Out of all the I4 engines out there, from 2006 to 2008 the Audi I4 2.0 TFSI engine made the Ward’s List. In 2006, only 3 of the 10 engines on the list were I4’s. In 2007 & 2008, only 2 of 10 were I4’s.

But,

Just because an engine is built well, you’re still going to have some duds. No engine is immune to that. Sometimes it is just bad luck. My brother and sister love Nissan and Infiniti. My brother’s ride is a 2008 Altima SL and he has had absolutely zero issues. My sister’s ride is a 2008 G35 Journey w/premium pkg and she has already had to visit the dealership 5 times since purchase – and it’s one of the highest rated cars out there!..

On your engine, I say you make an appointment and speak with the service manager and give him a written list of all the issues you are having. Demand that he put his best person on it. If he can’t do this, complain to Audi and find another dealership. All the problems you are having should have already been fixed…

Good luck!..

*,..,*

“Did he try the S mode?”

To each his own.

I have been driving either a MB, BMW or Audi since I was 16 years old. I feel blessed to drive one now.

Praise the Lord God forever and ever, amen!..

My 2008 Audi A4/B7 2.0T rocks and tears up the road enough for me in “S” mode.

I mean, gee whiz, the A4 is a compact sedan!.. If someone wants more room or power, get something bigger or more powerful, duh?!.

Best response to me was by “muffinman” about how the Audi A4 should be compared to its competition, not the Accord or Altima. So true because with all due respect, the A4 is in a total different league!

For what the A4 offers for its price against it’s true competitors, Audi wins hands down!

This gentleman’s (Mr. Syed) review appeared way too comical, aloof and dare I say personal.

Again, totally happy with my 2008 A4. The only thing I regret (just a little) is not waiting for the redesigned 2009 A4 prior to purchasing.

Just my opinion.

Chow!

P.S. – And to all the Audi haters who question the 2.0T engine, redo your research starting with “Ward’s 10 Best Engine List.” There is a reason it made the list in 2006, 2007 & 2008 guys…

Vorsprung durch Technik!..

For those who want a solid, comfortable car and really could care less about which wheels are doing the driving, and doesn’t even know what understeer is, then the fwd A4 remains a fantastic machine. Fact is, ALL fwd vehicles and even many hot AWD sedans like the WRX and Evo — are nose heavy and offer severe understeer at the limit. That’s probably not a bad thing if you don’t intend to spend all your time on the track.

What does the A4 offer that no other compact sedan does?

1) the interior doesn’t suck. You don’t need to get the aluminum trim, other options are available. No other car manufacturer comes even close for less than $60k.

2) Audi reliability is well above average. VW and Audi naysayers, stop living in 1991 and look at the statistics for yourselves. Audi’s investments in their German assembly plants are really paying off.

3) Audi now offers every bit the cachet of a Merc or BMW without having to deal with the arrogant Merc & BMW dealerships.

4) Audi delivers design detail that no Japanese or US luxury car can offer. Sorry, Lexus IS fans, there is no comparison.

5) one final word: Avant. That’s the wagon version that carries everything that a bloated ute can, but will give you a 30 mpg commute everyday (much more than a Subaru), and it costs less than the relatively more boring and overpriced BMW 3-series wagon. Avant = ultimate in versatility.

I’m not going to defend VW or its reliability which is now on par with early 70’s British auto wiring, but the dealers are puhtzes who put standard oils into turbo motors b/c vw didn’t explicitly spec it for a while -> sludging.

Seven New England winters in my AWD, and I’ve never been stuck…and I have to be at work no matter what…I don’t even have to shovel my driveway anymore. As a matter of fact, I’ve never been stuck in the snow to the point where I’ve needed to be pulled out in 15 years of driving…FWD, RWD or AWD.

But of all the cars I’ve driven, the AWD gives me the most control over the car in all conditions.

I don’t think I’d spend for a new Audi, but if I bought an Audi of any kind, it’d be quattro. Why bother with a FWD Audi? I’d rather put snow tires on any number of other FWD or RWD cars.

-Matt

-Matt

To clear up a couple points, an automatic A4 QUATTRO comes with a TIPTRONIC transmission *NOT* CVT (CVT is only for FWD models in the Audi line)

Also, the engine sludge isssue is NO LONGER A FACTOR in the newer 2.0T engines. They *were* an issue in the older 1.8T A4’s… your friend does *NOT* have a 2.0T

carguy – I truly wonder how much research you have done before proclaiming the A4 as “overpriced” compared to its competition. Buyers considering the Accord and the Altima typically do not consider A4’s, 3-series, C-Class, etc. The A4’s competition is other “compact” near-luxury cars like the aforementioned 3-series and C-class… compare those cars and tell me the A4 is not a great value.

I did a TON of cross-shopping between the 325/328i and A4 this past summer (frequenting Bimmer and Audi enthusiast boards) and hands-down, the A4 is the better value. You can easily get a new A4 quattro AWD with leather, powered, heated seats for the price of a stripper 328i (vinyl, manual, non-heated seats, no AWD, etc.)

I’m not arguing that the Accord, Altima is the more “sensible” value but sometimes, the heart wants a little more ;) Why buy a Rolex and you can get the more sensible Timex for a fraction of the price?

Believe it or not!!!

You may see those video I think in You Tube.(JUST SEARCH FOR Subaru,Audi versus Evo)
But the hosts of Top Gear prefer the Subaru WRX Sti because of the Manly smell when you drive it and they way it looks just like a testosterone level that morphed into a Car but not for me I am still for performance not looks a sleeper kind of thing and I hate Subies by the way.

A ha ha hahaaahahahahaaa… tell that to all the morons I saw in the ditches every winter in Nebraska. They seemed pretty darn stuck to me. My parents’s 4WD Explorer managed to get stuck in mud and in snow, at least once with the former and twice with the latter. If the snow is deep enough and you can’t get traction, you’re not going anywhere. Which is why I’m a big advocate of snow tires over AWD.

-Matt
Conn./Mass.

But spend a few minutes learning what AWD can do for you in that situation and you’ll find it can help you maintain control and avoid a spin altogether.

AWD’s main benefit in the snow, however, is the fact that you will never get stuck. On dry roads, I think it has better grip and just has a better feel than FWD,which in many cars tends to feel wobbly. In hard cornering, you can feel the rear wheels helping you out, too.

-Matt

Yes, Japanese cars can run forever, and go years without oil changes. But as soon as you’re talking about a turbocharged engine, the game changes. The engines run much hotter and the oil breaks down much faster, hence you actually *need* to change the oil more frequently. You’re comparing apples to supermodels as soon as you compare a typical japanese 4-banger engine to a turbo anything. Not that apples aren’t great, but the supermodel is always going to be higher maintenance.

Edit: Checked the vortex (http://forums.vwvortex.com), yes, sludge is a big problem in 1.8T longitudinally mounted engines. You have to use synthetic to stave off the problem, but it allegedly also related to the sump and/or oil filter being too small for the capacity (transversely mounted 1.8T engines did not show the same problem except in cases of extreme neglect). So depending on what you were doing — synthetic + 10k oil changes = okay, regular + <5k oil changes = maybe okay, but regular + 10k oil changes = sludge — you could be in the clear. And they were supposed to fix it unless there was obvious neglect involved. But generally speaking, you should use synthetic oil in turbo engines regardless of who makes them unless you change your oil very frequently, are leasing the car and have a great warranty, or enjoy tempting fate. Like I mentioned, turbos run *much* hotter and break down the oil much faster, and it’s not as much of a problem with synthetics as it is with regular oil.

Mother Nature is always the winner.

by the way people who drives 5 feet behind me are morons especially in New England.

I have seen a picture of BMW 740 engine with a lot less than 100K miles on it completely covered on the inside with sludge and the owner swore that he followed the exact oil change intervals as suggested by BMW.

BTW the review of the new A4 can be seen here

I guess Audi assumes some intelligence on the part of the car owner. They guessed wrong…

FWD, identical engine, $10,000 less.

Sorry – but your assumptions are not entirely correct.

The only similarity between the two cars is the 2.0T engine. That’s where the similarities end:

Audi – Longitudinal mounted engine.

Passat – Transverse mounted engine. Chassis now based on the Rabbit/Jetta platform, not the Audi platform the previous generation Passat was based on.

If you did your research, you would realize that the sludge issues were related to the old 1.8T engine, not the current 2.0T.

To wit—my friend in Maryland had an ‘03 A4 2.0T that experienced the engine sludge problem. Because he hadn’t had the oil changed within 7500 miles—they stuck him with the $2500 bill even though the car was under warranty.

You mean an ‘03 1.8T. The 2.0T debuted in the 2nd half of 2005.

Your friend got what he deserved – what part of “changing oil within 7500 miles” didn’t he get???

Many car owners pay more attention to these stupid mind control gadgets (navigation systems, iPods, Sync, Bluetooth, Blackberries, etc.) than they do in correctly driving the vehicle, much less pay attention to maintaining it. And when something goes wrong – they revert to what is now the “Great American Pasttime” – find someone to blame (sue) for their lack of common sense and personal responsibility.

I prefer to keep my full attention to the road and avoid said devices – that way I’m prepared to take evasive action in the event that I encounter any IDIOT who uses these devices WHILE DRIVING…

Car warranties are well and good – but the owner has to fulfill HIS/HER end of the bargain by having the car serviced within the intervals set by the manufacturer. That’s why they supply an owner’s manual with the vehicle.

An A4 Quattro is an absolutely joy to driving along the winding mountainous roads of North Georgia. The car literally sticks in a way that no other vehicle in this class will; especially when there is inclement weather.

The maintenance cost??? Oy! One of the two I had went through over $8000 worth of maintenance at the dealership including the obligatory blown engine. After I sold it the turbocharger bit the bullet less than 5000 miles later. But then again, it was sold to a teenager whose only real understanding of cars stemmed from the phony tuner scene you see in the movies. I still remember being able to hear the damn stereo while I was inside my house with his parents going over the bill of sale.

Funny thing was that the doors to the Audi were actually closed at the time. That’s how loud he blasted the radio.

On the flip side, if I were going to pursue the higher end of the market Audi would be right at the top of the list. There simply isn’t a high performance Audi that has been an ‘also ran’ when it comes to daily driving. You can go as fast as you want, for as long as you want, and the Audi will keep up with you (and even forgive you at times) so long as you’re willing to keep up with it’s needs.

Audis and Porsches to me are the absolute cream of the crop. There’s just something about the way they drive that makes me willing to pay the money. … just not on the low end (which doesn’t really exist for a Porsche these days).

Nice review. I like the allusion to the bathtub ring.

I test drove both FWD and AWD Audi’s. I own an AWD Subaru. I cannot tell a big difference when driving.

What you get for AWD is more cost, more weight, worse fuel economy. And a Quattro badge.

As fuel economy gets more important with increasing gas prices, I predict you will see less preference for AWD cars.