she is coming from a Merc so I don't know if she will make that leap. I will pass on the info though.

The current Outback as a 2.5 is becoming something of a bargain on the used market (like the older model did before) and of course Irish attitudes to 2.0L cars and over. Never mind the changes with the new tax system and recession. Some great buys available, even over here, never mind the UK.

Just two examples from Carzone

http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=200929194645752

http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=200840190233014

Granted with a light coloured leather interior it would not be such a come down from a Merc as it gives the car a more upmarket ambience. These cars are far more popular with the county set and aristocracy than any German marque. Thinking persons car for people who do not need affectations.

robtri

IIRC the jag x-type is AWD...
something a bit different...

Biro

robtri wrote: »

IIRC the jag x-type is AWD...
something a bit different...

They're FWD, but you're half right! They do come in 4WD! Sounds like she may be badge concious, so maybe the Jag would be a nice alternative alright.
I forgot that the Octavia comes in 4x4 too, and it has a huge boot...

Redderneck

I'd be thinking Subaru or Avants too, inless she absolutely needs the SUV body. Santa Fé 2.2 CRDi 4WD Autos can be had, low mileage relatively cheaply too. Though badge counts against. VW Touareg might fit the bill, being German.

Off the top of my head, if it's genuinely a hoor of a hill, then she might be better going with a vehicle which has the auto hill descent type tech built-in; or else a manual - some autos cope better with the inching along stuff than others.

Redderneck

Biro wrote: »

They're FWD, but you're half right! They do come in 4WD! Sounds like she may be badge concious, so maybe the Jag would be a nice alternative alright.
I forgot that the Octavia comes in 4x4 too, and it has a huge boot...

Octavia Combi VRs. Yum-yum.

remotesensor

Did the title of this thread not say Audi Quattro Advice?? I don't think somebody coming from a merc will want a skoda or subaru.

Personally I don't know much about audi quattro's but I have seen this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zfKRdgoRo4

It's in german but the video speaks for itself. The allroad is at the end of the video.

Redderneck

remotesensor wrote: »

Did the title of this thread not say Audi Quattro Advice?? I don't think somebody coming from a merc will want a skoda or subaru.

Personally I don't know much about audi quattro's but I have seen this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zfKRdgoRo4

It's in german but the video speaks for itself. The allroad is at the end of the video.

Last sentance of original post - "Any other 4WD suggestions also welcome".

Anan1

Redderneck wrote: »

Octavia Combi VRs. Yum-yum.

I don't think any Octavia 4x4 was available with auto.

remotesensor wrote: »

Did the title of this thread not say Audi Quattro Advice?? I don't think somebody coming from a merc will want a skoda or subaru.

No, the OP asked for other AWD suggestions too. I came from an Audi A8 4.2 quattro to a Forester turbo, now on my second.

Redderneck

Anan1 wrote: »

I don't think any Octavia 4x4 was available with auto.
No, the OP asked for other AWD suggestions too. I came from an Audi A8 4.2 quattro to a Forester turbo, now on my second.

Taken from Skoda site; "Automatic Gearboxes
In addition to the existing 6-speed DSG automatic gearbox we know from the Diesel range we now have a 7-speed automatic DSG gearbox for the 1.4TSI and 1.8 TSI petrol engines".

That being said - I haven't actually seen an Auto Diesel Octavia, let alone an auto diesel combi; it's just that I had been viewing their site a few days ago and made a mental note that the new auto diesel combi would be worth considering my next time around. Wasn't aware the 4WD option excludes auto. Ah well.

Edit add; just looked at full Skoda range listing and you're right; no auto AWD/4WD option.

R.O.R

Should be able to pick up a Discovery Auto for a fairly reasonable price nowadays. The hill descent control was fantastic in the snow earlier this year.

Might even work out cheaper than a decent Audi Avant they way Land Rover pricing is going.............

Stevie Dakota

Guys, all suggestion welcome really, while I can't see her driving a Skoda (as good as they are) the Subaru is well worth considering.

Redderneck

There's always a Volvo - as far as I know the XC70 has Hill Descent, but I think the SUV, the XC90 doesn't.

Tre4

I've got an Audi A6 2.8 Quattro and live in Chamonix so have truly put it through the test in terms of snow and ice conditions. I have NEVER got stuck and have driven in 2 foot of fresh snow up the steepest mountain switchbacks.

The one thing you don't get is great clearance but if it is just roads you are concerned with then the quattro is awesome.

EPM

Volvo XC60 maybe could manage it?

EDIT - Holy jebus just saw the price of those. €45k cheapest listed on carzone

Tre4

There's a few A6 quattros on Used Cars NI

Another option is the Allroad Quattro which is the estate version of the A6. It has hydraulic suspension so has no problem with clearance.