A4 Petrol or Diesel

dmx005

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Hi all,

We will be replacing our Golf in the next couple of months and I've been looking at an 2008/09 A4 Avant. We do very little mileage, maybe 6/7k per year & having spoken to a local dealer he is suggesting the petrol variation.

It does seem good advice as I believe the diesel engine tends to 'clog up' (as the dealer put it) if you are not letting the car warm up enough on a regular basis & the filter (can't remember the name of the filter!) doesn't get the opportunity to clean itself.

My only concern now is that there are so few petrol A4's out there so my choices have become very limited. So I guess my question is does anyone have an A4 diesel & do low mileage? Would a regular burn up the motorway do the job & keep things clean?

Any advice appreciated.
 
I bet the dealer is recommending a petrol, especially if he has one he can't shift in his forecourt...:D
To answer your question, yes, a regular blast up the motorway should keep any DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) issues at bay.:thumbsup:
You also have the option of having the DPF removed altogether (requires some ECU mods which several companies can do)
It's not an MOT requirement to have one, Audi are only required to fit them when they make the cars.
Then you get the best of both worlds, in that you are enjoying diesel mpg and definitely no DPF issues.
 
Well i have an A4 2.0 diesel TDI (05 plate) bought from new. I work offshore so car is sat in garage 6-7 months of the year doing sod all. Most of my driving is around town with the occasional motorway trip...mileage is no more than 8k per annum. So apparently i use a diesel car in the worst possible way. Yet i haven't had a single problem in the five and a half years i've had the car. Perhaps i've been extremely lucky, i don't know. Not sure if my Audi has the diesel particulate filter, i suspect not because i've never seen the DPF light come on. If it did have DPF....:eek:
 
Not sure if my Audi has the diesel particulate filter, i suspect not because i've never seen the DPF light come on. If it did have DPF....:eek:

On an 05 plate, you maybe (probably) don't have a DPF.
My 05 A3 2.0tdi (140bhp) didn't.
I think the DPFs started with the 170bhp PD engine.
Then they 'filtered' down to every diesel model in time.
 
I've only had my TDI 6 months and only done about 3500 miles so far, plenty of that has been short journeys to the local shops, supermarket, dropping wife off for work etc. It gets a 25 mile run down the motorway to see my parents every couple of weeks, no problems so far.

Just checked and I have only averaged 265 miles a month for the last 3 months.
 
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On an 05 plate, you maybe (probably) don't have a DPF.
My 05 A3 2.0tdi (140bhp) didn't.
I think the DPFs started with the 170bhp PD engine.
Then they 'filtered' down to every diesel model in time.

Thanks, but if my A4 doesn't have the DPF what are the disadvantages of not having it? (if any) Dirtier engine? I've been using BP Ultimate diesel since day 1, hope this has made a difference to the engine!
 
Thanks, but if my A4 doesn't have the DPF what are the disadvantages of not having it? (if any)

The advantage to not having a DPF is that you don't get any potential DPf grief.
A DPF is a euro requirement for the manufacturer to meet regs.
There are no practical advantages to the owner of a DPF equipped car, other than the knowledge their car's exhaust is a little 'cleaner'.
If a car doesn't have a DPF, there is zero market for getting one fitted retrospectively.
 
Well i have an A4 2.0 diesel TDI (05 plate) bought from new. I work offshore so car is sat in garage 6-7 months of the year doing sod all. Most of my driving is around town with the occasional motorway trip...mileage is no more than 8k per annum. So apparently i use a diesel car in the worst possible way. Yet i haven't had a single problem in the five and a half years i've had the car. Perhaps i've been extremely lucky, i don't know. Not sure if my Audi has the diesel particulate filter, i suspect not because i've never seen the DPF light come on. If it did have DPF....:eek:


Surely if your car is sitting in the garage up to 7 months a year, surely you would be considered a high milage user if you are covering 8K in 5 months? Pro-rata this would be 16K
 
Surely if your car is sitting in the garage up to 7 months a year, surely you would be considered a high milage user if you are covering 8K in 5 months? Pro-rata this would be 16K

Yes when i'm back onshore i do cover a lot of miles, however over the course of 12 months its no more than 8k which isn't a lot when you average it out. Also the miles i do are are in blocks of 3-4 weeks at a time as i work on a rotation. My A4 is now sat in my garage in sub-zero temps in Scotland while i sunbathe in the Arabian Gulf:p Like i said not the ideal way to run a car but the fact that i haven't had any problems since buying it makes me proud to be an Audi owner:love:
(and to think i nearly bought a Skoda Superb back in 2005...nothing wrong with it except its horrible looks:eek:)
 
I bet the dealer is recommending a petrol, especially if he has one he can't shift in his forecourt...:D

a colleague at work is looking for a new car and found the model he wants and come in Diesel and petrol Guess which one is being pushed the most to sell:D the sales pitch does make me laugh sometimes.
 
Many thanks for your comments, interesting stuff. Now that the dealer has planted the seed that the petrol car will costs less than its diesel equivalent my wife is pushing a bit for the petrol as she thinks it will save us money. I need a convincing argument based on 'value' for money! What kind of mpg are diesel owners getting for urban driving? We have always had petrol cars and seeing the price of diesel does worry me a a tad.
 
Many thanks for your comments, interesting stuff. Now that the dealer has planted the seed that the petrol car will costs less than its diesel equivalent my wife is pushing a bit for the petrol as she thinks it will save us money. I need a convincing argument based on 'value' for money! What kind of mpg are diesel owners getting for urban driving? We have always had petrol cars and seeing the price of diesel does worry me a a tad.

I had an A4 3.0TDi recently,and for a mixed urban and traffic filled ride into work daily,I never saw less than 30mpg out of what is a fairly big estate,with an auto box,and a reasonably large diesel engine.

The 2.0TDi is a lot more economical.
 
Many thanks for your comments, interesting stuff. Now that the dealer has planted the seed that the petrol car will costs less than its diesel equivalent my wife is pushing a bit for the petrol as she thinks it will save us money. I need a convincing argument based on 'value' for money! What kind of mpg are diesel owners getting for urban driving? We have always had petrol cars and seeing the price of diesel does worry me a a tad.

The 2.0tdi VAG engine isn't the most economical 2-litre diesel out there, but you should still get high 30s/low40s around town.
I rarely fell below 38mpg in my 2.0tdi A3 sportback, and that was driving it with contempt.
You should get nearer 50mpg on long runs.
One other word of 'warning' for the 2.0tdi engine.
They can use oil.
Mine used to go through a litre every 1800 miles.
The best 2.0tdi on our fleet still used a litre every 4500 miles.
If you're used to cars that never need oil, it can be a shock.
 
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Over the last 3 months I have averaged 37mpg, over the full 6 months the average is 39mpg (2.0 TDI 170)
 
One other word of 'warning' for the 2.0tdi engine.
They can use oil.
Mine used to go through a litre every 1800 miles.
The best 2.0tdi on our fleet still used a litre every 4500 miles.
If you're used to cars that never need oil, it can be a shock.

Don't also forget that the oil usage thing applies to almost all DOHC 4 valve per cylinder engines,and that in the case of VAG engines,as with other makes as well,most use very little oil.

I've had a selection of such engines over several years,diesel and petrol,normally aspirated and turbos,from Audi,VW,Citroen and Ford,and been fortunate enough not to have had serious oil usage as a problem.
 
What's the difference in the road tax fund ? I'm saving a fortune on my A5 compared with my A3 quattro .
 
If garages are getting stuck with petrol versions then that's what I would be after. Much more chance at a bigger discount and would suit your mileage better (+ I still don't like diesel)
 
Much more chance at a bigger discount (on a petrol version)

Offset by the fact it will be unsellable in future?
Let's face it, if petrol versions struggle to sell now, what's it going to be like in three years?
 
If garages are getting stuck with petrol versions then that's what I would be after. Much more chance at a bigger discount and would suit your mileage better (+ I still don't like diesel)

Diesel engines make a lot of sense for hauling estates around,both in terms of torque for driveability,and economy,and most modern ones aren't intrusive or smelly.

As above though,I'd also be wary of the fact that many dealers are having trouble shifting new and used petrol versions and are offering discounts to move them on.
 
I'm just getting to the end of a 3 year lease with my 2.0 Tdi Avant (120PS version). I've averaged 43 mpg over 80,000+ miles which is mostly motorway and A roads. When I have to work in London or other towns the mpg drops down to 38-40mpg. I'm not light footed either, so these figures could be improved upon. I am however looking forward to getting my replacement company car which is the BMW 320d with 50% more power and lower Co2. I'll be interested to see how the mpg works out with this new car, but I can say that the handling seems better from the test drives I've had as the Audi is a little bit dull to drive.
 
KelvinS1965 said:
I am however looking forward to getting my replacement company car which is the BMW 320d with 50% more power and lower Co2. I'll be interested to see how the mpg works out with this new car, but I can say that the handling seems better from the test drives I've had as the Audi is a little bit dull to drive.

My 320ED saloon is pretty incredible on fuel for a 163bhp four door car.
I'm getting mid to high 40s on short journeys around town, I was getting 61mpg on a fully loaded motorway journey to England.
This is all without trying at all, as I am not even remotely interested in driving conservatively.
I didn't choose the car for its mpg, I chose it for its low co2 and BIK tax.
The mpg is just a byproduct that makes me chuckle a bit.
 
A normally aspirated petrol car, even a V6, can feel gutless to me. I love the huge torque that turbo-diesels provide. However, if that's not important to the op, but cutting costs is, and the car will only do 6k miles per year: I'd get a highly spec'd petrol car and run it til it's an embarrassment. Let's face it, most cars are worth next to nothing after eight years or so. I'd not get too involved in the long term maths though, as just one repair can wipe out all potential savings through economy/resale/tax etc.

Tony
 
I know what you mean about getting used to turbo diesel torque. It was only when I drove a friend's TVR which has a 4 litre V8 that I felt it had the balance of low down grunt and top end speed...guess what I'll be buying as a weekend toy in the future? :D I expect my RS2000 will feel positively flacid when I get it back on the road, as the last time I drove it my everyday car was an Orion 1.6i petrol (also not know for it's torque).

Impressive mpg FZR400RRSP although you might remember from another thread that my 320d isn't the ED version as it's an estate. However a friend of mine has the coupe auto with the same 184PS engine and he gets well over 40 mpg from it, even round town, so it sounds promising. TBH anymore than 42mpg and I'm covered for fuel anyway (at current prices) so I don't worry too much. I think the new car is going to cost me about ÂŁ85 a month tax so I can't complain to be running a 30k BMW for that price. :cool:
 
I know what you mean about getting used to turbo diesel torque. It was only when I drove a friend's TVR which has a 4 litre V8 that I felt it had the balance of low down grunt and top end speed...guess what I'll be buying as a weekend toy in the future? :D I expect my RS2000 will feel positively flacid when I get it back on the road, as the last time I drove it my everyday car was an Orion 1.6i petrol (also not know for it's torque).

Some years ago,I had a Cosworth,which at the time had around 370bhp,and to cut a long story short,was behind a diesel BMW 5 series,and the torque that thing had running up hills in France even then(mid 90s)was an eye opener.
Since then,I've had quite a few diesels,before reverting to a petrol turbo now,but the effortless drive of a good diesel is quite a selling point,even if the economy wasn't.
 

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