USED Audi A4 Saloon (05 - 09)

My car

This car is now a year and 44,000 miles old, and is still looking and running fantastically. I have averaged nearly 47 mpg, on long trips, this can be as high as 58 mpg. Everybody who sees, or goes in it, is instantly impressed, I should be on commission from Audi, the number of people who have bought one afterwards.

Having just seen the new one, the only reason to change, will be to get one, as this is a truly great car.

It is true that it is not the biggest car in the world, but for the rare occassions I need more space, a roof box, and bike rack ensured 17 days in Cornwall was easily acheived for a family of four, and I am six foot two.

Interesting to see that al new engines will be available as auto on the new car, as this is about my only regret, that the 170 is manual only.

My car

This car is absolutely fabulous, and looks much better than a Mercedes or BMW.

The Multitronic gearbox is a pleasure to use. You would have to be an expert driver to accelarate using a manual gearbox faster. S-line gives great handling and the diesel engine offers good fuel economy, especially on motorways at reasonable speeds.

My only criticism is the rear passenger leg room.

My car

I have owned this car for a week now and have done about 1000 miles so far, so can’t comment on all the aspects yet. I agree with some of the comments mentioned earlier about sluggish first gear and fan noise. The first gear does not carry long enough, there seems to be a sudden lack of power while pulling away from stop. The car moves quickly as soon as you release the clutch but then does not do much as you press accelerator down. You need to very quickly move into second gear to pick up speed. Although second gear onwards it picks up quite well and makes up for the lost time. The car is very punchy and satisfying on motorway journeys. However, it feels heavy to drive in slow city traffic. Maybe speed sensitive steering would have helped.

It is a very comfortable and neat car inside. I opted for the front centre armrest, which makes long journeys very relaxing with cruise control on. It is an obstruction in city driving though. The BOSE audio system is a must-have for a car so well built and I am glad I opted for one. On the outside, I got free upgrade to 17” 16 spoke alloys, which accentuate the looks.

Overall, I am very happy so far. The car feels nice, looks good and gives you above 55mpg (as I mostly do motorway journeys).

I hope the good experience lasts for a long time.

My car

An update on July '07 contribution. I've now done 18k miles since buying my car as a year old demonstrator. Good things about the car are its fit and finish, reliablity (never let me down) and performance. On the negative side I still find the steering heavy at low speeds and the front seat is not supportive over a long journey. Rear seat passengers complain about the lack of space and harsh ride. I guess the SE is better. I think it's unlikely that I will buy another Audi - I'll probably return to Volvo (wonderful comfort) or downsize completely when I can find a small car with cruise control. Incidentally, the onboard computer is optimistic about fuel consumption - I tend to get about 45 mpg on a tank over mixed driving (computer says 48-50mpg). My car has not consumed lots of oil. I've had to put in 1 litre before the only service it's had (at 18k miles) - cost was about £320 but that included new brake fluid as well. Since then I've put in another litre and the car has covered 28.5k miles now. With the cost of diesel I tend to keep near to the speed limits and use my cruise control as much as possible. Perhaps that helps. Finally, mine gets admiring looks (it's red with very smart alloy wheels). I guess I'll be glad I bought it when I come to sell it and it's held itsa value better than some.