buying new a4 3.0 quattro

[pauljkill]

I would like to read your comments, good or bad about the 2008 A4 3.0 TDI (233 PS) quattro SE. Thank you.

[satsu]

Based on an hour's test drive I was very impressed with the engine. I found it happy to amble along smoothly in traffic at low revs (1000-1500) with no grumbling and not too much lag. Get above 1500rpm and it just goes, whatever gear its in. My only worry is that I will miss the wider rev range of the petrol - this will be my first diesel.

Equally impressed with the quattro. Even pulling away sharply with the left hand wheels still on a grass verge didn't seem to phase it.

My avant is being built this week, so not too long to wait now!

[jtorange]

The 3.0 engine is incredible - my B8 is ordered but I have been running a B7 3.0 Tdi which has been great - 43 mpg on 85/90 mph motorway runs with enough mid range acceleration to worry Porsche Boxsters.

The rev range is not an issue. It's the most undiesel oilburner out there at present and there is so much torque in the 240 ps version that wasting time and fuel above 4000 rpm is pointless.

In fact, I think the 3.0 avant may be the best real world vehicle 8 have driven.

Only downside is the tyre wear - even with careful cornering that mucht torque means regular new Tyres!

[alexcf]

I Second jtorange... I love the 3.0 engine. Got me out of trouble a few times. Going from a Petrol to Diesel is strange though! The revs are so low... The gear suggest function is handy tho, keep forgetting to change down as you can't really hear the engine...

The V6 engine sounds *awesome* storming through a tunnel at 3-4k revs, not that I have ofcourse *cough*.

Well, all I'm happy about is that I can probably out accelerate some Porsches!

My car's on a lease which includes Tyres, so I'm not overly worried about them!

[satsu]

These comments about tyre wear are worrying me a bit. I'm coming from a 170hp front-drive Volvo V50, which I like a lot but I wouldn't want one with any more power. The torque steer when accelerating hard can be hard work, but mainly it's the fact that it's so easy to spin the front wheels.

Despite this I still got about 20,000 out of a pair of front tyres, and it's still on the original rears after 38,000. I figured that the Quattro would balance out the wear a bit and so I hoped to get more out of the new car.

What's your experience on a realistic tyre life with this engine?

[jtorange]

I have been getting c. 15k to a tyre.

It's a heavy old lump of an engine and the fronts seem to go quite quickly.

This has contributed to a a few flats also - the quattro puts down so much traction that the odd screw or nailhead spells greater prolems with tyres than on a 2WD.

Torque steer is not an issue in the 3.0 with quattro - in fact spinning the wheels is actually a bit of a challenge and requires snowfall IMHO.

Go for it anyway - shopping around for tyres gives some good prices.

[satsu]

Already went for it. Should be here in about 4 weeks.

15k isn't too bad, although I have a feeling I will go through the first set faster than that. I can also be smug about the fact that I got the tyre pressure monitor which should let me know if one wheel is getting smaller than the others.

[pauljkill]

thanks for your input, collected the a4 quattro last saturday, excellent machine, pleased all round.