Any Audi A6 Diesel BiDi (twin) Turbo owners?

[mondie]

I have been interested in this motor in the A6 since the car was released back in 2012. Never had the luck of driving one but a few vids on Youtube make it look like a rapid car. The 8 speed ZF is a good g/box, I am thinking an A6 with this engine would make a good family hack. Looks like around £26k gets you a 2012 model.

Are their any owners of this particular engine/gearbox in an A6 or variant that can offer their ownership experiences? Anybody done a ECU reflash for more power?

Cheers,
mondie

[mondie]

Good feedback thanks Jack. Is the tune an interceptor or reflash? I expect to go backwards on the handling front but have bought a weekend toy for that fix so happy to look at a more sedate family car. This seems like the best of what I can see for reasonable money right now.

Cheers

[mondie]

Anybody else? I guess that's why a search finds very little on these cars

[mondie]

Thats a great spec! Does the the BiDi come standard with the active sports diff, or does this remain an option?

[mondie]

Thanks for confirming chief. I believe the trick diff makes a substantial difference to the feel of the car but since I am a used buyer finding a s/h car with it specced will be difficult. I haven't seen one for sale yet.

[mondie]

Icehanger said:

It took me over 12 months to find one, it claws at the road well with it

I couldn't quite scrape to an RS6 and the S6 wasn't worth the extra over the bi T for an S badge so wanted something that could do the twisties as well, It may be the size of a starship but you cant launch it about a bit. The auto box takes getting used to and in anything bar Dynamic mode takes an age to wind up.
I wouldn't bother with the dynamic steering as not overly impressed with it.
20's ride fine on it and look great, see how bad it is once I've fitted the 18" winters lol

Edited by Icehanger on Wednesday 2nd September 19:25

Great post thanks. Have you had the opportunity to drive an A6 without the trick diff? You were extremely fortunate to find a car with this option. I dont have 12 mths

[mondie]

Congratulations Ian, love to see some pics.

Elysium said:

I specified the sports diff, which was not fitted to the car I test drove.

Unlike BMW's where you see traction control lights flickering when the stability systems are operating there is no visual indication that it is doing anything. However, you can feel it working, particularly if you switch between the various settings (auto, dynamic etc). At first it felt to me as if there was a second steering input, which was a little disconcerting. It works at surprisingly low speeds. When pressing on it makes the handling very neutral and really increases the level of grip. To the extent that you have to go fairly ballistic to get the tail to step out.

Good explanation here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viWJUaakMKs

In effect it creates a modest amount of power oversteer to dial out understeer and improve turn in. Because it can throw the torque to either side of the car it can do this better than a skilled driver could do without it.

Thats a great video and reinforces why I want this diff to get the best from the AWD drivetrain. As an Evo owner for the past 5yrs I can relate to the magic such trick diffs can do. If I cannot find an A6 with this option to tempt me I will go an A8 4.2 which has this diff as standard.

[mondie]

^ thats a good link thanks.

I got to wondering just how many of these cars for sale are specced with the sports diff and this isn't advertised. A dealer who is not too familiar with the A6 may not think its a special option worthy of mention.

[mondie]

wishful thinking on my part then

[mondie]

Good comments Rassi and especially useful to me since you replaced an M3 so have a similar reference point to mine. Tempted to tune it? How does it handle compared to the M3?

[mondie]

Rassi & Raven,

Great feedback from both of you. Its really helped to push me in this direction. I would map the car though, you should too 350/720 - yes please.

https://ecotune-scotland.co.uk/chiptuning?make=2&a...

[mondie]

Raven Flyer said:

Residuals look very strong to me. I was looking to buy a used one but a deal through Carwow got me over 20% discount. I got a new car for what I was going to have to pay for a good used one.

I saw your post earlier today Raven and it really got me thinking.

We had been considering a 3yo Black edition with reasonable miles, a rare find in itself and around 28/29k. If I can order a new Black edition at 20% discount then the depreciation in 3 yrs is about the same as what I had planned for a 3yo car. A Black Edition with Sports diff and heated seats is about 53k, less 20% gets it to 42k. If that's worth 29k in 3 yrs it s tempting proposition. Looking again at the pics of your car just reinforces my thoughts.

Iain - it will be worth wait (he says having never driven an Audi )

[mondie]

Iain,

I am taking my chances on carwow now, got 2 offers since last night. Around 17% off for cash and 21% with finance. We would prefer to pay cash so am hoping a dealer somewhere can get to 20+% off, if they do I think we will be ordering. Specced about 4k of options which should give them more room to move, option list as it stands (and it keep changing)

Sports Diff
S Line super sports suspension - anyone got this? I know Audias are known for being hard but the facelift is supposed to be much more forgiving
S Super sports seats (want electric seats which are a NCO with these seats)
Metallic paint- Daytona Gray
Heated front seats
20' twin 5 arm alloys (PQJ)
Light Pack

Thought about the tech pack mainly for the better screen but its too expensive. Would be a fantastic car if we can find a deal with that spec. Fingers crossed.

Cheers
Simon

[mondie]

Thats a great discount, if I don't get similar through carwow I may PM you for a contact there. Its a bit of a mugs game trying to guess which options really mean something at resale time but i reckon the better/electric S sports seats and sports diff would be attractive options that would add something to the cars value. Certainly if there was a used car around now with these options I would pay more for it. I just re-read what the tech pack offers and still struggle to justify it as much as i would like to, the upgraded screens would be nice to have but the rest doesn't add anything we would use.

When can we expect pics

[mondie]

Yeah you could be right on the tech pack Iain, will give that some more consideration. I have found that carwow deals have been coming in at 15-18% off and around 21% if taking finance. Drive the deal is coming in at 21% off for cash so will look more into that as dont want to use finance just to get a better price.

Cheers

[mondie]

Really? Seems bonkers but that's made my night! Thanks Badger

[mondie]

Appreciate the advice Badger. Off to the local dealer after lunch to check a few cars out, look at colours and to obtain a copy of the finance docs. Will spec one exactly how we want if we can pull a 21% discount on finance and pay it out in the cooling off period. Thinking Misano red with silver leather right now, with a few options it would be a lovely family car.

[mondie]

That is pretty daft Yertis, I wonder who thought those kind of abbreviations were a good idea.

What is it about the steering you don't like, just the inert/dead feeling or is the power assistance inconsistent? I find most modern cars give very little feedback which means it takes longer to learn to feel your way. Once you have come to grips with the steering you then instinctively know the limits without being able to feel them as such. Audis do seem to be one of the worst offenders when it comes to feel.