Is the 3.0 TDi really a bad idea for short journeys?

[A4B6Cab]

Am considering a 3.0TDi (as per my other post), but we only do a short journey to work and back each day (its 6 miles each way), and read a few stories of the DPF?

Are short journeys that bad for a large diesel engine?

I'm drawn to the diesel due to the extra torque and power and 4WD

[C172s]

I can't speak for the 3 TDi quattro, and have no figures on it, however may I suggest the petrol 225 quattro

I now have the 2L petrol 225 quattro. It's very quick and the all wheel drive quattro brings a new dimension to the Audi A5, and other models.

My round trip to work is 6 miles. As is the school run. Compared to my previous front wheel drive A4/6/4,the handling with quattro is 10 times better. More fun yet more sure footed. Due to the heat produced by petrol the engine and cabin heat up quicker so warm air actually gets into the cabin halfway into my short journey. Warm air Never happened in the 2 Tdi with my short journeys. Thank goodness my A6 had heated seats.

In the petrol I average 25mpg with short distance driving. Quick spurts of acceleration and of course STronic quattro. I haven't noticed much of a difference in fuel refill rates and overall fuel cost between the diesel and petrol over short distances. No DPFs to worry about. I had loads of issues with a diesel A3 over short distances. You could actually smell burning. The newer models have fans to sort the dpfs but my diesels dpf fans were continuously running after my short journeys.

Diesel/ petrol apart....My main point here is that quattro is the best way to go. If anything, take Quattro as a must over engine size.

The petrol 225 hasnt the torque of the 6 cyl 245 diesel but it's no slouch either. Over short distances, it's As cheap as a 2 TDi to run (lower mpg balanced by Lower fuel cost) but the performance with a 0-60 that is 0.4 less than the 3.0 Tdi.

The annoying thing is I can't open up the engine to its full potential as the roads are always busy with obstructions in the way not to mention speed traps.

[kgthomas]

+1 on the post above. I have the 2.0 TDi 177 bhp quattro A5 and while I have never owned a 2WD audi I do know that the quattro sticks to the road like glue. I have tried to get it to slide on corners and it doesn't not unless you turn off the traction control. Might sound obvious but my wife has a Volvo S40 with a very good traction control system and I can get it to slide around corners with it turned on. The quattro just seems to be so good a distributing the power.

The other good thing about a petrol over diesel is the lower servicing costs. At least if you are doing it yourself; I don't know if the dealers make a difference in the costs.

Cheers Keith

[rowdy-999]

Am considering a 3.0TDi (as per my other post), but we only do a short journey to work and back each day (its 6 miles each way), and read a few stories of the DPF?

Are short journeys that bad for a large diesel engine?

I'm drawn to the diesel due to the extra torque and power and 4WD

Just take it for the odd good blast. Its a fantastic engine, no more prone to DPF problems than any other diesel. In fact I cant recall the last 3.0tdi DPF problem i read about.
I get an average of 34mpg with a 3 mile commute and school run. Returns 47mpg on a long run.

[Sciroccorrado]

Just take it for the odd good blast. Its a fantastic engine, no more prone to DPF problems than any other diesel. In fact I cant recall the last 3.0tdi DPF problem i read about.
I get an average of 34mpg with a 3 mile commute and school run. Returns 47mpg on a long run.

+1 for above, mine was fine on both short and long journeys, and it returned the smile to my face whenever I drove it compared to the Passat that I had before Loads of smiles per miles.