Audi A4 S-Line Avant 2.0TDI 2005-2008

Class:           Junior Executive

Rivals:         BMW 320d Tourer, Mercedes C-Class, Toyota Avensis, Lexis IS220d.

Sister Car:   VW Passat

Variants:     4 Door Saloon, 5 Door Avant (Estate), 2 Door Cabriolet

Engines:     Petrol, 1.6, 1.8 20v Turbo, 1.8 16v TFSI, 2.0 20v Turbo, 2.0 16v TFSI, 3.2 20vFSI 

                   Diesel, 1.9TDi, 2.0TDi, 2.7 V6 TDi, 3.0 V6 TDi

Gearbox:    5 Speed Manual, 6 Speed Manual, 6 Speed Tiptronic, 7 Speed Multitronic

Awards:     Top Safety Pick 2007 from the IIHS

This is easily, the best car I have ever owned, and because of the Irish economy, the best car I will own for quite the while.  It took three and a half months religiously searching through Auto Trader and ringing dealers to find the exact car I wanted and I eventually found one in England one late February weekend.  Two phone calls, a deposit and a ferry ride later and I was home with it and it was better then I imagined.  A serious head turner of a car, flash but very practical.  Serious power when you let loose and the 6 Speed short shift gear box is an absolute dream to drive!  I choose the front wheel drive version because after driving a few quattros, I found the system absorbed too much torque in anything under 200 bhp and it tended to kick out a small bit when leaning into a corner.  This car comes on RS6 alloys sporting 235/40 ZR18 tires that are seriously grippy.  The 2 liter TDI engine sports the phase II turbo system which means all the little bugs from the early 2.0TDI are well ironed out.  The only thing apart from regular servicing I have had to change is the Alternator in nearly 3 years owning the car.

The A4 B7 (VAG Chassis Name) derived a lot from the previous B6 chassis, but sported a heavily revised steering setup, suspension geometry, a new engine range as well as the new Bosch 8.0 Electronic Stability Programme (ESP) which is still top of the range in chassis electronics!  The chassis name given to the Avant is B7 8ED.

A new range of engines came with the new A4 B7, the 1.9TDI was now only available in 115bhp, where the 2.0tdi started at 140bhp.  It also saw the introduction of Fuel Stratified Injection (FSI) on the 2.0 TFSI (Turbo) and the 3.2l V6 FSI.  The new 2.0 TDI now featured Pumpe Duse (PD) injectors with 16 valves for the first time.

According to 2007 Swedish Vehicle Inspection sheet, the Audi A4 Avant 2.0TDI, is the most reliable vehicle on the market in the 3-6 year old category with a vehicle inspection rejection rate of 0.0%.  This is the equivalent of our NCT.

With its Bosch ESP, ABS, side curtain and seat airbags, and its optional quattro system, The A4 B7 scored top marks in the Euro NCAP crash test results.

The S-Line Avant comes with Sports Suspension, Audi Concert Audio System, Riccardo Buckets Seats with Lumbar support and the 3 spoke Steering wheel.  As soon as you sit in you know your in something special.  Its extremely maneuverable and easy to park with a great turning circle for a car of its size. 

Your looking at spending at least €10,000 to pick up a clean 2nd hand car, but they are worth every penny.  At €614 to tax they are at the higher end of the spectrum but are well above the older 1.9tdi in terms of performance.

This without any doubt, is still our favourite car of the moment.

gary

Volkswagen Golf Mk V TDI 2003-2008

Class:           Small Hatch, Compact

Rivals:          Ford Focus, Citron C4, Nissan Almera, Opel/Vauxhall Astra, Peugeot 207

Sister Cars:  Audi A3 MkII, Audi TT MkII, VW Jetta, VW Eos, Seat Leon, Skoda Octavia,

Variants:      3 Door Hatch, 5 Door Hatch, 5 Door Compact MPV (Golf Plus), Estate

Engines:      Petrol, 1.4i 16v, 1.4i FSI, 1.6i FSI, 2.0i FSI, 2.0i Turbo FSI (GTI), 2.5i 20v,

                                3.2 VR6 24v (R32)

                    Diesel, 1.4 TSi, 1.9TDi, 2.0 SDi, 2.0TDi,

Gearbox       5 Speed Manual, 6 Speed Manual, 6 Speed Tiptronic, 6 Speed DSG

Awards        Top Gear Car of the Year 2004

                    Fifth Gear Car of the Year 2004

                    What Car? Car of the Year and Best Family Small Car 2004

                    CNN Best Sporty Car (GTI/R32) 2008

To commemorate the launch of the MkV Golf in October 2003, Wolfsburg, where the Headquarters of the VW/Audi group are based, was named "Golfsburg" for the week following the launch.

Thanks to a wide variation of body styles and a great selection of engines to choose from,  VW have ensured that their is a Golf to suit everyone!

To counter act the criticisms of the average dynamics of the MkIV Golf, Volkswagen introduced a new multi-link control blade independent rear suspension system on the MkV.  Along with chassis refinements, the MkV Golf became the class leader for ride and handling!  However, this led to having to increase the body size even though the boot size is still down on the MkIV.  The interior quality of the MkV is well ahead of its rivals, its not on a par anymore with its Audi A3 cousin which is a step ahead of it again in refinement.   

The 1.9T TDi MkV is definitely the Golf of choice to go for for the average motorist.  It combines decent road handling, good performance and great fuel economy with a return of on average of 50mpg mixed driving.  With the new rear suspension system and longer wheel base over the MkIV, the road handling and cornering is much improved over the traditional rear happy Golf of the previous generations.  The only compromise is an increase in road noise inside the cabin but still much better than its rivals.

The MkV Golf proved to be expensive to build, mainly due to the 50 hours taken to build from start to finish which is why the MkVI was released a year early in 2008.  This lead to a high residual value and genuine parts being slightly more expensive than average.  Now you can do a full engine service on the MkV from €90. 

You will buy a 1.4i 16v MkV cheaper than a TDi version but the diesel version is the pick of the range.  Unless of course you can stretch to the 200bhp GTI or the 250bhp 3.2 V6 R32 which still are the benchmark in terms of performance and handling for the Hot Hatch class.

The Golf has always been a fun car to drive, very reliable and mostly economical and as we said before on this blog, most people who have owned the MkV will definately go on to own the new MkVI. 

Gary

 

Audi R8 5.2 FSI Quattro 2006-Present

Class:      Sports Car
Rivals:     Porsche 911 Carrera 4s, Aston Martin V8 Vantage, BMW M6, Nissan GT-R
Engines:  Petrol 4.2 V8 FSi, 5.2 V10 FSI,
               Diesel, 6.0 V12 TDI
Gearbox: 6 Speed Manual, 6 Speed R-Tronic Single Clutch Semi Automatic
Awards:  Top Gear Car of the Year 2007
               5th Gear Car of the Year and Best Fast Car 2007
               World Car of the Year 2008 Best Design and World Best Performance Car
               Playboy Magazine Car of the Year 2008
               European Car of the Year 2008

This is far and away the best car we have ever tested for the Allparts Review!!  I could not believe my ears when i answered the phone which went something like this; "Mr Conway would you be available next week to test drive the Audi R8" to which my reply was, after I picked myself up off the floor was "yes, yes I am"!!!
As I rolled up the The Radisson Hotel there she was in all her royal blue spectacle! The tell tale badge on the wing that let you know it was the 5.2l V10 520bhp beast glistening in the winter sunlight! 

This is the much anticipated Audi R8!!!  The car all the big car magazines were fighting over to get the 1st test drive!

The car is amazing to drive, as we pulled out slowly onto the carriage way, made sure the car was in a straight line as I did not want to fishtail out of control in the 1st 5 minutes, and gunned it!!!  No feeling can describe it, the G-Forces pushed my stomach beyond my spine!!  I just about had enough power left in my hands to reach the flappy paddles to change gear!  The Gearbox is amazing, we had the 6speed semi-auto flappy paddle gear box and when your open the throttle the gear change is unbeatable!  The noise and the sound of the gear changes is indescribable!!!  As soon as you sit in this car and feel the bucket seat suck you in, there is an instant smile on your face! 

Absolutely everything is in the right position in this car, from the red starter button on the steering wheel to the stereo and the air con! The R8 does share some chassis components, the flappy paddel gear box, and the revised V10 engine with its sister car the Lamborghini Gallardo, on which were still waiting on that phone call to go test!!!

This is a mid-engined, 4wd sports car, that also come in a diesel via the V12 TDI 500bhp unit with 738lb-ft of torque and it does 23miles to the gallon!!!  Not bad for an oil burner!!!

I only had half an hour with this car! Which was no where near enough!  All we can say is that it seems a very easy to live with sports car, compared to a lot of horror stories you do hear about old Ferraris or old Lambos.

Hopefully in 15-20 years or so, if the prices come down enough and petrol isn't €300 a liter, then we will have one, but for now, €150,000 is a tad out of our price range!

Gary