Audi A5 3.0tdi Quattro vs BMW 330D/335D

[MikeTerry94]

Hey!

First time posting but need some advice so thought there's gotta be some knowledgeable people to be found here!

So, i'm looking into buying a new car within the coming months. For background, I'm 22, will have 5 years no claims in march and commute daily mainly on dual carriageway. I currently own a 2007 BMW 118i. With that hopefully traded in as p/x I would be looking to spend no more than £9k as an absolute max and that's without insurance which I also need to watch!

I'm looking into my next car either being: Audi A5 3.0tdi Quattro / BMW 330D m-sport saloon / BMW 335D m-sport saloon
I like the idea of getting an auto as traffic and clutch is beginning to wear on me and I love paddles. A5 is stunning, such a beautiful car and have read that the V6 almost sounds petrol like. BMWs are meant to drive better however are far more common.

I test drove a 330D auto only (no paddles) and was amazed at how smooth it was and quiet when on the move - really impressed. Mainly leaning towards diesel as I can't stop reading about how insane torque is and a friend has a 320D and even that puts you in your seat when floored yet still returns impressive mpg - the perfect combo of performance and economy.

Should I be concerned about buying a 100k plus car?

What's peoples thoughts then? What would be your choice and why?

Thanks!

[DaveH23]

What will be your annual mileage?

Whilst I have not driven any of them Ive heard the 335d can throw big bills and at your price point this could be the case.

With that said the 335 is probably the best pick.

[MikeTerry94]

Not all that high, around 6-7k a year I guess maybe. What appeals to me is being able to floor it in something that when rolling can keep up with/destroy most things on the road, throw me in my seat on accelerations and yet still return excellent mpg

[Tiggsy]

Make's me laugh the owners of the bigger diesels who think they can keep up with properly quick cars...this thread just made me chuckle.

[keo]

I agree Tiggsy, my old man has got a 3.0 tdi a4 avant and he is the same. Thinks its a really quick car. It is a nice car, but my brothers m3 for example destroys it

[AlwynMike]

330d feels faster at legal speeds. Sounds better too.
335d is marginally quicker up to 100 or so, then 335d comes into its own and is absolutely awesome. Engine too quiet at all speeds.
A5 is more comfortable, has more chrome inside and is arguably better looking inside if you like lots of switchgear. A5 will be easier in the snow. Performance wise, it is a slugger compared to both BMW's.
I had a test drive in an A5 after my first 335d, and it had so disappointing performance I cut the test short and took it back. Bought another 335.
335's are known for turbo actuator and vacuum pipe failures that the single turbo cars don't have.

None of these cars will be cheap at high miles. DPF's will need replacing at 115k or so

[MikeTerry94]

AlwynMike said:

330d feels faster at legal speeds. Sounds better too.
335d is marginally quicker up to 100 or so, then 335d comes into its own and is absolutely awesome. Engine too quiet at all speeds.
A5 is more comfortable, has more chrome inside and is arguably better looking inside if you like lots of switchgear. A5 will be easier in the snow. Performance wise, it is a slugger compared to both BMW's.
I had a test drive in an A5 after my first 335d, and it had so disappointing performance I cut the test short and took it back. Bought another 335.
335's are known for turbo actuator and vacuum pipe failures that the single turbo cars don't have.

None of these cars will be cheap at high miles. DPF's will need replacing at 115k or so

Thanks for this, just the informative reply I was looking for! Have read that the Audi doesn't feel quite as fast I just think visually they look far more modern. However am beginning to lean more towards the 330 as there's plenty more of them but less reliability concerns. I'm aiming to find one under 100k which I think is possible with a 330 but very difficult with the Audi!

[philmots]

With the low miles you do it gives you the perfect opportunity to have some fun with a decent petrol engine.

When you boot your auto diesel it'll kick down to the lowest gear at high revs and it's as fast as any other similar car with similar HP.

[MikeTerry94]

philmots said:

With the low miles you do it gives you the perfect opportunity to have some fun with a decent petrol engine.

When you boot your auto diesel it'll kick down to the lowest gear at high revs and it's as fast as any other similar car with similar HP.

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love petrol engines and long for the day can afford to run a big one. But currently, just going up and down the motorway I think surely a diesel would be better in terms of mpg and ability to overtake etc. Plus I'd only get auto with paddles so there will be some control still there.

The only potential petrol would be a 330i as 2.0 Quattro A5s are rare and I don't want FWD so based on that I can just remap the 330D and it will be quicker in the real world anyway..

[nickfrog]

MikeTerry94 said:

What appeals to me is being able to floor it in something that when rolling can keep up with/destroy most things on the road, throw me in my seat on accelerations

I think you need to start looking into the relationship between torque/rpm/power/gearing and understand that perceived performance sometimes doesn't correlate to the reality.

[cerb4.5lee]

I've had a E90 330d auto and took it from 3k to over 150k miles and it was still as sweet as a nut, so provided it's been serviced and looked after they do the miles well.

At the miles you are doing I would usually say go petrol and I've got a E90 330i now, but the torque and extra mpg make the 330d hard to ignore.

The 330d did 43mpg(mostly long runs) and the 330i does 27mpg(bit more on longer runs), the 330d has 369ibft torque and the 330i only has 221ibft.

The 330d just feels much quicker overall and for me is the better all rounder.

[MikeTerry94]

cerb4.5lee said:

I've had a E90 330d auto and took it from 3k to over 150k miles and it was still as sweet as a nut, so provided it's been serviced and looked after they do the miles well.

At the miles you are doing I would usually say go petrol and I've got a E90 330i now, but the torque and extra mpg make the 330d hard to ignore.

The 330d did 43mpg(mostly long runs) and the 330i does 27mpg(bit more on longer runs), the 330d has 369ibft torque and the 330i only has 221ibft.

The 330d just feels much quicker overall and for me is the better all rounder.

Interesting to hear that coming from someone who has owned both! A friend of mine has an E90 330i and it is lovely, sounds beautiful too. But I just feel as though it's somewhat limited to its performance (no remap possibilities) and only starts to come into its when when up in the higher rev range which unfortunately is an expensive place to be from an mpg perspective. I want the pick up and go just minus the detrimental fuel effect so 330D does seem like a real winner from that perspective.

[MikeTerry94]

nickfrog said:

MikeTerry94 said:

What appeals to me is being able to floor it in something that when rolling can keep up with/destroy most things on the road, throw me in my seat on accelerations

I think you need to start looking into the relationship between torque/rpm/power/gearing and understand that perceived performance sometimes doesn't correlate to the reality.

That is clearly being taken quite literally and I understand how performance curves work. A 330D will in fact not destroy most things but will keep up with and get the edge on many cars purely due its stock performance and while retaining good mpg that is what I am looking for. If mpg was no problem then of course I'd buy an E46 M3 or something of equal savagery over a diesel, who wouldn't?

[Loyly]

MikeTerry94 said:

Not all that high, around 6-7k a year I guess maybe. What appeals to me is being able to floor it in something that when rolling can keep up with/destroy most things on the road, throw me in my seat on accelerations and yet still return excellent mpg

Good luck in your search, anyway.

[cologne2792]

Tiggsy said:

Make's me laugh the owners of the bigger diesels who think they can keep up with properly quick cars...this thread just made me chuckle.

I suppose it's all down to your view of what's properly quick.

Clearly I'm getting old but the A5 3.0 TDi Quattro 0-60 of 5.9 seconds is quick enough for most.

The big diesels do eventually run out of power at the top end. A local chap has a remapped A8 4.0 V8 tdi and had a genuine 178 mph on a cross Europe trip.

Saying that my only personal experience is with an A8 3.0 V6 TDi and although it's only 250 bhp it does have the same torque output as two Sierra Cosworths. Again it's power fizzles out at high revs and although it's not as linear or as sweet as a petrol version it does have a fairly wide band of power and eight gears to keep you right in it. Unless you're in circumstances that allow you to be travelling at twice the UK speed limit it is impressively rapid without actually trying.

[cerb4.5lee]

MikeTerry94 said:

cerb4.5lee said:

I've had a E90 330d auto and took it from 3k to over 150k miles and it was still as sweet as a nut, so provided it's been serviced and looked after they do the miles well.

At the miles you are doing I would usually say go petrol and I've got a E90 330i now, but the torque and extra mpg make the 330d hard to ignore.

The 330d did 43mpg(mostly long runs) and the 330i does 27mpg(bit more on longer runs), the 330d has 369ibft torque and the 330i only has 221ibft.

The 330d just feels much quicker overall and for me is the better all rounder.

Interesting to hear that coming from someone who has owned both! A friend of mine has an E90 330i and it is lovely, sounds beautiful too. But I just feel as though it's somewhat limited to its performance (no remap possibilities) and only starts to come into its when when up in the higher rev range which unfortunately is an expensive place to be from an mpg perspective. I want the pick up and go just minus the detrimental fuel effect so 330D does seem like a real winner from that perspective.

That's spot on

I often wonder why I didn't go for another 330d to be fair, and just thought because of the fewer miles I'm doing I'd go petrol instead.

The 330d is great because it gives you the performance and economy and it delivers it's performance so effortlessly too, you do have to work the 330i hard to get the best from it.

I understand now why the performance diesels have made the N/A petrol engine redundant mostly.

[MikeTerry94]

Has anyone got on any thoughts on the future of diesels too? Would it even be wise to buy one now or will the government be set on driving diesel owners off the road now?

...maybe I should look at 330i's again haha

[Mike335i]

Depending on mileage, I would really consider petrol. My brother in law sold his z4si and bought a 320d for economy reasons.

I calculated that over the course of 20k miles (assuming 30mpg and 50mpg respectively), he would only save approximately £1200 per year. I would pay the extra and enjoy the petrol!

[MikeTerry94]

Mike335i said:

Depending on mileage, I would really consider petrol. My brother in law sold his z4si and bought a 320d for economy reasons.

I calculated that over the course of 20k miles (assuming 30mpg and 50mpg respectively), he would only save approximately £1200 per year. I would pay the extra and enjoy the petrol!

That sounds like quite the downgrade!? Hmm the petrol would be nice and would sound incredible but then if it's being beaten by 330d's all day long down the motorway then I think I'd be kicking myself and what have to floor it just to keep it which would cost me far more than it would cost them.. but then again I wouldn't have to worry about DPF filters or turbo failure I suppose..

And yes, the A5 is a stunning car. That would probably be my first choice and I too am a BMW fanboy but they look incredible on the road, always end up turning my head when I see one.

This is a tough choice indeed

[MikeTerry94]

Anyone have anymore thoughts on this? Not turning it into a petrol vs diesel debate but wondering if I should be concerned about the future of diesel.. don't wanna go buying one then have the government crank up tax and fuel costs of them!

Also went for a hoon yesterday and even though I only have a 118i I do love the sound of a high revving petrol..

Someone decide for me!