1.8T 190 or 163 Avant Quattro

[JohnyCat]

Hi, I am about to buy one of the above. The only 'on paper' statistics show hardly any difference in performance or economy between these two. Has anyone out there driven both. I would have thought that 30bhp extra for the 190 would be noticeable. I have a Porsche 911 (993) for fun so I am not looking for a fast car but it is an estate and I don't want to sit and twiddle my thumbs waiting for it to pull. I have had Audi's before buthave been out of the marque for a while and not driven a b6. I had 2 different quattro coupe's mk2s? Is the build quality as good? In particular are steering and suspension components sound?
All help would be appreciated
Thanks JohnyCat

Ps hope this is the right forum!

[dansansome]

having driven a 1.8t 163 standard, and then driving the same car with a map on it (claimed around 200bhp) the difference is immense. the remap made it much smoother to drive with good amounts of torque for that lazy round town cruising with minimal gearchanges.

if i had the choice, i would go 190 every time. plus then you could remap the 190 to (estimate) 220 bhp without much difference to economy.

build quality seems excellent on my 2003 cab, but then i have been used to driving a '96 escort. it feels very solid and a prety relaxed driving environment. my steering/suspension seems fine, no knocking/creaking at all.

hth

welcome to the forum btw

[JohnyCat]

Hey thanks Dansansome. Exactly what I was looking for. Brilliant M8. I am looking at around 50 - 70 k miles. Anything I should worry about at this milage? Can't wait to rejoin the fold.

[dansansome]

well, the jury is out on when the cambelts should be done. some say 60k (or 5 years whichever sooner), others say 80k (or 5 years...). so i guess you could use this as a bargaining tool.

if it has had the cambelt done, see if it had the water pump done at the same time, as it is customary for them both to be done together. (similar labour charges for both etc)

make sure the air con blows nice and cold when on "lo" setting.

if you are buying anything other than a manual, make sure the auto box has been well looked after as the multitronic boxes have a nasty habit of costing LOTS of cash if they go wrong. just have a quick search around here for multitronic or multichronic for tales of woe...


umm...other than that, i just made sure everything works

oh, and see if you can find out if the car has been remapped or not. (might have a receipt in there) especially if it has had one of those freebie 5 hour trial remaps on it. you will need to let a remapper know this if you ever decide to get it mapped yourself.

[JohnyCat]

Thanks again m8, Looks like Im looking at the right things. Will be a manual anyway, I like to do the driving. Its the 190bhp versus 163 that I really don't know about and balancing up power versus lower milage 163's for example. So 10k higher 190 on same plate or the 10k lower 163?
I think I am leaning towards the 190bhp its had cambelt done (not sure of waterpum), other hasn't.
Thanks again. If anyone out there thinks differently....

[dansansome]

hmm, well maybe my "190 every time" statement was a bit glib. i'd also consider which onboard toys it has.

after looking at parkers website

http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/specs/....aspx?model=58


it seems the 190s have a 6 speed gearbox? i have heard reports that the 6 speed box can be a PITA 'cos you always seem to be
changing gear.


oh, and take a look at the figures for the 2.5tdi quattro too. pretty bloody impressive imho. a remapped one of these will go like a rocket, and need one tank of fuel to visit the moon* and back



(*figures are estimated )

[JohnyCat]

Thanks for that! Just when I thought that I had made up my mind! Thanks for the Parkers link. I don't fancy a diesel. I think some of the econony has been eroded in recent months and I am a dedicated petrol head! Really appreciate all your help though.