1999 A6 1.8 vs +/-2000 A4 1.6

I wouldn't have either. Both have vastly underpowered engines for the size of car.

This is just a matter of perception, really. The 1.8 IIRC has got 150 HP.

That's not at all underpowered.

In fact, this is something I read in this group quite frequently. Sufficient power for an A6 starts at +300 HP?

Not really. Well, maybe if you gotta beat a Corvette every morning at the red light race ;-)

Regards

Wolfgang

Correct - it's the 1.8 Turbo, whereas the A4 1.6 is normally aspirated with 101bhp.

It's all relative. My first car was a 1969 Ford Cortina GT - a reasonable performance saloon in its day. The A4 1.6 has a little more power and is as fast to 60 as my old Ford (12.5 seconds). The A6 is quicker than that - around 10 seconds.

Nah - about 450bhp is almost enough ;)

With regards to running costs, Audis aren't cheap to run, but the A6 is likely to cost a little more to maintain. With regard to fuel consumption - the official figures suggest that there is not a great deal between them - the A6 being more frugal in urban traffic, and the A4 being the better on extra urban, but the difference between the overall figures is less than 1mpg.

The choice between the two cars must depend on your priorities, the type of driving you do and the number of passengers you carry - the A4 is really quite cramped in the back seat. Having owned both A4 and A6 (but with larger engines), I would go for the A6.

Be aware that, at 60k, the timing belt should be changed - not a cheap job. If you're buying from a dealer, get them to do this as part of the deal.

Thanks Peter, thats some interesting information. I have been looking at other costs like tax and insurance and there doesn't seem to be much between them. I had thought of the timming belt, and wondered how could I be sure that the have infact changed it, I'm being paranoid now. Is there a factual site that you know of where I can educate my self (in spelling), and Audi's, specifically the ones I'm looking at? And althought you mentioned that there both close in Mpg, I didn't see what mpg I could expect from either, or do you know. Just one more question (Sorry bout this - I'm like a school boy in a choclate factory), when you say Urban and Extra Urban, are we taking city trafic, and rush hour city trafic? (sorry that propably is a stupid question, but I'm not 100% sure).

Thanks Peter, thats some interesting information. I have been looking at other costs like tax and insurance and there doesn't seem to be much between them. I had thought of the timming belt, and wondered how could I be sure that the have infact changed it, I'm being paranoid now. Is there a factual site that you know of where I can educate my self (in spelling), and Audi's, specifically the ones I'm looking at? And althought you mentioned that there both close in Mpg, I didn't see what mpg I could expect from either, or do you know. Just one more question (Sorry bout this - I'm like a school boy in a choclate factory), when you say Urban and Extra Urban, are we taking city trafic, and rush hour city trafic? (sorry that propably is a stupid question, but I'm not 100% sure).

Indeed - the A6 insurance will be a little more, but not prohibitively so.

Difficult - other than looking for obvious signs of recent work (cleaned areas around the front of the engine?), I think you'll be relying on the word of the dealer.

There are a number of sites with interest in Audi, eg.

Okay, the official figures are based on measurements intended to represent stop/start (Urban) traffic in town, and out of town (Extra-urban) driving. Then there's an average figure derived from those two. However, remember that these figures may not be a close reflection to what you will actually achieve in practice! Magazine tests usually try to derive some test which, they would argue, is more representative.

Assuming that you're talking of saloon, front wheel drive, models in both cases, the figures are:

Urban Extra-urban Average WhatCar? magazine

A4 1.6 25.0 47.1 35.3 39.1

A6 1.8T 26.4 42.8 34.4 29.5

I hope this helps.

Thanks very much for the info, that was great. I will take it out for a test drive tomorrow (all going well). I was supprised to see the differences "What Car" gave the to cars, I wonder which is more realistic?, I noticed that the A6 you reference is a Turbo, the one I'm looking at, is not, I presume this is not good (from a fuel economy point of view, I heard turbos can improve fuel economy). Again, thank you for your help - its much appreciated. Stee

I hope that you'll find that it is a turbo. Audi stopped using the non-turbo 1.8 engine in the A6 with the C4 model (in 1997, 1998 for the Avant). I'm assuming that the car you're referring to is the (just) outgoing C5 model (saloon in production 1997 - 2004, Avant 1998 - 2005).

All I would say is that I've achieved near to (or better than) the official average with all three of my Audis. My current RS6 has an official average of 19.8 - I currently get around 21.5. However, I don't use my car for daily commuting (I work from home), and a lot of my driving is long distance - the car rarely leaves the garage for less than a 20 mile journey. Having said that, I don't tend to hang around.