A4 Avant for winter driving

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boris - 10 Nov 2008 01:29 GMT

Hi,

Is A4 Avant as good as Subaru Outback for winter driving? My concern: lower
ground clearance (of Avant) - so it could get stuck in snow more easily.
Otherwise, I like Avant because of better on-road handling and better fuel
economy (than Outback turbo). Also - how big is cargo space in Avant?

Thanks in advance for any replies,
Boris

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Dano58 - 10 Nov 2008 22:15 GMT

> Hi,
>
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> Thanks in advance for any replies,
> Boris

I have an A4 sedan and my son has a '99 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS. I think
the Audi is a better winter car, it has a more sophisticated AWD
system (granted, I'm comparing 2 cars 5 years apart and thoursands of
dollars apart in price...). But the mileage is about the same in both
cars, so I don't think that's a deciding factor.

Dan D
'04 A4 1.8Tq MT-6
Central NJ USA

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Boris - 14 Nov 2008 12:35 GMT

Thanks for your reply.

How reliable is the A4? Is V6 more reliable than I4 turbo? What's real-life
fuel economy?

Boris
On Nov 9, 8:29 pm, "boris" <some...@nospam.net> wrote:

> Hi,
>
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> Thanks in advance for any replies,
> Boris

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Dano58 - 19 Nov 2008 22:15 GMT

> Thanks for your reply.
>
> How reliable is the A4? Is V6 more reliable than I4 turbo? What's real-life
> fuel economy?

Boris, I have averaged 21.78 MPG in the 5+ years I have owned my car -
80% of the mileage is in-town driving. I have the 1.8T with 6-speed
manual transmission. I do have a heavy foot...... ;-) I have almost
70k miles and the engine has been great, no issues at all. I am a
fanatic about oil changes - every 5k miles with Mobil1 synthetic and
OEM oil filter. By comparison, my son's Impreza gets about 22 mpg in
similar driving conditions.

Dan D

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Dave LaCourse - 10 Nov 2008 22:53 GMT

>Hi,
>
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
>Thanks in advance for any replies,
>Boris

A couple of years ago, Audi did a demonstration with all wheel and
four wheel drive cars. All had the same snow tires on them and were
sent up a ski run. No car made it as far as the Audi and its famous
Quattro AWD. It is far superior than anything Subaru makes, perhaps a
little pricier, but worth it.

I've been driving Quattros for more than 24 years. I live in New
England and I have never been stuck in snow.

Dave
RS6

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Ronny - 11 Nov 2008 00:00 GMT

>>Hi,
>>
[quoted text clipped - 18 lines]
> Dave
> RS6

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=EyKstZ6a5ag&feature=related

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3369807373804965831&q=audi+ski+jump

2 videos to keep you going :)

Why you need quattro not fwd

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=2lUoLGv7G6s&feature=related

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Dave LaCourse - 11 Nov 2008 00:57 GMT

>http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3369807373804965831&q=audi+ski+jump

Notice the winter tires with Euro studs that they put on for the final
run. I used to ice race my 1990 2000 QT Wagon with the BMW club at
Newfound Lake in New Hampshire. I had two sets of Hakkapeliitta
snows; one with Euro studs and one without. I made the mistake of not
changing wheels at the end of the day. It was snowing very hard and I
thought the studs would make it easier. I ended up having to drive
to work on Monday morning with the Euro studs. The car actually
crabbed a little on dry pavement. When going through beautiful
downtown Weston, a woman jumped off the sidewalk away from me. I was
making alot of noise. I guess she thought I was coming down the
sidewalk.

I changed to the non-studs that night. Tough to drive on dry pavement
with the Euro studs.... and very noisy.

Dave
RS6

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