I am looking at buying a 2002/2003 A4, a 1.8T petrol (163 hp).
I had one from new in 2002 and loved the torque, acceleration and classy cabin.
I have found one in my price range, but it is a Quattro 4wd.
What are the merits or demerits of the Quatrro over the normal model and should it influence my decision to buy?
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Handling and stability.
I think its the case that quattros all come with the sport suspension, so sit a bit lower and handle better.
Now that the 4wd is provided as needed by the haldex unit rather than being full time you dont suffer a fuel economy hit as you did with the old ones (torsen).
I guess the service cost will be slightly higher because the haldex system needs oil/fluid changes, not sure about the interval though.
I seem to remember that some S3 owners complained about reliability but they have a different level of power
I would always go for a quattro over a 2wd model.
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I've had an A6 2.8 Quattro for 5 years +. Before that I had an A6 2.6 and before that an Audi 100 2.8, both of the latter front wheel drive. All autos. So I know enough to compare 4wd, with and without.
The most regular difference which I notice is only how crap the steering lock is on the Quattro and the "crabbing" effect of 4wd when parking. In a tight car park you can be sawing away for ages to get thing manoeuvred.
Other than that, most of the time you don't know Quattro is there. The handling is a bit antiseptic, you don't get a lot of feed back but you don't need it. It just goes round, infallibly, with a bit of understeer.
Living in northern Scotland there is one occasional benefit : In winter, even on new snow, stamp on the gas and it goes, stamp on the brake and it stops. No dramas.
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The most regular difference which I notice is only how crap the steering lock is on the Quattro and the "crabbing" effect of 4wd when parking.
By "crabbing" effect - are you referring to "4 wheel steer/passive rear steer"?
If so I didn't know that Quattros had that feature.
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"Now that the 4wd is provided as needed by the haldex unit rather than being full time you dont suffer a fuel economy hit as you did with the old ones (torsen)."
Forgive my ignorance, but I've looked for the answer to this without success. When the 4wd is not needed does the thing drive at the back (good) or the front (bad)?
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Probably front drive.
--
Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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I think I'm right in saying the 1.8T in Quattro spec will be 180bhp* and not the 163bhp in the front wheel drive variant.
Rob
* I know it's actually 180PS but the other figure is 163bhp so didn't want to confuse.
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A 2003/2004 A4 1.8T will be a 163HP block. The 180Hp version someone mentioned is the same engine but tuned for a TT.
Benefits of Quattro are handling and stability as mentioned. The car grips forever and a day. It also allows you to be quicker is damp conditions as you can still get all the power down onto the road, reducing the need for traction control interferance. Incidentally you could get a Quattro A4 of that generation (and the current) with or without the sport suspension. I would suggest for that car that the sport suspension would not hurt. The B6 A4s are a little 'wolley' without.
Drawbacks... every 20k you'll need a Haldex oil change. They aren't hugely expensive but it will be extra money. It will do about 5mpg less than the 2wd due to the transmission losses. It's also fractionally heavier because of the 4wd equipment. Gearing is slightly shorter to compensate though so perforance doesn't suffer though you'll be cruising at higher RPM. Expect to pay £1k premium for a Quattro.
Overall with the 1.8T I prefer without quattro, though it makes sense with the bigger engines.
Regards
Chris
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IIRC the Quattro will be 180 bhp.
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In winter, even on new snow, stamp on the gas and it goes, stamp on the brake and it stops
A common misconception is that four wheel drive cars are better at stopping, but it's simply not true. Not all cars have four wheel drive but almost all have four wheel braking so stopping a quattro is usually no different to a 2WD car.
In snow & icy conditions, stopping the 4WD will actually be harder as they, particularly the Audi range, tend to have sporty wheels with wide low profile tyres which are useless in snow, especially with ABS switched on.
Our Euro cousins often fit slimmer winter wheels/tyres but that isn't very common in the UK. On the whole, a quattro car performs worse than a more basic 2WD model when stopping in snow. I've owned a load of Audi's, both quattro and 2WD and can speak from experience.
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I agree about the braking, 4WD gives too much traction in slippery conditions so you are not aware just how poor the grip is till you need to go on the brakes.
Just a correction, the A4 does not use the Haldex system, that is for the tranverse engines only.
Rgds
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Took a test drive in the A4 Quattro today.
It was a 1.8T 163 with a sports suspension. I still love that torquey engine and the ride was surprisingly good, but the turning circle (as warned earlier in this thread), oh my word!
Fantastic car for A and B roads (a bit revvy on motorways with only 5 gears), but unfortunately a lot of my driving is inner city including parking in ludicrously tight bays at the gym, supermarket etc.
Needs to be a 2WD, but I will probably leave it a while now and stick to the Seat Leon (1.6 16v).
Woody
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Just looked at a the spec (via car mag) for new A4 1.8 Quattros. They are now indeed 161bhp (163PS) whereas they used to be 180PS for Quattro and 150PS for 2WD. Not sure when the switch was.
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