USED Audi A6 Avant (97 - 05)

My car

We have a an A6 1.9 Tdi se 130 Avant 2003. It must rate as the perfect estate car. Fast, large, good to drive, comfortable, strong and over 50mpg on a run even when pushing on. It has now done over 100k with no dramas. Main dealer service intervals at around £270 @ 22k. Perfect.

We also run a 2001 a6 Allroad 2.5 V6 tdi 6 speed manual Tdi V6 now with 112k. The comparison between the two is interesting. I have never read so much rubbish talked about this car. It looks "cool" but is a bit of a nightmare.

All our family are positive that the 1.9 is quicker than the 2.5 in mid range acceleration. The Allroad also only achieves 29mpg on a run. This is almost half the figure of the 1.9tdi. The Allroad has had loads to wrong and does frequently. The air suspension has packed up twice (expensive), numerous dash lights have required reseting and the cambelts cost a fortune to replace.

In the real world my opinion is thier is no comparison unless you are into off-road persuits. The 1.9 130 is a great family car.

Dont believe that 1.9 is underpowered. It isnt.

My car

An all round excellent car. Six speed, 230 bhp, quattro family estate, that goes well on the motorway (on the continent), in the snow in the winter and the wet lanes the rest of the year. The Bi Turbo is very smooth providing a wide acceleration band in almost any gear.

I bought the car with over a 110 k motorway miles on the clock, and it hasn't missed a beat since - now at 127k.

With electric leather seats, climate and cruise control, and plenty of space, it's a very comfortable for both driver and passengers.

Small problems with the Symphony radio, otherwise not even any minor niggles. Other than normal servicing costs,a replacement of the fromt discs at 115k was the most expensive items to date.

Would recommend the car to anyone who is prepared to trade the performance of the Bi-Turbo with the hit on the mpg. However, on the motorway it still averages 30 mpg with top box, family and bikes on the back.

My car

My A6 is slightly older than the range shown here - its my first 'decent' car, purchased roughly three years ago. It's the 2.6SE Avant.

As a compromise between taking kids and a hound out on weekends, travelling long motorway miles for work occasionally and hooning around local twisties when I'm on my own, I 'm struggling to think of better replacement. I want to get a newer car, and the only one I can think of that might come close is a newer A6 with a bigger lump... an RS6 would do nicely.

I suppose that must give you an idea of my mindset - so if the standard A6 can still bring a smile to my face and see off plenty of hot hatches through bendy roads, it's clearly not a bad compromise between enjoyment and function - I wish I could run two cars.

As for reliabilty, aside from maintenance and consumables, I've had a power steering hose fail (age, I suspect) which was genuine Audi parts only and quite pricey, as well as the key immobiliser unit failing - again, genuine Audi bits. The latter component surprised me - something in the order of £60 plus fitting (and they valet the car!) which wasn't as bad as I was expecting at all.

My car

Outstanding combination of practicality (in the back it's limo size), great fuel economy (regular 50mpg+), good looks (well as good as an estate ever looks), peerless build quality and an embarrassingly low company car tax bill. I only worry that the new A6 Avant can't possibly be as good as this one.