2.5 (180) vs 1.9 (130) TDI

[toff]

Hi,

I'm considering replacing my awesome, but thirsty S6 with a 2002 / 2003 A4 TDI.

It's going to be a Quattro model, no question about that, but I've read a lot of comments about bad fuel economy on the 2.5 TDI. Some say that it's better to get a 1.9 130 and remap it to 180bhp!

I'm not keen on 4 cylinder engines, I love the smoothness of a V6 (and a V8, but they are damn thirsty!). So a few questions:

Is the 2.5 noticably smoother than the 1.9 and is the fuel economy really THAT much worse than the 1.9 130bhp block?

Any insight or advice much appreciated.

Alex.

[nickynibbles]

General opinions are that the 2.5 is indeed a smooth excellent engine, but rarer than the 1.9. The 1.9 should on average give 10mpg more than the 2.5, more on a long run. The 1.9 is however more tuneable and can be boosted up to 180bhp with no probs & even improve the mpg. It is also going to be more common, cheaper the buy & cheaper to insure. Having driven my v6 petrol for 18mths now i'd be reluctant to return to a 4cyl, but if I wanted a diesel i'd probably chose the 1.9 for the above reason. Only answer to your question is for you to drive both and see what your opnion is as you'll get mixed reactions from people generally im sure!

[toff]

Thanks for your reply & opinion, much appreciated.

I was also considering a 3.0 Quattro, but presumed the MPG would only be slightly better than my 4.2.. please can you confirm what kind of MPG you get?

Thanks - Alex.

[mellie]

I drive a 180 Bhp 2.5 tdi quattro. I went from an golf mk 4 115 Bhp remapped to 150Bhp. And find the a4 to be a nicer drive. The mpg i get varies from 34 round city to 44 on long drives, DIS shows an average of about 38mpg. Going a a little quicker than speed limit too. Thats about 12 mpg worse than the golf. But it is lighter, although I did push the golf quite a bit harder knowing the mpg was good.

Overall I'm happy with the v6. But I'd still drive a 4cyl diesel again.
Down to personal choice, drive both back to back and see how you get on.

[Bigdom71]

Monday to Friday I currently drive an 51plate 1.9 130 tdi. I do a round trip of 141 miles a day, over 4 motorways and A roads one being the M25 carpark.

On an average day it sees 52, today saw 58mpg. I always drive outside lane, trust me i don't drive slowly. This car sees 10mpg more than the other halfs 55 plate 2.0gt tdi Golf.

The pd engines are better on economy, however they don't have the all round torque of the new 2.0 engine.

In the next few weeks i'm going to stick a steinbauer box on. Had one last year on a Saab 93, made an extra 50bhp & relevant torque, though only -1 mpg difference. Should make an extra 32 bhp & 50nm which will be fine for what this car is used for.

[adamss24]

Monday to Friday I currently drive an 51plate 1.9 130 tdi. I do a round trip of 141 miles a day, over 4 motorways and A roads one being the M25 carpark.

On an average day it sees 52, today saw 58mpg. I always drive outside lane, trust me i don't drive slowly. This car sees 10mpg more than the other halfs 55 plate 2.0gt tdi Golf.

The pd engines are better on economy, however they don't have the all round torque of the new 2.0 engine.

In the next few weeks i'm going to stick a steinbauer box on. Had one last year on a Saab 93, made an extra 50bhp & relevant torque, though only -1 mpg difference. Should make an extra 32 bhp & 50nm which will be fine for what this car is used for.

Hi, i drive monday to friday a passat estate 1.9 tdi and weekends i treat myself driving the a4 quattro 2.5 tdi manual. The 1.9 Tdi is cheaper to run on a long run but the a4 is just soo much fun. I have transplanted a 180 Bhp engine last year and it has a psi motorsport tuning box on it as well. I reckon is well over 210 Bhp now and 380 Nm torque. Its still returns 40 Mpq driven sensibly. Its not that easy to drive as its has an uprated clutch and the qearbox is a bit notchy because of the short shift kit i fitted but, i can live with it. There is no comparisson between the two engines with regards of the smoothness...

[Johnboyc]

Well, I have a Nov 2003 Audi A4 Avant 2.5TDi Quattro Sport. which I got from Audi York in March 07.

Having had numerous 3 Series 2.8 BMW E36 Coupes for the past 10 years the fuel consumption of the Audi was a revelation.....I average 35 MPG on mixed driving (towns/motorways), and on a long run I get about 40 to 42 mpg which to me is great! Its droped my weekly fuel biils by a least a third. (I dont thrash the car, but then I don't hang around either)
I have also changed the Audi 18" Cross Spoke Alloys (usually seen on TT's) to Replica 18" RS6 Alloys & the standard 18mm rear Anti Roll Bar to a B7 RS4 22mm (£80 VAGparts, and £30 to fit)...which has made an amazing difference to the driveability and feel of the car - feels a LOT more planted - almost on par with the 'sport' versions of the BMWs I have previously owned in dry conditions..but the Audi feels soooooo much more safe, especially in the wet.

When looking for an Audi A4 Avant I really wanted a Quattro 1.9 Sport model....but try finding one with low mileage, rare as rocking horse sh*t - any that do crop up seemed to disappear very quickly. I test drove an "1.9 SE" Quattro, which was very good I have to say...but I wanted the slightly lower ride height and the body kit on a sport, so eventually, due to a new arrival at home, I opted for a 2.5TDi Q Sport, fully loaded (RNS-e, Cruise, DIS, electric heated leather, painted lower body, parking sensors, heated/folding door mirrors, interior light pack, Bose, Xenons, etc, etc) with 24K miles on it.

The 2.5 when cruising on the motorway, with cruise control, is a very relaxed drive....I absolutely love it. Doing a smidge over 2000rpm at an indicated 80mph

The 1.9's are as stated above are better for MPG (by at least 10 mpg). Now my view on remapping of 1.9's is if its that great why do Audi not do it ? Remap of a 130bhp engine to 180bhp (38% power increase) must have a negative effect on the engine and drive trains in terms of stress over the long term.....and a remap also seems to cost around £400. I am very sure if you remapped your car from 130BHP to 180BHP then you must inform your insurance company......

Anyways.....try the 1.9 & the 2.5.....the Avant in my opinion is one of the best looking estates around at the moment.....even though I never call it an estate

My only gripe about Audi's diesels in general is that the Owners Manual informs you to change the 2.5TDi cambelt after 80K miles....my 2.5 TDI has 31K on it after 4 years.....so will be getting the belt, water pump, etc, changed in Feb next year......Preston Audi have quoted me around £500 for the whole job - COUGH ! Splutter !

[toff]

Thanks very much for all your replies an opinions..

Hmm.. I've decided that it's definitely going to be a TDI (the 3.0 petrol Quattro probably won't be a vast amount different from my 4.2)

For refinement, I think it has to be the 2.5 - even if it is 10mpg down on the 1.9, it'll be a whole world of difference compared to my 4.2 mobile refinery

I'm going to go for a manual 2.5 to further save on fuel and have a little more driver involvement.

Al.

[Johnboyc]

Another thing to bear in mind is that the 6 speed box will be a lot more reliable than the multitronic.....
There are horror stories in various vwaudi forums ranging from £1750 to £3500 multitronic gearbox repair bills....6 clutch replaced with 7 clutch...

The 2.5 TDi Quattro Sport Avant 180bhp is great - try and get one with as much kit on it as possible....will make it a doddle to offload in the future....

[Turkster]

iv had the 130 1.9 and found it to be very quick and very good on fuel, i got about 55mpg on average, BUT now iv gone for the 2.5 V6, now i get about 37 mpg, so i suffer at the pumps, but i get it back every time i push the peddle and the V6 takes me away smoothly,

personal choice if you can afford a V6 then take it, failing that the 1.9 is a fantastic choice to fall back to,

i looked at it this way, How many V6 engine cars on the road can offer you 37 or so MPG ? not many!