Mike Buckley

I'd appreciate some thoughts on the engine choices in the A6 - I had an
early (1999) A6 Avant 2.5 v6 (Quattro) as the last company car which was a
very nice car indeed - I'm about to go back to a co car, like an A6 but the
available budget doesn't run to the 2.5 or any of the bigger engines. 2ltr
petrols are within reach, but I like diesels and the petrol CO2 doesn't look
good.

Is the 1.9T a decent compromise, capable of pushing the car along at a
decent rate (lots of M/way, but also lots of A road) and I do like being
able to have some "omph" - or will it just leave me frustrated? 5 or 6 speed
box? It'll be a UK company car, so the CO2 emissions are important, and
chipping isn't going to be an option me thinks!

Or would it be better to go for the new A4 2.0 Tdi Avant.

An alternative would seem to be the Volvo V70 D5 Estate - views welcome!

Other ideas?? An estate is essential btw. Reliability is a crucial factor
too.

It's been a while since I've had to tangle with the UK company car tax
situation, so all advice appreciated. I do have the option of "buy your own"
but that doesn't really stack up financially as far as I can see and with a
big mileage each year (40k) I'm not convinced its viable, especially as I
have to bear all costs.

Regs, Mike.

Peter Bell

In message <co0ebi$5a$1@sparta.btinternet.com>
"Mike Buckley" <mike@nochance.com> wrote:

[Snip]

> Is the 1.9T a decent compromise, capable of pushing the car along at a
> decent rate (lots of M/way, but also lots of A road) and I do like
> being able to have some "omph" - or will it just leave me frustrated?
> 5 or 6 speed box? It'll be a UK company car, so the CO2 emissions are
> important, and chipping isn't going to be an option me thinks!

There are people who insist that the 1.9 is a nicer drive than the 2.5 -
it's certainly more frugal, if a little slower. Of course, you won't
then have the option of quattro. It's certainly worth taking a test
drive and judging for yourself. I agree with the need for oomph - I'm
not sure I would be happy with less than the 450PS of my RS6 Avant!

> Or would it be better to go for the new A4 2.0 Tdi Avant.

That's a possibility - but can you wait until spring 2005 when the new
A6 Avant will be in production? I'm not sure that the new A4 will be
much earlier than that.

--
Peter Bell (Note Spamtrap - To reply, replace 'invalid' with 'bellfamily')

Peter Bell

In message <co0ebi$5a$1@sparta.btinternet.com>
"Mike Buckley" <mike@nochance.com> wrote:

[Snip]

> Is the 1.9T a decent compromise, capable of pushing the car along at a
> decent rate (lots of M/way, but also lots of A road) and I do like
> being able to have some "omph" - or will it just leave me frustrated?
> 5 or 6 speed box? It'll be a UK company car, so the CO2 emissions are
> important, and chipping isn't going to be an option me thinks!

There are people who insist that the 1.9 is a nicer drive than the 2.5 -
it's certainly more frugal, if a little slower. Of course, you won't
then have the option of quattro. It's certainly worth taking a test
drive and judging for yourself. I agree with the need for oomph - I'm
not sure I would be happy with less than the 450PS of my RS6 Avant!

> Or would it be better to go for the new A4 2.0 Tdi Avant.

That's a possibility - but can you wait until spring 2005 when the new
A6 Avant will be in production? I'm not sure that the new A4 will be
much earlier than that.

--
Peter Bell (Note Spamtrap - To reply, replace 'invalid' with 'bellfamily')

Peter Bell

In message <co0ebi$5a$1@sparta.btinternet.com>
"Mike Buckley" <mike@nochance.com> wrote:

[Snip]

> Is the 1.9T a decent compromise, capable of pushing the car along at a
> decent rate (lots of M/way, but also lots of A road) and I do like
> being able to have some "omph" - or will it just leave me frustrated?
> 5 or 6 speed box? It'll be a UK company car, so the CO2 emissions are
> important, and chipping isn't going to be an option me thinks!

There are people who insist that the 1.9 is a nicer drive than the 2.5 -
it's certainly more frugal, if a little slower. Of course, you won't
then have the option of quattro. It's certainly worth taking a test
drive and judging for yourself. I agree with the need for oomph - I'm
not sure I would be happy with less than the 450PS of my RS6 Avant!

> Or would it be better to go for the new A4 2.0 Tdi Avant.

That's a possibility - but can you wait until spring 2005 when the new
A6 Avant will be in production? I'm not sure that the new A4 will be
much earlier than that.

--
Peter Bell (Note Spamtrap - To reply, replace 'invalid' with 'bellfamily')

Mike Buckley

Peter Bell <peter@invalid.org.uk> wrote in message
news:07e590124d.peter@iyonix.earley.fourcom.com...
> In message <co0ebi$5a$1@sparta.btinternet.com>
> "Mike Buckley" <mike@nochance.com> wrote:
>
> [Snip]
>
> > Is the 1.9T a decent compromise, capable of pushing the car along at a
> > decent rate (lots of M/way, but also lots of A road) and I do like
> > being able to have some "omph" - or will it just leave me frustrated?
> > 5 or 6 speed box? It'll be a UK company car, so the CO2 emissions are
> > important, and chipping isn't going to be an option me thinks!
>
> There are people who insist that the 1.9 is a nicer drive than the 2.5 -
> it's certainly more frugal, if a little slower. Of course, you won't
> then have the option of quattro. It's certainly worth taking a test
> drive and judging for yourself. I agree with the need for oomph - I'm
> not sure I would be happy with less than the 450PS of my RS6 Avant!

Indeed - sadly, I've found that "oomph" and a reasonable size of car are
mutually exclusive concepts as I've never had a large enough budget to play
with - buying second hand isn't a satisfactory option in this case! I
suppose I could have a Golf or one of the baby Audis with a biggish motor,
but then again, perhaps not.

Thoughts on Passats?

Mike.

Mike Buckley

Peter Bell <peter@invalid.org.uk> wrote in message
news:07e590124d.peter@iyonix.earley.fourcom.com...
> In message <co0ebi$5a$1@sparta.btinternet.com>
> "Mike Buckley" <mike@nochance.com> wrote:
>
> [Snip]
>
> > Is the 1.9T a decent compromise, capable of pushing the car along at a
> > decent rate (lots of M/way, but also lots of A road) and I do like
> > being able to have some "omph" - or will it just leave me frustrated?
> > 5 or 6 speed box? It'll be a UK company car, so the CO2 emissions are
> > important, and chipping isn't going to be an option me thinks!
>
> There are people who insist that the 1.9 is a nicer drive than the 2.5 -
> it's certainly more frugal, if a little slower. Of course, you won't
> then have the option of quattro. It's certainly worth taking a test
> drive and judging for yourself. I agree with the need for oomph - I'm
> not sure I would be happy with less than the 450PS of my RS6 Avant!

Indeed - sadly, I've found that "oomph" and a reasonable size of car are
mutually exclusive concepts as I've never had a large enough budget to play
with - buying second hand isn't a satisfactory option in this case! I
suppose I could have a Golf or one of the baby Audis with a biggish motor,
but then again, perhaps not.

Thoughts on Passats?

Mike.

Mike Buckley

Peter Bell <peter@invalid.org.uk> wrote in message
news:07e590124d.peter@iyonix.earley.fourcom.com...
> In message <co0ebi$5a$1@sparta.btinternet.com>
> "Mike Buckley" <mike@nochance.com> wrote:
>
> [Snip]
>
> > Is the 1.9T a decent compromise, capable of pushing the car along at a
> > decent rate (lots of M/way, but also lots of A road) and I do like
> > being able to have some "omph" - or will it just leave me frustrated?
> > 5 or 6 speed box? It'll be a UK company car, so the CO2 emissions are
> > important, and chipping isn't going to be an option me thinks!
>
> There are people who insist that the 1.9 is a nicer drive than the 2.5 -
> it's certainly more frugal, if a little slower. Of course, you won't
> then have the option of quattro. It's certainly worth taking a test
> drive and judging for yourself. I agree with the need for oomph - I'm
> not sure I would be happy with less than the 450PS of my RS6 Avant!

Indeed - sadly, I've found that "oomph" and a reasonable size of car are
mutually exclusive concepts as I've never had a large enough budget to play
with - buying second hand isn't a satisfactory option in this case! I
suppose I could have a Golf or one of the baby Audis with a biggish motor,
but then again, perhaps not.

Thoughts on Passats?

Mike.