Anyone with a remapped 90 Tdi in Herts or Berks?

[clived]

I'm currently in the process of chosing a replacement car - my 2001 RS4 is about to fall foul of company policies about max mileage.... and I'm facing a sensible vs silly dilemma :)

Deciding to go for something of a change from 2.7 twin turbo 4WD petrol estate car, I'm looking at 3.0 twin turbo... rear wheel drive small coupe - the BMW 135i - obviously a totally different proposition to the RS4 (despite the superficial engine similarities!).

HOWEVER. I'm a big Audi fan (I also have a very modified MkI TT roadster, and I'm Vice Chairman of the owners club) and I've always liked the A2 - quirky, fun, sensible, and have always enjoyed my trips in them when been given them as loaners.

I therefore am looking to really explore how viable a late A2 1.4Tdi 90bhp would be for me. It would certainly be a very sensible choice - would cost less than a third of the BMW, would be very very cheap to insure, run, maintain (and take into London by the look of things!) and the maximum depreciation, assuming it was worth nothing at all after 3 years would be less than the BMW would lose in 18 months - and of course the A2 would not be worth nothing after 3 years, so it's actually much better than that.

My big concern is performance. Obviously I appreciate that no A2 is ever going to have anything like the go of the 135i, let alone the RS4, but I do about 20k miles a year, lots of it motorway, and I want enough go to make it not all a chore. If I had an A2 I absolutely would have it remapped, but my experience of A2 perfomance extends as far as 75bhp TDi models.

Is there anyone in either Herts or Berks who has a remapped A2-90 who would be good enough to either take me for a spin, or even let me have a go (once I've shown you I'm insured of course!). Be happy to take you for a spin in the RS4 in return ;-)

Cheers, Clive

[ULP]

Hi Clive

I have a TDI 75 that is breathed upon if you wish to try that - I don't think the difference between the engines is as big as people think.

I would reccomend the A2 as a motorway car - they rev a little high if you get over 80mph, but the seats are supremely comfortable and non-stop journies to the North East cause me no problems at all. You might need to check Sport v SE v standard as they each ride differently. In my opinion the Sport is too-hard but as you drive a B5 RS4 you'll probably not mind.

The 135i coupe is a serious bit of kit, mind...

I'd love a spin in a B5 RS4 - I've been in a B7 RS4 and that is epic.

[Skipton01]

If you can make it to the forthcoming Curry Social, I'd be more than happy to take you out for a spin in Tank, which is a slightly (ahem!) modified 90.

Cheers,

Mike

[Gexx]

sure thing- you have PM

[clived]

sure thing- you have PM

No I don't :( Edit: Yes I do now :)

Re the Cov meet, it's a possibility :) Thanks.

[John H]

Clived,

You might be interested in how I arrived at buying an A2 (75bhp TDi).

I have a Porsche Cayman (2.7) and a VW New Beetle (2.0 petrol). A change in work means a 400 mile round trip every weekend. I did not wish to put so many miles on the Porsche, and the Beetle is very thirsty (25 - 30 mpg). I therefore set out to buy something cheap to run, but which could tackle long journeys easily. I had an open mind about selling the Beetle and/or buying an extra car, so I considered a wide range of options.

I started with a Citroen C4 Coupe TDi Auto, a great car, and under 120 co's so £35 a year road tax, etc. Ultimately I couldn't bring myself to buy a car with Citroen's perceived quality level, so looked elsewhere. I then considered various Audi A3's, Skoda Fabias and Octavias, a TDi Beetle, and heaven knows what else.

The car I liked best was the new 1 Series BMW coupe, which in 123TDi Sport form really fit the bill. Neat, stylish, great to drive ... but ridiculously expensive for what it is. The build qulity is poorer than my wife's humble little Golf, and the potential depreciation was huge. No cigar!

At that point the A2 hit my radar. I looked at a few (long story) and a couple of weeks ago bought an excellent late model "Special Edition" TDi 75. So far it has done the 400 mile round trip far better than a car of this size or power has any right to, and I'm mighty impressed. It hums along at the normal motorway speed of about 85mph very sweetly, and I really don't feel that any more power would greatly improve it.

I can understand that coming from something more powerful you might assume that you must have a remapped 90 car, but I would suggest you try a few first. You might be surprised!

Cheers

John H


PS ... wanna buy a Beetle? :D

[clived]

Thanks for that John - I've certainly been convinced that I should keep an open mind on the 75 - and I've already accepted a spin in one.

I was just at the BM dealership though and the 1 coupe in Le Mans looks lovely :)


PS ... wanna buy a Beetle? :D

No thanks. Would you like an RS4? :)

[John H]

Would you like an RS4? :)


Err, funnily enough no.

I drove one up in the Scottish highlands last year (so did have a chance to open it up a bit:cool:) and it left me strangely cold. It is undeniably hugely fast, but beyond that I wasn't too taken with it.

The owner has since changed it for a new GT3 (now THAT I am gagging for a blast in :D) and as it happens he is also buying a 135i as well.

cars eh? :)

[clived]

I'm guessing that was a "new" RS4, not a lovely wide-arched, one of 400 in the country "original" (B5) RS4? I don't like the new one either - far too anonymous, far too common. And far not tuneable enough. Straight line performance, mine easily pulls on a new one :D

[John H]

I'm guessing that was a "new" RS4

Ummm, yes I guess so (as you will gather I am no expert on these cars) it was the current V8 version, 414 bhp if I recall correctly.

Personally I thought it was a "one trick pony", namely that its one trick was to charge at the horizon with a great deal of brute force :eek:. Once you had played that game a few times (assuming you hadn't been incarcerated in the process) I couldn't really find much else about it to enjoy.

Seems churlish perhaps to be dismissive of such a mighty chunk of engineering, but there is so much more to enjoyable motoring than just sheer power. Cayman anyone? :D

JH

[clived]

Which is exactly why the 135i interests me - not as quick, but a lot more involving!