A4 On loan

[Smick]

I have the A2 in at the dealer for 2 day's work under warranty.

They have been kind enough to lend me a one month old A4 TDi S Line 170bhp.

http://michael.donnelly.googlepages.com/Image065.jpg/Image065-medium;init:.jpg

I must say though, I am unimpressed when compared to my A2.

For a start, while looking at the speedo tells a tale of acceleration, it doesn't give that same feel of speeding up as the A2. Also, as the wheelbase is that bit longer; cornering isn't nearly as much fun.

In the interior, I feel it is a lot less roomy than the A2 and without the cruise control it got quite uncomfortable on my accelerator foot. The ventilation controls are split for the two sides of the car and it becomes tedious having to change both when you get too warm / to cold.

On a positive note, the gearchange is lovely.

But give me an A2 any day!

[richardaudi0]

Speaking as the owner of both, I marginally prefer our A2 TDI SE. Our A4 TDI 130 SE Avant is quick, quiet and economical for its size (55+mpg, A2 65mpg), but the suspension's a lot softer (although it's done twice as many miles — 68,000, so that will have a bearing), so doesn't corner as well as the A2. I would have thought the S-Line's sports suspension would have made handling sharper. I think the seats in the A2 are better, as is the driving position — the A-pillar blind spots don't bother me, nor does the lack of a rear wiper. The ventilation controls can easily be changed so both sides change at the same time, but I can't quite remember how to do it!

[gjp33]

hold down the drivers side 'Auto' button for a few secs to synchronise the dual-zones - the A4 manual has a misprint, and actually tells you to press a different button.

My A4 is far more comfortable than the A2 - and for a journey, there is no comparison - cruise control is better implemented as well

A2 is loads more involving to drive though - sports seats are nicer than the standard A4 ones - but to be fair, they are an optional extra, after all.

I think the two cars complement each other well tbh - different strengths, and between them, cover all eventualities nicely :)

[ULP]

Smick, my experience mirrors yours. So far I have had three A4 courtesy cars:

2.0TDI (140) SE
2.0T (200) SE
2.0TDI (170) S-Line Avant

The first two were tedious in the extreme and I soon got bored of the 2.0T engine because of the 'whiney' tone

The last one was a mixed bag - I prefer the look of the Avant to the saloon but the engine suffered monumental lag (nothing below 2000rpm; nothing at all) that wasn't evident on the 140bhp version. But that wasn't as bad as the poverty spec in S-Line (DIS? Nah, Cruise? Nah...). However, the worst bit is reserved for the ride which was akin to a tea-tray going down concrete steps. I had heard on the grapevine it was hard, but that doesn't even begin to describe it - horrific and a joke are better words. I am genuinely amazed people choose this spec for any reason other than vanity. In the five mile drive home I wanted to get out and shoot it for making every pebble on the road feel like a speed hump.

The handling was little better than the SE's I had driven although it was an Avant.

If I had an A4, it would be an Avant SE 2.0TDI on standard wheels and suspension. I agree about the gearchange too which is worlds better than the A2's

On each occassion I have been desperate to get into my little ULP.

He is going in for a service shortly and the nice bloke has made sure I am getting an A3 Sportback 2.0T S-Line DSG as a courtesy car as Marie quite likes the A3 Sportback and one could replace her smart next year. I will be interested to see what the ride is like as I have heard the A3 Sportback S-Line is better sorted than the A4. However, I'll be looking for a 1.6FSI SE with leather

[pc759]

Ive got both cars a 90bhp a2 tdi se and 140tdi se a4.
Overall i think the a4 is better: gear changing is how it should be, ride is just about perfect for me and the family 2 girls 4, and 7, and the economy is fantastic at a steady cruise. I regularly go upto glasgow from wakefield and get 53 and thats making what euphemistically could be called "good progress" at certain points.
With regard to the a4 s ilne series the ride in that is ridiculous though it does look nicer than the se with larger alloys and sports seats etc.
I find the a2 slightly disappointing overall although it is a beautiful car. The interioir is very spacious but i think the ride is a little crashy. How people cope with 17 or 18 inch wheels on an a2 i'll never know.
Also like many others the fuel econ is disappointing its not really that significantly different from the A4 ie seemingly mid fifties. I seem to always falling off the torque wave down into the doldrums and having to boost it back up. Should have cruise fittedno doubt. The major problem with both is finding somewhere safe to park in ASDA car parks as there are so many duffers who dont give a monkeys how many doors they crease!