Do I or don't I Car swap to an Audi

[Gti Jazz Blue]

45 minutes ago, Scot5 said:

Go on, chuck another £17k if that's what you really want. But one word of warning, that £17k is only the start of it.

 

Apart from the extra fuel + insurance, you may need to add the cost of a defribulator if any maintenance work required. 

 

And not forgetting that if that particular car was over £40k new, you may be spending an extra £310 a year more in road tax depending on when it was registered.

 

I agree, heart says yes every other part of the body says no.

 

 

Already checked the Tax stitch - March 17 car - one of the attractions - so no extra premium for the first 5 years.

[PetrolDave]

1 hour ago, logiclee said:

 

Trust me, an S4/S5 on summer rubber on snow and ice is a very scary experience.

 

With a set of winters on then yes fine. But most 2wd cars are fine on winter tyres for a UK winter.

A few winters ago when it snowed quite heavily (the year when lots of drivers got stuck on the A3 overnight) when I lived near Southampton my wife and colleagues got stuck at work at Whiteley with no vehicles able to get in or out - except me in my Audi RS4 on year old SUMMER tyres. I safely delivered my wife's colleague to her home in Hedge End and my wife home to Bitterne having driven around a lorry unable to get up the slope onto the M27 at junction 9, lots of abandoned cars and even a bus stopped at the top of a hill.

 

It's not just about 4WD and tyres, but also about how gentle you are on ALL the controls. I had no scary moments, but did concentrate a LOT

Edited 28 June, 2019 by PetrolDave

[ScoutCJB]

I'm debating a move to Audi as well.  Different Scenario though.  My 65 plate Scout is on 128k now and starting to show its age.  I wanted an A6 Allroad but they seem to be Stellar money so I've reset my targets at a 3L Quattro Avant.  The build quality is superior at the end of the day ..... even my old 2004 A4 Quattro had less rattles at 245k than my current Oct 3.

 

whats the road tax on the S4 come in at.

 

 

[cheezemonkhai]

22 hours ago, PetrolDave said:

A few winters ago when it snowed quite heavily (the year when lots of drivers got stuck on the A3 overnight) when I lived near Southampton my wife and colleagues got stuck at work at Whiteley with no vehicles able to get in or out - except me in my Audi RS4 on year old SUMMER tyres. I safely delivered my wife's colleague to her home in Hedge End and my wife home to Bitterne having driven around a lorry unable to get up the slope onto the M27 at junction 9, lots of abandoned cars and even a bus stopped at the top of a hill.

 

It's not just about 4WD and tyres, but also about how gentle you are on ALL the controls. I had no scary moments, but did concentrate a LOT

 

That year I was in my mk2 fwd Oct, on Nokian WR’s, passing plenty of stranded Audi (and other 4wd) vehicles on slight inclines. The tyre fitters had mocked me only 2 weeks earlier for fitting them.

 

4x4 on summer tyres is driving to the conditions, knowing how to drive on snow, the right roads and a dash of luck not hitting snow that’s melted and thawed on a slope. That plus some summer tyres are blocky treads and ok (like an all season) and some are elastic band tread patterns and have no hope.

 

Sure some of the stuck Audi 4x4 cars were trying the Jeremy Clarkson approach of more power not less.

 

yes 4x4 on winter is best, but 4x4 isn’t the solution to snow, winter tyres are. Basically buy 4x4 because you want it, not for winter traction.

 

to the OP, considered sticking 2.5k on the car or just a remap, driving it for 2 years and saving up towards a new or year old car you really want?

Edited 29 June, 2019 by cheezemonkhai

[Accim85]

I ve been looking at some A4 also 😀

 

Much better handling, steering, materials... Cant compare, but of course twice the price, so not comparable.. 

 

[logiclee]

The only thing I didn't like with the S4/S5 B8/B8.5 is the transmission tunnel intrusion into the drivers side footwell. This means the pedals are even offset in an auto and a manual is torture.

But that's true of most longitudinal engined smaller cars.

 

By the time you get up to A6/5 Series/E Class/XF it's not too much of an issue but on smaller models and especially RHD models it is noticeable

 

[Boundy123]

7 hours ago, logiclee said:

The only thing I didn't like with the S4/S5 B8/B8.5 is the transmission tunnel intrusion into the drivers side footwell. This means the pedals are even offset in an auto and a manual is torture.

But that's true of most longitudinal engined smaller cars.

 

By the time you get up to A6/5 Series/E Class/XF it's not too much of an issue but on smaller models and especially RHD models it is noticeable

 

I was worried about the the pedal offset but it turned out to be a non issue for me.  Spending years driving 205's, Renault 5's and metro's more than likely helped, they all had weird pedal offsets and the metro had a terrible steering wheel offset but quickly got used to it. 

[okenobi]

Have you scratched the itch yet?

Earlier this year I drove to Italy and back from London in my mates B9 S5 Sportback.

It's a wonderful place to sit.

The seats are incredible.

Everything is laid out near perfectly.
The 8 speed ZF would convert even the most diehard manual fans. And for me, wasn't at all noticeably slower than 7 speed DSG/S-tronic of his previous car. (Which I also drove for a couple thousand miles).

However, the pillarless design makes it noisy as hell with the windows open at anything over about 30/40
The exhaust note at 80 on the autostrada is massively droney.
And B&O is possibly the worst £2000 you can waste ever.

Is it better than any Octy? Yes.
Is it £17k better? I don't think so.

The badge has reached the point of mainstream now. With every 22yr girl getting an A1/A3. And unless you're buying a 6/7/8 or RS model, it's overpriced.

Maybe that helps. Maybe it doesn't. Hope it does...

[Gti Jazz Blue]

Decided against it in the end - so BlueFin is on the way 😁  - in the end I weighed it all up and decided that the O3 does everything that I require and it would be daft to change it after 18 months.

 

I'll look around in a year and might jump then.

[okenobi]

1 minute ago, Gti Jazz Blue said:

Decided against it in the end - so BlueFin is on the way 😁  - in the end I weighed it all up and decided that the O3 does everything that I require and it would be daft to change it after 18 months.

 

I'll look around in a year and might jump then.

The thinking man's play.

Congrats.

[logiclee]

2 hours ago, okenobi said:

The 8 speed ZF would convert even the most diehard manual fans. And for me, wasn't at all noticeably slower than 7 speed DSG/S-tronic of his previous car. (Which I also drove for a couple thousand miles).
 

 

 

The ZF8HP is simply the best Automatic gearbox available this side of any supercar/hypercar.

 

And that's from someone who has owned 5 DSG's and driven every version of DSG currently on sale in the UK in mainstream VAG models.

 

There's a reason why it's fitted in the vast majority of premium longitudinal engine cars.

[Alex-W]

A guy at work has an S4 and a Octavia 150 diesel.  

 

Highly rates the S4, reckons it's amazingly fast, brilliant car.

 

However he drives the Octavia to work every day.

He's also handing back the Audi and has no intention of getting another....

The fuel consumption, tyre prices and other elements means he gets his wife to drive it as she has a small commute.

 

I don't doubt they're great cars, however personally I got the vRS because it's somewhere in between, a quickish car I can live with and use day in day out.  Depends what you need it for.

[Mr_James_88]

I've enjoyed reading through this having frequently thought of swapping my vRS TDI DSG to an Audi... 

Think I'll also stick with my vRS for another 12-18 months and revisit later on