Audi A4 B8 Avant (2008 - - 2.0TDi CR v PD

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
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Fri 31 Oct 2008 20:39
2.0TDi CR v PD - daveyjp
John Farrell wanted my thoughts on the comparison - see Audi TT diesel running in thread.

I've had a new A4 Avant for the last two days which has the 2.0TDi CR unit - output unknown, but I suspect 140. My last courtesy car a couple of weeks ago was an A3 with the 2.0TDi PD engine.

The 2.0TDi PD 170 engine as fitted to my A3 is more refined than the 140 unit due to the use of injectors used on the V6 versions.

The 2.0TDi CR takes this refinement to another level. The car is quiet with just a low rumble when accelerating and even though the A4 has only done about 600 miles the engine doesn't feel restricted. It revs freely to 4,000 and I imagine would happily red line if required.

Power delivery is very strong from about 1700 revs and acceleration is very rapid. When cruising the engine is almost silent and certainly not diesel like - you would be hard pressed to know what was powering the car. At 70 it's doing about 2,000 revs and changes below 2,000 do not cause the engine to labour due to excellent torque output.

If this is the 140 unit I can see no need for opting for the 170 version. This engine will be more than adequate, not only in this, but also in the larger A6.

The main problem I have with this car is the speedo, which for some reason is a three quarter circle with 0 at 6 o clock and 180 (yes 180 mph) at 3 o clock. 60 is at 9 o clock, so all your speedo readings will be in just over the first third of the speedo. This car has a max speed of about 130mph.

Because km/h are also printed the lack of space means the 20mph label has been shifted to allow the 30km/h label. This means the 20mph label is close to the 30mph mark (Audi only show every 20 mph)

Why not have the speedo reading to 120 then automatically switch to the digital readout for anyone using the autobahns?

Apart from this the new A4 is a world away from the old model.

Edited by Pugugly on 31/10/2008 at 20:54

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