A5 Petrol V Deisel

magic_murph

Prob do less than 10k miles a year.
Is there much of a difference between 1.8 Petrol & 2.0 Deisel .

Buying in the UK and theres a lot of attractive options in the petrol variety - not as many Deisel.
Would I be better off waiting for a Deisel to crop up or just go for Petol.
Also - what would the running costs be - car wont be used much during the week, only weekend trips really.

listermint

My father has had the 1.8T in the last x2 Audis he has bought.

Engine is nice and pokey and a joy to drive as Audis go. Hes never had any issue with either motor. Engine was alway pulling as it should.
Short of usual coils and services nothing has been a problem.


More of a BMW man myself so wouldnt buy one personally.


For me id be going with the petrol going by your miles.

shooter88

For the sake of few extra euro in tax you would be better off with a diesel..petrol mpg 30ish tops vs 50 from a diesel..
Resale value on a diesel will be higher to

bazzachazza

Only doing 10K a year might not make it worth while paying the premium to get the diesel. But you will certainly get further out of a full tank and it will be cheaper to fill up. I had the 170bhp diesel and it was as sweet as a nut.

shooter88

bazzachazza wrote: »

Only doing 10K a year might not make it worth while paying the premium to get the diesel. But you will certainly get further out of a full tank and it will be cheaper to fill up. I had the 170bhp diesel and it was as sweet as a nut.

It's still around 2-3k more miles a year which adds up at the end of the year to more than cost of the higher tax..
Ivwent from a pajero doin 20mpg tops @ 300 tax to a 50mpg 700tax I don't know myself and I'm doin under average

Voodoomelon

I'd be weighing up how much more the diesel is to buy over the petrol, how much you'll loose on resale value down the road and how refined you want the car in general.

If the petrols are a couple of K cheaper, you plan on keeping the car for 2-3 years and are only doing 10k a year, i'd go with the petrol.

Henry Ford III

shooter88 wrote: »

For the sake of few extra euro in tax you would be better off with a diesel..petrol mpg 30ish tops vs 50 from a diesel..
Resale value on a diesel will be higher to

In stop/start urban driving with short journeys a modern diesel could prove way worse to drive/own.

smcelhinney

I have the 2.7 diesel, and have driven the 1.8 and 2.0 petrol. There's no comparison in terms of poke to start out, the petrol wins hands down. On the flat though, they're pretty even. Not that anyone would be advocating speeding off from traffic lights or what not.

FWIW, I get approx 44mpg in mine, combination of city/country driving (I live in Donabate)

magic_murph

Cheers lads - appreciate the feedback.

Looking on autotrader / car gaint etc - a 2008/2009 A5 s-line either 1.8petrol or 2.0 Deiesel are ranging from £13.5 - 15
and thats just the range of car, could get either engine type of the same kinda money.

It's a first cars so not going to be overly perticular about getting up high speeds etc so I guess the biggest thing is not to get totally shafted everytime I go to fill up the tank.

Getting a decent spec from the UK wiill help with the resale value here so I guess addind Deisel on top of that will also help.
City centre driving will be minimal.
300/400km at weekends
so not massive mileage at all

copacetic

I wouldn't overly worry about resale. Diesel is much more popular, but that means that most of the cars on sale are diesel. There are enough people with sense around to make a reasonably priced/taxed petrol sought after on second hand market. Especially when you come to sell on and it's the only one around, whereas there will be 10 times as many low spec diesels around. That will matter in 2 or 3 years when car will only be worth 7-9k anyway.

shooter88

smcelhinney wrote: »

I have the 2.7 diesel, and have driven the 1.8 and 2.0 petrol. There's no comparison in terms of poke to start out, the petrol wins hands down. On the flat though, they're pretty even. Not that anyone would be advocating speeding off from traffic lights or what not.

FWIW, I get approx 44mpg in mine, combination of city/country driving (I live in Donabate)

Modern diesels are putting out the same or mote power than the equivalent petrol..

bazz26

I would not be too concerned about resale value of the petrol A5, there will always be a market for a petrol A5 coupe as they are a desirable car. The only issue I would see is that the VRT maybe higher on it compared to the diesel model. If doing only 10k miles per year then fuel costs really shouldn't be a deciding factor imo.

The more important thing that would concern me though is from reading Mickdw's comments on here about his 1.8TSi. Iirc he mentioned that it is very difficult to get the power down through the front wheels and regretted not getting a Quattro so it might be worth dropping him a PM if he doesn't pick up on this thread. I'd definitely consult him before taking the plunge.

bazz26

shooter88 wrote: »

Modern diesels are putting out the same or mote power than the equivalent petrol..

Yes but they do not deliver it as smoothly as the petrol.

listermint

shooter88 wrote: »

Modern diesels are putting out the same or mote power than the equivalent petrol..

Chugga Chugga Chugga




ughhh....

mickdw

Ive a 1.8T A5 for the last 5 years. A few points:

My petrol has been trouble free engine wise apart from a weeping water pump at about 50k miles. Good news is that is was simple to replace and I did it myself. Its not involved with the timing chain etc so no big hassle. Just keep the right oil in it and change it often and it will be fine. Really the petrol is very easy to run. There is no big service items to worry about. plugs at 50k miles, no timing belt, the odd air filter and fuel filter and thats it.
A word of warning though - the front drive models are not good. In my experience, the chassis is designed around quattro versions and as such, little effort seems to have into sorting the front drive models. Get a quattro would be my advice. quattro standard in 3.0 tdi. Was an option in 2.0 tdi and I think the 2.0Tfsi. No 1.8Tfsi quattro.
Also, there is an improved steering setup on later models and also earlier higher spec versions. I cant recall the exact name for it but its a system that ties into the car electronics altering the feel at varying speeds and can also be altered via diagnostic port to give an heavy or lighter steering. Its a massive improvement over the standard. Again 3.0 tdi got this from the beginning and others followed.
Ive got 75k miles now from new and tbh its 100% rattle and squeek free and hasnt need any bushes or suspension work although it is a well minded car.
Final point, the LED front lights together with xenons were standard here and were not standard in the uk so that is something to watch out for when buying over there.
Given the small mileage you propose, Id go petrol every time.

Slattsy

Have an 08 1.8t since November and apart from a headlight failing (only cost 100e to fixs DIY job) (^thanks Mickdw^) i've had zero issues and its been a savage ride.
It can be fuel heavy(ish) in traffic i have to say with all the stop starting, but on longer trips i find it very effecient.
There's an absolute orgasmic sound from the engine when you floor it for the very first time, ensure to have the radio off and simply throttle it, enjoy.

The chicks dig it too. Of only my missus wasnt in the passenger seat most of the time..

Wishbone Ash

Henry Ford III wrote: »

In stop/start urban driving with short journeys a modern diesel could prove way worse to drive/own.

I just got rid of a diesel because of this. I was looking at €2,000 to replace the DPF if I continued.

MuppetCheck

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

I just got rid of a diesel because of this. I was looking at €2,000 to replace the DPF if I continued.

Good move if you're driving doesn't suit it. On top of that diesels aren't that much more economical in traffic conditions either. Although some here think it doesn't happen...

magic_murph

Cheers guys - great feedback.
If there was an option to buy everybody on the thread a pint I would.

Will have a look for a decent petrol and ideally with Quattro.
It seems the more likely option at this stage of picking up a decent model rather than waiting around for a Deisel and good points mentioned about he reslae value etc

mickdw

Slattsy wrote: »

Have an 08 1.8t.....
.....There's an absolute orgasmic sound from the engine when you floor it for the very first time, ensure to have the radio off and simply throttle it, enjoy.

You must have somehow got a V8 version of the 1.8T:D:D

Slattsy wrote: »

The chicks dig it too. Of only my missus wasnt in the passenger seat most of the time..

I have to agree. Mine certainly turned many heads when it was new and they were not long out.

lomb

Drove a new A5 2L tdi fwd recently. Felt a little dated inside to me however as your not paying 50k that doesnt matter. Car and engine was very sweet,smooth, and was just about quick enough, could do with a little more power. On a roundabout the handling was very artificial , felt like the large car it is. Wouldnt be my cup of tea overall, prefer something smaller and quicker but a very nice looking coupe. Looks best in I think they call it Scuba blue seems tired in the usual black and silver.