There's something about Audis...
Discussion
...that I don't really like and I'm not sure why.
My Renault was in the garage again this week for yet another fix and they kindly lent me a loan car, a 2010 Audi A3 1.6 TDI for the day. What a fantastic car! Even on 180,000 miles and as is often the case with a workshop loan car, rather dirty and unloved, it drove brilliantly with no rattles and the 1.6 TDI pulled really well (much stronger and quieter than the 1.5 dCi in my Renault), which was a surprise and it was still averaging 50mpg. It seemed to have held up much better than my Renault even though that's 5 years younger and has done less than half the miles!
And yet, I have often considered an A3/A4 as the right answer for my next car "on paper" but I have never bought one. The engines are relatively reliable, especially the diesels, a bit more practical than the equivalent BMW, the styling tends to be quite conservative but quite crisp/smart, especially compared to many modern BMW/Mercedes and having some parts commonality with other VAG cars, one would hope a bit cheaper to fix than a BMW/Mercedes too? I do like Volkswagens generally and feel very at home in a Polo/Golf/Passat and I'm sure would feel equally at home in the equivalent SEAT/Skoda but as decent as it is to drive (I know that Audis are often criticised for the way they drive and I understand that why in the more expensive vehicles like the A6, the inherent FWDness might make it feel 2nd best to a 5-Series/E-Class), I do genuinely feel that the cheaper Audi models, A3/A4 etc drive absolutely fine.
Is there some reverse snobbery going on here? Possibly. If it's not a large van/pickup truck/Tesla, there's normally an Audi welded to my back bumper but that's purely anecdotal, I just don't notice it happening as much with a BMW/Mercedes. Perhaps it's a bit of an identity crisis? BMWs were traditionally the "sporty" choice, Mercedes the conservative/quality/luxury choice but less so now and Audi was the cool "alternative" choice in the 80s/90s but have now become too popular to be the alternative choice or maybe they're just "posh VWs" and in the back of my mind, am I just thinking that I'm getting just as good of a vehicle and better value from a Volkswagen/SEAT/Skoda, whereas their main rivals don't have to suffer those comparisons? Certainly as much as I tried to subvert the "Audi driver" stereotype and let people out of junctions etc in my day in the Audi, other drivers did not extend me the same courtesy and seemed to be less courteous towards me than when I'm driving my own car.
There are certainly Audis that I like. An original quattro is one of my "dream" cars and I also really like the first gen R8 and A2 but perhaps those are the most un-Audi-like Audis. Friend's parents had the "aero" 80s/90s in the 80s/90s and the big 100/200 Avants were also pretty cool. I remember thinking that the original A4 (B5?) and A8 were really beautiful and wanting my dad to get a B5 A4 but he was too into his French cars and too cheap to buy an Audi. I would actually probably put up with the image to own an RS3/RS4/RS6 and some of the S Audis (S1 and S4 but not the S3) are pretty cool but as perfect a match to my requirements as a "cooking" spec A3/A4 seems, I would probably go for something like a Peugeot or Volvo instead, even though I think they're probably inferior cars.
So what is the negativity on PH re Audis, as I think they are probably the most derided brand on PH apart from Vauxhall. BMW/Mercedes seem to get a lot less hate but for me at least, the issue with Audi is not the styling or the driving experience, more of a detatchment from the brand that I can't really explain that makes me feel less at home in an Audi than a Volkswagen/SEAT/Skoda or a comparable "premium" brand car like a BMW/Mercedes/Volvo for example. Judging by their popularity though, many others obviously disagree.
My Renault was in the garage again this week for yet another fix and they kindly lent me a loan car, a 2010 Audi A3 1.6 TDI for the day. What a fantastic car! Even on 180,000 miles and as is often the case with a workshop loan car, rather dirty and unloved, it drove brilliantly with no rattles and the 1.6 TDI pulled really well (much stronger and quieter than the 1.5 dCi in my Renault), which was a surprise and it was still averaging 50mpg. It seemed to have held up much better than my Renault even though that's 5 years younger and has done less than half the miles!
And yet, I have often considered an A3/A4 as the right answer for my next car "on paper" but I have never bought one. The engines are relatively reliable, especially the diesels, a bit more practical than the equivalent BMW, the styling tends to be quite conservative but quite crisp/smart, especially compared to many modern BMW/Mercedes and having some parts commonality with other VAG cars, one would hope a bit cheaper to fix than a BMW/Mercedes too? I do like Volkswagens generally and feel very at home in a Polo/Golf/Passat and I'm sure would feel equally at home in the equivalent SEAT/Skoda but as decent as it is to drive (I know that Audis are often criticised for the way they drive and I understand that why in the more expensive vehicles like the A6, the inherent FWDness might make it feel 2nd best to a 5-Series/E-Class), I do genuinely feel that the cheaper Audi models, A3/A4 etc drive absolutely fine.
Is there some reverse snobbery going on here? Possibly. If it's not a large van/pickup truck/Tesla, there's normally an Audi welded to my back bumper but that's purely anecdotal, I just don't notice it happening as much with a BMW/Mercedes. Perhaps it's a bit of an identity crisis? BMWs were traditionally the "sporty" choice, Mercedes the conservative/quality/luxury choice but less so now and Audi was the cool "alternative" choice in the 80s/90s but have now become too popular to be the alternative choice or maybe they're just "posh VWs" and in the back of my mind, am I just thinking that I'm getting just as good of a vehicle and better value from a Volkswagen/SEAT/Skoda, whereas their main rivals don't have to suffer those comparisons? Certainly as much as I tried to subvert the "Audi driver" stereotype and let people out of junctions etc in my day in the Audi, other drivers did not extend me the same courtesy and seemed to be less courteous towards me than when I'm driving my own car.
There are certainly Audis that I like. An original quattro is one of my "dream" cars and I also really like the first gen R8 and A2 but perhaps those are the most un-Audi-like Audis. Friend's parents had the "aero" 80s/90s in the 80s/90s and the big 100/200 Avants were also pretty cool. I remember thinking that the original A4 (B5?) and A8 were really beautiful and wanting my dad to get a B5 A4 but he was too into his French cars and too cheap to buy an Audi. I would actually probably put up with the image to own an RS3/RS4/RS6 and some of the S Audis (S1 and S4 but not the S3) are pretty cool but as perfect a match to my requirements as a "cooking" spec A3/A4 seems, I would probably go for something like a Peugeot or Volvo instead, even though I think they're probably inferior cars.
So what is the negativity on PH re Audis, as I think they are probably the most derided brand on PH apart from Vauxhall. BMW/Mercedes seem to get a lot less hate but for me at least, the issue with Audi is not the styling or the driving experience, more of a detatchment from the brand that I can't really explain that makes me feel less at home in an Audi than a Volkswagen/SEAT/Skoda or a comparable "premium" brand car like a BMW/Mercedes/Volvo for example. Judging by their popularity though, many others obviously disagree.
There is a lot of small minded nonsense from those that have bought other brands, as well as the inverse snobbery and those that have mimicked the 'Audi driver' stereotype. It is always best ignoring all that nonsense, but there is a lot of it about sadly.
Some people will have a had bad experiences with Audis from a reliability perspective and I have some sympathy with that, although is not universal for all cars. In reality, Audi made good cars but parts supply is an issue for older cars, even the nicer S and RS cars.
Some people will have a had bad experiences with Audis from a reliability perspective and I have some sympathy with that, although is not universal for all cars. In reality, Audi made good cars but parts supply is an issue for older cars, even the nicer S and RS cars.
I like them - (A4 and up - so proper longitudinal engine platform) 2.0tdi seems fairly evergreen unlike 4 cylinder BMW diesels so buying one as a "tool" where the aim is a reasonable image with lower running costs would seem good on paper.
Having seen a front suspension diagram for them that looks a nightmare compared to a BMW/Mercedes but not insurmountable.
Overall I like them - not so keen on the most recent ones, but something like a B9 A4 or C7 A6 would suit me fine as a "nice" car with a decent image - not too showy and appropriate for visiting Clients.
Having seen a front suspension diagram for them that looks a nightmare compared to a BMW/Mercedes but not insurmountable.
Overall I like them - not so keen on the most recent ones, but something like a B9 A4 or C7 A6 would suit me fine as a "nice" car with a decent image - not too showy and appropriate for visiting Clients.
MikeM6 said:
There is a lot of small minded nonsense from those that have bought other brands, as well as the inverse snobbery and those that have mimicked the 'Audi driver' stereotype. It is always best ignoring all that nonsense, but there is a lot of it about sadly.
Some people will have a had bad experiences with Audis from a reliability perspective and I have some sympathy with that, although is not universal for all cars. In reality, Audi made good cars but parts supply is an issue for older cars, even the nicer S and RS cars.
Well I never saw myself as being an owner of 2 Renaults, so maybe me and my wife will be in a B9 S4/S1 respectively this time next year! I've always thought that the S4 is a pretty cool car actually. Maybe one of the last "Q cars", as it could almost be a 2.0 TDI to lack at really when you look at how showy a modest-engine M Sport BMW/AMG line Mercedes looks. For some reason, I've always thought the saloon was cooler than the estate though and I quite fancy one in that really vibrant blue, which detracts from the Q carness somewhat. My understanding is that they can be quite expensive to fix when they go wrong though, if not quite as expensive as an RS Audi?Some people will have a had bad experiences with Audis from a reliability perspective and I have some sympathy with that, although is not universal for all cars. In reality, Audi made good cars but parts supply is an issue for older cars, even the nicer S and RS cars.
I think theyre fine. My only possible stigma comes from apparently, engines are quite far forward and the understeer as a result. But since I dont drive my daily hard enough to do that, I dont really think it would be a problem.
But certainly they look good, so yeah, id have one. Fairly interchangeable with bmw and mercedes really.
But certainly they look good, so yeah, id have one. Fairly interchangeable with bmw and mercedes really.
I really like an Audi to live with, and I always think that you know exactly what you're going to get with them. From a dynamic driving perspective I much prefer BMW's, but I do genuinely enjoy driving my daughters Audi A1 1.4 petrol though, and it's just the overly light steering that niggles, but the manual gearbox is lovely to use in it I think though.
I think many that complain about Audis haven't owned one or indeed perhaps even actually been in one so their views tend to get based on the last time they saw someone in one being a c*ck.
Then there are Audis and Audis and one of the much newer ones is a completely different vehicle to one of say 2010.
amongst our current cars we have an R8 V10 and a RS4 and I get negativity from others occasionally for the simple reason its an Audi.
In truth if I had to get rid of everything and just have one car ,the 4 would do everything we need it for and well.
Then there are Audis and Audis and one of the much newer ones is a completely different vehicle to one of say 2010.
amongst our current cars we have an R8 V10 and a RS4 and I get negativity from others occasionally for the simple reason its an Audi.
In truth if I had to get rid of everything and just have one car ,the 4 would do everything we need it for and well.
I had a D2 A8 (4.2 V8 Quattro) years ago.
Back then the designs were quite understated and refined for executives.
After that they started putting fairy lights around the headlights (I think Audi were the first to start that?) and they became a lot more 'bling'.
I think this may have attracted a different demographic, for better or worse. (The imagine!)
I've not driven an Audi newer than about 2010 (which I keep thinking was only 9 years ago!) but would consider as an option for the family estate in future.
Back then the designs were quite understated and refined for executives.
After that they started putting fairy lights around the headlights (I think Audi were the first to start that?) and they became a lot more 'bling'.
I think this may have attracted a different demographic, for better or worse. (The imagine!)
I've not driven an Audi newer than about 2010 (which I keep thinking was only 9 years ago!) but would consider as an option for the family estate in future.
chris1roll said:
I had a D2 A8 (4.2 V8 Quattro) years ago.
Back then the designs were quite understated and refined for executives.
After that they started putting fairy lights around the headlights (I think Audi were the first to start that?) and they became a lot more 'bling'.
I think this may have attracted a different demographic, for better or worse. (The imagine!)
I've not driven an Audi newer than about 2010 (which I keep thinking was only 9 years ago!) but would consider as an option for the family estate in future.
Yes I think it was the R8 that was the first with the fairy lights? Back then the designs were quite understated and refined for executives.
After that they started putting fairy lights around the headlights (I think Audi were the first to start that?) and they became a lot more 'bling'.
I think this may have attracted a different demographic, for better or worse. (The imagine!)
I've not driven an Audi newer than about 2010 (which I keep thinking was only 9 years ago!) but would consider as an option for the family estate in future.
Audis have never appealed to me. 13 years ago we looked at a replacement for my wife's rusting Ka. Prime consideration was a small, reliable car that could easily seat 4 adults. The Audi A1 couldn't, so we dismissed that. The only car that could comfortably seat 4 adults was a Skoda 'Fabia. We still have that, very roomy and very reliable.
Most of them look too aggressive for my liking these days.
Ran a few (and drove most of the range) when I worked for them about 10 years ago. Actually quite enjoyed commuting in a well-specced (ie non S-line) A3 Saloon with the 184PS diesel.
Could never get comfy with the slight pedal offset in the B8 A4, but most people seemed to manage, judging by how many they shifted back then.
Would still like a 3-door S1, but they're pricey for what's an old design now.
Ran a few (and drove most of the range) when I worked for them about 10 years ago. Actually quite enjoyed commuting in a well-specced (ie non S-line) A3 Saloon with the 184PS diesel.
Could never get comfy with the slight pedal offset in the B8 A4, but most people seemed to manage, judging by how many they shifted back then.
Would still like a 3-door S1, but they're pricey for what's an old design now.
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