Audi A4 2.0

...relates to an August 2001 Audi A4 2.0 SE Manual (Petrol).

General
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I have owned an Audi A4 2.0 since August 2001 now and feel that I am now able to fairly review this car from the point of view of a longish term driver.
I had not owned an Audi before but I chose one because of the Audi reputation for good German engineering and was pleased with it after a test drive. The car looks good, feel solid and drives ...
...get full details on the Audi web site (http://www.audi.co.uk).

However a brief summary of interesting details follows:-
Current Price : £19,170 (standard), £19,780 (SE)
0-62 : 9.9 seconds
Top speed : 132mph
MPG : 24.4 (urban), 46.3 (Extra urban), 34.9 (Combined)
BHP : 130
CO2 : 194

Exterior
--------
The new (post 2001) A4 design looks good. It has a great chunky ... more

This review relates to an August 2001 Audi A4 2.0 SE Manual (Petrol).

General
-------
I have owned an Audi A4 2.0 since August 2001 now and feel that I am now able to fairly review this car from the point of view of a longish term driver.
I had not owned an Audi before but I chose one because of the Audi reputation for good German engineering and was pleased with it after a test drive. The car looks good, feel solid and drives well - but more about all that below.
The A4 positions itself as a competitor to the Mercedes C Class and the BMW 3 Series. It can also be compared with cars like the VW Passat and the Lexus IS200.

Model Specification
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At the time of purchase the A4 2.0 came as standard or SE (Special Equipment) models.
Then the SE offered the following extras over and above the standard specification:-
a) CD Player
b) Alloy Wheels
c) Drivers Information System
d) Leather steering wheel and gearstick trim.
Now the SE also includes cruise control and electric rear windows.

I won't go through all you get here as you can get full details on the Audi web site (http://www.audi.co.uk).

However a brief summary of interesting details follows:-
Current Price : £19,170 (standard), £19,780 (SE)
0-62 : 9.9 seconds
Top speed : 132mph
MPG : 24.4 (urban), 46.3 (Extra urban), 34.9 (Combined)
BHP : 130
CO2 : 194

Exterior
--------
The new (post 2001) A4 design looks good. It has a great chunky solid look to it and in my opinion looks very attractive. It has a look of quality and style that makes it stand out from other similar cars.

Interior
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The interior is well fitted, well designed and looks good. The instruments are all very well laid out.

The SE comes with a driver information system which gives you all the standard info that you get from such trip computers. I find the feature that tells you how many miles of petrol you have left in the tank very useful and accurate.

It comes with Electronic Climate Control (posh name for Air Conditioning) as standard which works very well.

There is not a lot of room in the back. It really would only comfortably seat 2 adults because of the transmission tunnel. There is also not very much leg room in the back. This is not a large car internally and this should be considered if you need the space.

The internal build quality is generally excellent. However within a week of purchase my young son broke the ashtray on the central tunnel with his foot (as you have to put your feet up there to fit in) and more recently snapped the window rear window winder off (new models are electric in the rear). So if you are only planning to carry civilised human beings you should be OK but obviously some parts are not robust enough to stand up to children.

Also, at the time of purchase it only had a lap belt in the centre of the rear seat which was not acceptable from my point of view with 3 children so I had to pay extra for this plus a folding rear seat to allow for the belt. I do not know if this is still the case with newer models.

Driver, passenger and side air-bags are standard.

The boot is a good size (445ltrs).

Overall the interior is pleasant, comfortable and stylish.

Driving
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This is where the A4 shines in my opinion. It is a great car to drive. It has a very safe and solid feel and it holds the road beautifully.

It has solid supsension and responsive steering. The ESP (Electronic Stability Programme) acts to prevent wheelspin.

Brakes (with ABS) are positive and powerful.

It accelerates very well and goes quite fast enough for me.

The car is front wheel drive which may not be to everybody's liking but I prefer it.

My only complaint would be that it is a little noisy for a car in this class and I feel they could have soundproofed the engine a bit better.

Ignition Coils
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This might seem like an odd item to cover separately but this has been the root of my biggest complaint about Audi and almost put me off them for good.

Ever since I got the car I had detected a slight tarry burning smell just after starting the engine. I reported this to Audi who could find nothing wrong and so I just ignored it.

In the middle of last year I had just left home and the engine management light came on and the engine lost considerable power and started to sound rough. I returned home and called out the RAC. The RAC man diagnosed a burnt out ignition coil and mentioned that he had seen this on Audis several times (I sort of ignored this at the time but would remember it later). The car was towed away and fixed within a day.

Then in December last year we went on holiday to the French Alps and drove across France. Just as we arrived at our destination the tarry smell appeared again. When I restarted the car later that evening the engine management light came on again - same old problem. Again the RAC were called out and towed away the car. I was annoyed but not too worried at this point as last time it was easily fixed. However, after phoning up every day of the holiday and being told that the parts had not arrived we eventually had to return to the UK without the car (driving across France in a rented Renault Clio loaded with 2 adults 3 children plus luggage - not nice!). The car was returned to the UK a week later (still unfixed) and I did not get it back for nearly 3 months.

This led me to investigate matters more and I found that Audis all over the world were failing in the same way - and in a big way. So much that they could not manufacture replacement ignition coils quick enough - hence the long wait. There was a fundamental fault in the ignition coil design affecting Audis and VWs manufactured in 2001/2002. Eventually this led to a phased recall of thousands of vehicles for replacement with newly engineered ignition coils. What annoyed me most at the time was that Audi knew about this problem but were not telling customers. Also they were only replacing failed coils so many people broke down several times as each coil failed in turn.

After waiting for the 3 months for the repair (driving a very nice Saab provided courtesy of Audi - all their Audis were already on loan to other customers - surprise surprise) I was told it had been fixed. I asked if all coils had been replaced and they said they could not as they did not have enough. I was persuaded to take the car back and they were to tell me as soon as they had more coils so they could replace them all.

And what do you think happened next? Yes - after a few days on comes the engine light again to signal the demise of yet another coil! This time I didn't bother with the RAC but called Audi direct and demanded a replacement car immediately - I am afraid that I was not very polite to them at this point.

This time all coils were replaced within a few days and now all is OK (touch wood). However my confidence in Audi was permanently shaken.

So, if anybody out there has a 2001/2002 Audi then call you dealer and check that you are not affected.

Miscellaneous
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The A4 has a very long service interval (decided by the car but I have found it to be about 12000 miles). This is partly achieved using a special high lubricity oil that can only be purchased at Audi dealers. The car does tend to burn quite a lot of this oil and Audi say this is normal. So you should always carry a litre of this stuff in your boot because as I found out by experience, you do not want to run out as it can be very hard to get, especially at a weekend when Audi parts departments are closed.

Customer Service
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I have to say that even through the above ignition coil fiasco the people I talked to at Audi Customer Service were very good. Several times I ended up shouting at them and they handled it very well. They even compensated me generously for the inconvenience that was caused, especially my ruined holiday. However they were careful to state that it was actually a goodwill payment and not compensation as Audi accepted no responsibility. Still, I understand that as they could be broken by compensation claims. It must have cost them a fortune as it was.
I only wish that they had admitted up front that they had a problem that they were trying to resolve instead of putting so many customers through repeated breakdowns which were avoidable. By trying to cover it up to save costs initially they ended up with a major problem which eventually ended up on the TV "Watchdog" program.

Summary
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Well you might think that after the ignition coil problems above I would never buy another Audi again.

However, other than that unfortunate problem I have been very happy with my A4. Now that the coil problem is resolved I think that they are one of the best cars in their class. Hopefully Audi have learnt their lesson and will not do this again.

My main complaints would be the lack of space in the rear and the slightly noisy engine. But on the plus side it is a well designed, stylish car that is a dream to drive.

So would I buy one again - well let's see........

Update February 2005
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I didn't buy another - I got a Saab instead - a far better car. 

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