What to Buy 3.0tdi - S4 - RS4 ? ?

[DrGamma]

Hi folks

So I want a fun car for the summer with some grunt which is also a daily use car. Budget £15K. This is my only car.

My wife will be driving it and she is by far the worst driver (and passenger - bless her) i've ever been in with Plus we will be popping our 10 month old in the back.

We also love convertibles !

Initially i thought righty ho get the RS4 cabriolet and that ticks all the boxes. I saw a cracking one at £15K with around £60K on the clock. However i have been put off by the running costs. I do about 12K a year, 10K of that mostly pottering around.

Then i thought maybe the fun / fast factor will outweigh the fuel / running costs, i'd have to drive it to know.

...

Then i looked at the A5 3.0 TDI cab which at 242BHP and as i have read a very grunty bottom end plus good fuel economy could fit my criteria really well.

...

Then i looked at the S4 cab which you can pick up quite a bit cheaper than the RS4.

...

So the shortlist is the RS4 cab - S4 cab and A5 3.0 TDI cab. Budget £15K.

My questions;

NB. I like driving fast BUT im not a get the end out round corners type of guy (well not with wife and baby anyway:) and the majority of my driving is day to day stuff. I dont do track days or that type of stuff. BUT i do like FAST cars and grunt.

1. Is there that much difference in the 3.0 TDI to the other two to make it worth the extra running costs ? I have read that the 3.0 TDI keeps up with most 'exotica' ?

2. Is there much noticeable speed and acceleration difference for daily driving between the RS4 and the S4 ? Is there much difference between the running costs of the S4 and RS4 ?

3. I have read that it is easy and relatively cheap to remap the 3.0TDI to 300 BHP +, would i lose much fuel economy with this ?

Basically i need an everyday car that does everyday stuff well, pram in the back etc that also satisfies that petrol head in me that likes to feel exhilarated by some right foot action with every drive ( well almost) without paying an arm and a leg.

I'd really appreciate your advice, especially from those of you that have driven all 3 of the above.

Many Thanks and Best wishes, Chris AKA Dr.Gamma

[jonno_c]

Hi folks

So I want a fun car for the summer with some grunt which is also a daily use car. Budget £15K. This is my only car.

My wife will be driving it and she is by far the worst driver (and passenger - bless her) i've ever been in with Plus we will be popping our 10 month old in the back.

We also love convertibles !

Initially i thought righty ho get the RS4 cabriolet and that ticks all the boxes. I saw a cracking one at £15K with around £60K on the clock. However i have been put off by the running costs. I do about 12K a year, 10K of that mostly pottering around.

Then i thought maybe the fun / fast factor will outweigh the fuel / running costs, i'd have to drive it to know.

...

Then i looked at the A5 3.0 TDI cab which at 242BHP and as i have read a very grunty bottom end plus good fuel economy could fit my criteria really well.

...

Then i looked at the S4 cab which you can pick up quite a bit cheaper than the RS4.

...

So the shortlist is the RS4 cab - S4 cab and A5 3.0 TDI cab. Budget £15K.

My questions;

NB. I like driving fast BUT im not a get the end out round corners type of guy (well not with wife and baby anyway:) and the majority of my driving is day to day stuff. I dont do track days or that type of stuff. BUT i do like FAST cars and grunt.

1. Is there that much difference in the 3.0 TDI to the other two to make it worth the extra running costs ? I have read that the 3.0 TDI keeps up with most 'exotica' ?

2. Is there much noticeable speed and acceleration difference for daily driving between the RS4 and the S4 ? Is there much difference between the running costs of the S4 and RS4 ?

3. I have read that it is easy and relatively cheap to remap the 3.0TDI to 300 BHP +, would i lose much fuel economy with this ?

Basically i need an everyday car that does everyday stuff well, pram in the back etc that also satisfies that petrol head in me that likes to feel exhilarated by some right foot action with every drive ( well almost) without paying an arm and a leg.

I'd really appreciate your advice, especially from those of you that have driven all 3 of the above.

Many Thanks and Best wishes, Chris AKA Dr.Gamma

An RS4 will cost you £3,600 in petrol alone at 20mpg (£6 a gallon give or take) so unless you can afford That kind of money before even thinking of service costs, I'd avoid an RS4!!

[Covkiller]

An RS4 is not a cheap car to run, it may be cheap to buy but it still costs the same to run as £55k performance car it was to buy. Do not kid yourself it will cost you dearly to run. Let alone if you want to keep it in tip to condition. It's not a car to buy if you're on a budget. If you have the funds then go for it.

[marc1]

The 3.0TDI isn’t as efficient as you might think though. They are all obviously similar age cars. So go in with your eyes open, replacing suspension arms due to worn bushes, etc could set you back a few £££ to a few ££££ on all three. The S and RS have additional performance parts and associated S/RS tax on top.

The cab’s aren’t especially rigid so might benefit from a few handling mods, but I would go and drive them to decide what you’d be happy with. Same for practicality, as you mention boot space for a pram and being able to do family duties. Check the boot is a suitable size when the roof is down as will encroach on space. The rear seats aren’t as big in the cab as they are in the saloons and avants.

All great cars in the own rights though.

[Nige_RS4]

I had a mapped 3.0tdi and the economy didn't really change before/after the map. The most I ever got out of it was 50 mpg, but my typical mpg was usually around the 38 mpg mark, so not as economical as you would expect. The cab would be even heavier to expect worse figures than those!

The one thing I didn't like about that particular engine was the way it revved (or didn't rev!). I found it gutless off boost which was around 2k rpm or less and even with 660Nm it still didn't feel fast. I replaced it within 12 Months!

[jonno_c]

An RS4 is not a cheap car to run, it may be cheap to buy but it still costs the same to run as £55k performance car it was to buy. Do not kid yourself it will cost you dearly to run. Let alone if you want to keep it in tip to condition. It's not a car to buy if you're on a budget. If you have the funds then go for it.

This!!

[DrGamma]

Thank you fellas, very helpful indeed

[noddy]

Running costs are all dependent on how you plan to use/service it.
Going to an independent s4/rs4 will be similar and fuel/tax insurance. One will make you smile every time you see it.
The v6 tdi will still cost you £££'s if something goes wrong, don't forget it has 2 turbos and associated emissions crap, expensive dsg that has to handle more torque than an rs4 to boot.
The tdi does not like short journey's either for obvious reasons.

[amgtr]

This may not go down very well on here but if you find yourself edging towards the TDI option then take a look at a 435D, might be a bit over budget but you could get lucky.
They are 313ps as standard with official figures of 4.7 0-60 plus all ‘35D’s are XDrive, this was the best car we’ve had by a country mile as a daily and returned 42mpg average, problem solved

[Evil Derboy]

I had a an A5 3.0 TDI. Managed around 25 mpg and no diesel car is anywhere near on par with anything with an RS/AMG/M badge no matter what the diesel evangelists say about torque.

If you’re a petrolhead avoid diesel at all costs. After my A5, my other diesel was a Ghibli 3.0 auto. I told myself that this would be better than the manual A5 because I wouldn’t be bothered about the lower rev range on an auto. I was wrong.

[Lady Penelope]

I have an RS4 Cabriolet. Brilliant, beautiful and fun to the extreme.... BUT

I also have children and I'd not be wanting too many trips with a toddler in the back seats with the roof down. It's a lot different to the front seats back there. Wind noise, deep seats so you can't see out that well as a small child. Not sure on the carseat points in the rear of a Cab either...

Also it is an expensive car to keep on the road, fuel aside.

Still, it is HUGE fun.

I think you should also widen your search and look at (indeed go and drive) some of the later '06 onwards plate Audi A4 Cabriolet 1.8 T(urbo) - petrol - sport versions. These are pretty quick off the mark and you can pick them up well within your budget and with funds to do a few things to them.

I did just that before I got my RS and I was pretty impressed. Much more economical than the S4 Cab which will eat money too. I always think in an S4 you're always just waiting that moment when an RS4 overtakes or glides past to make you feel a little envious? Maybe that's just me..

There are some decent specialists out there who do nothing but sort Audi Convertible Roof issues and they do have them. None are that expensive to fix if you use the specialists (VAGPRO in Leicester, Auto Electron in Harrogate up north) and never a main dealer who always want to do big and unnecessary expensive things. You can swap the roof for another quite easily and that blings up a Cab nicely in some cases if you find a better colour combination.

We are looking for one for our daughter and these three caught my eye on the Bay recently, especially the first.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AUDI-A4-1-8- ... 1438.l2649

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2007-Audi-A4 ... SwOVpXZAFn

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2008-Audi-A4 ... SwkQxa-COj

Good luck with the hunt!

P

PS You'll struggle to get some prams in the back of a convertible Audi 4 of any variant with the roof stowed... Check that.

[c3nturi0n]

...whatever you get be aware of speed limits / points in your license .