Which A2 should I buy?

sunsurfer

Member
Hi

I am a new member without an A2 and thinking of buying one. Which version should I buy?
Some information about us and what we'll use the A2 for:
  • Family runabout
  • Used by my wife and me - more her car
  • we also have a fun car
  • probably do about 5000 miles a year
  • like economy and performance
  • would like the softest ride for an A2

Obviously budget comes into it so about £2000. If I can get Opensky Sunroof and leather for that, then all the better. :eek:
 
Thanks
"performance" is relative. We want a runabout but nothing so painfully slow that you risk being rear ended by a HGV when joining the motorway.
 
Thanks
"performance" is relative. We want a runabout but nothing so painfully slow that you risk being rear ended by a HGV when joining the motorway.

The only model that is verging on the slow side is the 1.4 petrol. The 1.6 fsi and both diesels are more than cpable of holding their own on the motorway. A re-mapped TDI90 is verging on hot-hatch in my opinion.
 
We have six in the familky ALL TDis

They are surprisingly nippy around town, fun to drive and VERY reliable (none of the 6 have jad ANY major mechanical issues or breakdowns)

The £30 a year road tax is not important if you are comfortably well off, but when the tax reminders arrive I do smile at only having to pay £30.

Choose a 4 seater, unless you need a fifth seat (only because the rear bench seat is very heavy if you ever need to lift it out)

Perhaps choose an SE instead of a Sport (since you mention ride quality) Many people claim that the A2 has a firm ride quality, perhaps it does, but new shocks and springs all round would not cost a fortune and give you the best ride you can get (and since the car will be at least 11 years old, that is not a bad thing to do.

Steve B
 
Thanks Birchall
I'm musing over a Tdi - the worry I have is that diesel is now implicated in pollution and whether some UK cities (London?) will join Paris, Madrid and Athens in banning diesel by 2025...
Cheers for suggesting getting the four seater and the SE version. The only flaw I can find in customer reviews of the A2 is they say the ride is harsh. If the SE has the best ride then this may be the one to go for.
 
Thanks Birchall
I'm musing over a Tdi - the worry I have is that diesel is now implicated in pollution and whether some UK cities (London?) will join Paris, Madrid and Athens in banning diesel by 2025...
Cheers for suggesting getting the four seater and the SE version. The only flaw I can find in customer reviews of the A2 is they say the ride is harsh. If the SE has the best ride then this may be the one to go for.


As for the ride, if you hit a pot hole in any car you will get a shock no matter what.

Many people run around on tired suspension on their A2, and or have things that rattle in the car and so that makes the car just seem to be harsh.

A well maintained A2 will have a slightly firm ride, but nothing dramatic.

The A2 I just sold had 19" wheels on it with ultra low profile tyres on it and even that was perfectly acceptable (no rattles from anything and a well maintained suspension) The source of the most annoying rattle from the suspension is the front anti roll bar drop links and they are VERY easy to replace and cheap to buy. If they are rattling the drive seems harsh as they can click over every bump in the road.

My wife is not "into" cars in any way, she has 17" wheels on her A2 and she is more than happy with the ride quality. Many years ago I part exchanged her 5 year old A2 for a Mercedes A class (thinking it was an upgrade for her) within 6 months she wanted the Merc gone and an A2 back!!!!
If she has no complaints about the ride quality then that indicates that it is not as dramatic as people make out. She will not buy ANYTHING other than an A2 and I quote "Even if we won the lottery I would not get rid of my A2!!!"

So I don't see the ride being a "game changer", but surely a test drive is all you need (as long as you have a test drive in a well maintained A2.

As for the Diesel thing, if you regularly drive into the centre of London (or Manchester, etc.) it MIGHT be that in many years to come your Diesel may be penalised, but it will take many years due to the sheer volume of Diesels on the road!

Steve B
 
Personally and controversially (Marmite) I run 15" pepperpots and tall wall tyres and this has made a massive difference for me even coming from 16" SE wheels. But as comfort is subjective it all depends on you. Regardless of the path taken there are definitely ways to tame the suspension
 
Personally and controversially (Marmite) I run 15" pepperpots and tall wall tyres and this has made a massive difference for me even coming from 16" SE wheels. But as comfort is subjective it all depends on you. Regardless of the path taken there are definitely ways to tame the suspension

I took the pepperpots off our sport and it was much better!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Good to hear the suspension can be tamed if we think it is too firm.
1.4 petrol seems to be out and choice is between 1.4 tdi and 1.6 fsi. What is the view on the 1.6 fsi?
 
Significantly less reliable than the 1.4. Faster, thirstier. Runs a higher internal temperature, which has a tendency to age plastics.

I would not discount a 1.4 as you will get a better car for the same money. I would also be very wary of an early TDI as you don't get Euro 4.... but either could get a DPF if necessary. I would still opt for petrol over diesel if you need long-term city-entering capabilities and if anything, the 1.4 petrol is the simplest and most reliable of the bunch.

- Bret
 
I would agree with Brett on the 1.4 (although many disagree :p) I have a 1.4i and both of the diesels available and I find myself using the 1.4 petrol most of the time. It really depends on how you will use it. I find short distances around town and the odd motorway journey with a light load of up to 3 people and a dog it is perfect. It is quiet smooth and often overlooked (so read cheap). The diesels are better mile munchers and definitely have more grunt, the TDi 90 being exceptional, but they are very different beasts. Best bet is to try them out and see how you get on, they all have their merits and sold for different reasons.
 
I don't find that the 1.6 economy is noticeably different from the 1.4, unless you boot it (more power needs more fuel). I can only comment on reliability anecdotally, and I have had 0 engine issues with the FSI in 20 months, but had a coil pack failure when I was driving the 1.4. In terms of diesel city bans, as I understand it, the petrols are old enough (pre-2005) that they too could be penalised in the same way, so it may not make much difference. You'd have to check that though.
 
Interesting re older petrols. I don't know much about it but I suspect a Diesel ban is more likely than a petrol ban due to particulates they emit - often so fine you can't see them.
1.6 is claimed to have a marginally better economy than the 1.4. This is how I tried to sell it to my wife ;)
 
1liter - 16km not economic for a 1.6 FSI ?? wen my wife drive the car 1liter - 18 km

Yes this car :p

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The FSi needs premium unleaded only however so that turns to a negative quickly in terms of overall cost, but I see what you are trying to do here :eek:
 
We bought mrbrooms 1.4 "cobalt dream machine" back in October and love it.We only use premium fuel like Shell V- Power or as i found out over a year ago Tesco momentum is better still, you can feel the difference in power.We're not talking a huge difference in the extra cost of a tank and i'm convinced you get more mpg's as a result.Win win for me and i would argue it's not worth worrying about the few pounds extra cost on a tank of fuel. So with the highest octane fuel available and a well maintained example we think the 1.4 petrol moves along very nicely and it's actually quite nippy if you put your foot down. There is also the fact that the 1.4 is a light engine so the car feels nice to drive is smooth which promotes excellent handling characteristics. Can't remember which Classic car magazine recently published something on the A2 but they said it felt a bit like the Golf GTI Mk1 in ride and handling. I'm old enough to remember them and have to agree with that comment. Ours is the sports suspension 1.4 with 17" alloys and now we have new goodyear Asymmetric 2 just put on feel the car is fine on our horrible roads just not as magic carpet ride as the 15" pepper pots. If you wanted to ere on the side of caution buy a slightly softer tyre. There are ways to dial out some of this over exaggerated "The A2 has a harsh ride" syndrome being reported back in the day. They are firm but not harsh but thats fun factor for me and the reason why many love it.:)
 
Many thanks for your comment VDT. Thanks for everyone's comments. I don't know much about the A2 so I'm asking for opinions on their variants before I go and try some out.
 
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