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Hi All

First post on here, although through one way or another I've been in these circles for a fair few years.

I'm in the process of looking at a cars that can carry our dog (a Whippet lurcher) and a baby that is hopefully due next year. With that in mind I'm looking at estate cars (I don't really fancy the SWB of an SUV, nor the running costs of a Disco). After recently having a flurry of BMW's (1M, fJCW Mini, 1 series diesel Coupe) my mind immediately started thinking about 330D tourings etc, however, due to the purchase costs of a lightly used one (circa £30k) and the limited mileage I do a year (circa 5k), the man maths suggest a good Petrol will be just as good and that's when my mind tuirned to the S4.

So, I have a few questions, if you could indulge me for a bit...

1. For those of you with Avants, do you think it will be big enough to carry the dog and all the baby paraphernalia?
2. I've read on here that real-world MPG is not as good as quoted, and early cars were particularly bad (causing complaints to Audi!)? Does this improve as the engine gets some miles on the clock? As long as I can get 30+ mpg on my motorway runs then I'll be happy.
3. I'll be looking circa £27k which takes me into 2010/11 territory. Were there any engine and or optional spec revisions I should be aware of?
4. Must have options? I hear HDD Sat Nav is essential? I presume it does full 7 digit post code?
5. I've seen this car http://www.audi.co.uk/used-cars/used-ca ... 94074.aspx that seems to tick all the boxes and has a good spec, anything I should look out for in particular? It has higher miles, but given my limited miles a year I can even that out over time, so I'm not worried about that.
6. Any known problems/issues/recalls I should watch out for?

... and I think that's about it for now.

Thanks in advance

kmpowell wrote:Hi All

First post on here, although through one way or another I've been in these circles for a fair few years.

I'm in the process of looking at a cars that can carry our dog (a Whippet lurcher) and a baby that is hopefully due next year. With that in mind I'm looking at estate cars (I don't really fancy the SWB of an SUV, nor the running costs of a Disco). After recently having a flurry of BMW's (1M, fJCW Mini, 1 series diesel Coupe) my mind immediately started thinking about 330D tourings etc, however, due to the purchase costs of a lightly used one (circa £30k) and the limited mileage I do a year (circa 5k), the man maths suggest a good Petrol will be just as good and that's when my mind tuirned to the S4.

So, I have a few questions, if you could indulge me for a bit...

1. For those of you with Avants, do you think it will be big enough to carry the dog and all the baby paraphernalia?
2. I've read on here that real-world MPG is not as good as quoted, and early cars were particularly bad (causing complaints to Audi!)? Does this improve as the engine gets some miles on the clock? As long as I can get 30+ mpg on my motorway runs then I'll be happy.
3. I'll be looking circa £27k which takes me into 2010/11 territory. Were there any engine and or optional spec revisions I should be aware of?
4. Must have options? I hear HDD Sat Nav is essential? I presume it does full 7 digit post code?
5. I've seen this car http://www.audi.co.uk/used-cars/used-ca ... 94074.aspx that seems to tick all the boxes and has a good spec, anything I should look out for in particular? It has higher miles, but given my limited miles a year I can even that out over time, so I'm not worried about that.
6. Any known problems/issues/recalls I should watch out for?

... and I think that's about it for now.

Thanks in advance

Hi and FON, that car has a similar spec to my 2010 saloon{mine has a few more options} 30 mpg + is achievable on motorways,its a well specked car with the right options as for recalls ,mine has had water pump ,thermostat,front discs, pads, callipers,rear light seals and wing mirror seals done on TSBs {technical service bulletins } make sure these have been done and im sure you will get great enjoyment out of the car.

Yes it will be big enough.

Get super sport seats, 19s and B&O as must have options. Others will say tech high and rear differential and drive select. It's all dependant on what you need and want. For me the seats and 19s make it more of an S4 than S-line, plus the seats give it that overall feel of quality.

Have you driven one yet?

The one you posted has a great spec.

1: Mine is a dog carrier part time, and fits our lab into it no problem

2: I get 330 miles out of my tank everytime on my work run (30 mile round trip with start stop sections). On motorway trips to my folks I almost always get close to 400. You should easily be able to get 30+ on motorway runs. Mine is a 59 plate.

3: Only thing I remember them adding was the launch control, and then after that you are into facelift changes.

4: HDD nav, supersports, drive select, rear diff, and HILL HOLD!! Mine doesn't have 7 digit search though.

5: That model looks spot on to me, not a massive fan of the red leather but that's a pure personal choice

6: Watch out for water pump failure, mine had steam coming out the bonnet and the pump was replaced. I believe this has been fixed up in later model years.

Oh yes hill hold is awesome for a cheap option.

Hom wrote:1: Mine is a dog carrier part time, and fits our lab into it no problem

2: I get 330 miles out of my tank everytime on my work run (30 mile round trip with start stop sections). On motorway trips to my folks I almost always get close to 400. You should easily be able to get 30+ on motorway runs. Mine is a 59 plate.

3: Only thing I remember them adding was the launch control, and then after that you are into facelift changes.

4: HDD nav, supersports, drive select, rear diff, and HILL HOLD!! Mine doesn't have 7 digit search though.

5: That model looks spot on to me, not a massive fan of the red leather but that's a pure personal choice

6: Watch out for water pump failure, mine had steam coming out the bonnet and the pump was replaced. I believe this has been fixed up in later model years.

Almost agree with you, the magma and black seats are awesome!
I carry my 2 labs in mine, just invest in a hatch bag and your boot will be kept as good as new. I have a 2012 model and I'd say that the only improvements are stop/start, 7 digit post code on the HDD nav launch control and different lights.
You'll easily see over 30mpg on the motorway as it's town driving that sucks the fuel tank dry on these.
All in all a great family car, and also very fast.
The spec on the car you are looking at it pretty much bang on.

Thanks for all the replies chaps, very helpful!

My requirements, for those that have asked, are as follows; the car will be used for two primary things. 1) popping to the supermarket/shops at the weekend, and then long (SE London > Shrewsbury and SE London > Bristol) motorway runs every month to see family usually fully loaded with dog, baby etc. It won't be a commuting car. With that in mind it has to be 30+ good on MPG for the long trips, and still feed my petrolhead brain so I don't get bored and harassed by 330D's etc. Carrying the dog and a child, it'll need to be safe (hence the like for Quattro), but most of all it has to be able to carry the dog in the back with ease and still have room for all the baby paraphernalia. Chances are we'll be getting a Bugaboo Chameleon, so I'm wondering if this will fit as well as the dog etc. I'm presuming the S4 has ISOFIX?

I've been monitoring prices for a while now and it seems that it's only well specced cars that shift at £26-£28k. Anything else in the 2009/10/11 era that is poor specced seem to vary at early 20's. I'm in no rush to buy so I'll hold out for the right car, but a lot of people mention Drive Select and Differential, do these make that much difference and are they really needed on the Avant? What's the ride like with the standard setup?

Thanks again.

Most shopping for an S4 know what to look for regarding spec, hence the higher spec ones commanding the good money and selling. Usual stuff really. The diff + drive select seems to be more sought after, even though you probably wont notice the diff in regular commutes. Just one of them options reviewers have picked up on that filters into Joe public s minds about being a "must have"

The ride is good, its firm on 19 though, so having drive select and switching to comfort with the dog in is good

You will love the car, mine it staying for atleast another year I love it

kmpowell wrote: I'm presuming the S4 has ISOFIX?

YES, ISOFIX mountings are standard.

I just moved into a 2009 Avant and test drove several variants extensively before purchase.

I have to say for me after testing and shortlisting, the must have options became following (these of course are just my personal observations) :

DSG - why not with this much torque and capability for a daily driver
Supersports seats - they look and feel sublime - though the red and blacks looked like clown car to me (have they dulled the red down in the facelifted ones? pics make it look so)
Nav - I wanted some form just for integrated finish although seldom gets used, preference was HDD, settled on DVD.
Heated seats - makes winter driving almost inviting
Adaptive suspension - I found the ride over varying surfaces and driving styles to simply be better with this setup. So much so that the standard felt "less damped" and more akin to the jarring of a BMW setup.
Sports diff - as stated, in 99% of use it's not going to come into play. However, when pushing on in tighter bends you can feel it at work - the back end actually tightens up, a line that seems to be too tight to hold or that you'll simply drift off, holds with an great sense of precision.
B&O Sound - found the std non B&O to be dire and knew I'd end up forking out more for later upgrade if I setteld for it.


Car I ended up with also has the adaptive steering, that took a short time to adjust to - I wasn't enamoured with it on test drives figured it was take it or leave it, though have to say I now really like it.


Nice to have's that I would have liked but couldn't find with the must haves (at least not within budget) when I had narrowed my searches were:

19's - alas ended up with std 18" rims, but 4 almost new tyres so they'll be staying on for a while
Memory - seems a very seldom chosen option - I might retrofit this
Sunroof - nice to bring light in for the family, though after the hassles with leaks on the last 2 BM's, not having it might be more blessing than curse.
Keyless entry and start - wife wanted after last cars having it - alas not to be.


As for MPG - I'm not seeing much over low 20's for a mixed driving pattern, partially my enthusiastic exploring the vehicle, though I'm not expecting it to improve much with the shorter journeys we tend to use it for.

Interesting to hear you have got used to adaptive steering given slating in press

I've got it coming on my rs4(part of sports pack ) and could well be one of this things that grows on you when initial magazine reviews have been a few hours drive.

The opening post makes it all sounds very middle aged Kev

kmpowell wrote:Hi All

First post on here

FON

Technically your 3rd post as you made 2 when you joined in 2006, is 6 years a record for lurking?

kmpowell wrote:I've read on here that real-world MPG is not as good as quoted, and early cars were particularly bad (causing complaints to Audi!)? Does this improve as the engine gets some miles on the clock? As long as I can get 30+ mpg on my motorway runs then I'll be happy.

In my experience it isn't, no. But I reckon it's more of a case of setting your expectations at the right level.

My daily drive is a B7 RS4 (standard un-modded car) and I get about 20mpg day in day out, over a mixed fast / slow A road and town commute, against the quoted combined mpg of 20.9. We always get just under the combined figure on all of the cars we've owned (e.g. wife's Porsche does 27 against quoted 30).

While the RS was in for a few days of service work last month the dealer put me in a 12 plate S4 Avant demo car, as it's a car that I'd contemplate replacing the RS with in due course, being nearly as quick, but quite a lot cheaper. It had 5000 miles of demos and staff use so should have been fully run in. Over the course of nearly 200 miles over several days, it averaged just 22mpg - against a quoted 33! Driven exactly the same way over the same roads as my RS.... go figure!

Having said that though, I don't think it's unique to the S4, and more likely down to something that Audi are doings with the cars they send for testing these days, as I also had a loan A4 1.8t multitronic fairly recently, and that did just over 30mpg over the same roads, against a quoted 47; I also had nearly a year in an A3 TDi 140 s-Tronic, and that did 40mpg against a quoted 57! I do wonder if it's something to do with their DSG 'boxes though, but who knows...

Fuel economy aside I still think Audis are very good - the S4 for example was a nice bit of kit with a smooth punchy engine, with the exception of the adaptive steering, which I personally found irritating, and took away far too much feel from the wheel - but as others have said, I reckon you'd probably get used to it.

^ Its even more difficult to achieve quoted mpg figures with the modern cars because they now hide true fuel economy behind a plethora of electronics (most of which you're likely to switch off)