A5 Sportback - which one?

7260 Views 69 Replies 18 Participants Last post by RGBArgee, Nov 4, 2009

Shrek

Discussion Starter · Oct 19, 2009 (Edited)

Hi there, new to the forum so hello to everyone.

Basically looking at getting an A5 Quattro s-tronic S-line sportback and I'm torn between which to go for. It comes down to either the 2.0 TFSi (211PS) or the 3.0 TDi. On bare numbers this site, using the quoted ROTR prices of 32,525 and 36,220 respectively, and fuel prices at 103.9 and 104.9* it would take over 20 years to recoup the cost, that timeframe gets even longer if diesel were to go back to a gap of 5-7p/litre. Allowing for assumed residuals of 49% and 51% respectively (taken from What Car mag for the A5 coupe - no sportback yet) the diesel claws a bit back but not enough to offset the cost in anything like a sensible time frame. I probably do around 15k miles a year, give or take.

So my question is, are the quoted combined figures reasonable (or at least the approximate 5mpg difference), how are people finding it in the real world?

Also what extras are worth having, i.e. that add or help to retain vehicle value, is the Sat Nav/MMI worth it? Anything else?

Thanks for your help

* What it cost this morning from the local BP for standard fuel - I'd probably use premium stuff in practice as I'm a sucker for the marketing blurb.

1 - 20 of 70 Posts

RGBArgee

· #2 · Oct 19, 2009

I am told Sat Nav and B&O on V6/V8 versions, not so important on 4 cylinder ... that advice was a year ago and I think is probably applicable to top notch 2.0 motors too.

My choice would be the 3.0Tdi. I regularly achieve manufacturers figures 40+mpg and I don't hang around, however the 2.0 motors will drink more than quoted if driven enthusiatically. Whatever you do get a QUATTRO IMHO. That will narrow price gap, way better handling! Re wheels the 18in look a bit skinny again IMHO...

Good luck!

RG

TJM_A5

· #3 · Oct 19, 2009

Shrek,
1st thing: get a 2-door! lol. Only joking...
In all seriousness: Go for the 3.0TDi. Because a) it's a great engine and b) you'll get good MPG; To expand: Search on the forum and you'll find people complaining that the 2.0 Petrol engine isn't delivering what the marketing blurb "promises". As RG says, a lot of this is down to driving style. All manufacturer data is best-case / situation specific. That said, I've enjoyed an average of 35.3MPG during the 15k that I've put on my 3.0TDi... and, trust me... I'm not a slow driver. Therefore, I'm very happy with this. It compares to 26MPG that I got from my previous 2.4 Petrol A6. I know that if I were less heavy with my right boot, I could get much better: I did 2000 miles around Europe in the summer and with a lower average speed and more of an "I'm pootling on holiday / not rushing around for work" driving style, I was getting close to 40MPG.

Ref Sat Nav: again lots of debate on the forum. However, those of us who are right (haha- awaits income from AB) will tell you that Sat Nav is a must. Check out used A5's for sale on Audi's site. Those without Sat Nav are rare - one could argue about residual price; another factor is whether the car will actually sell. I believe that anyone in the market for a used car in our bracket would expect Sat Nav.

Good luck - enjoy the site and the car when you've decided

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RGBArgee

· #4 · Oct 19, 2009

TJM_A5 said:
Shrek,
1st thing: get a 2-door! lol. Only joking...

:laughinatabove:I forgot that one!!! Re the Sat Nav I know AB will have an answer but on a 2.0 180 it's probably not so much of a 'must have' as on an S5.

Cheers and I should have said Welcome!!

RG:cheers:

Ageing Biker

· #5 · Oct 19, 2009

Thanks guys. That boat sailed long ago!! Some people think that £2k for sat-nav is a good idea, some don't. I notice another dissatisfied customer for it has posted just today exclaiming about how crap the system is. Not my problem, so I don't care. :2thumbsup:

neilmcv

· #6 · Oct 19, 2009

Go for the 3.0TdI
No ifs No buts

I did the same maths as you about fuel and bought the 2.0TFSI Quattro S Tronic.

When you compare 38.2 average mpg of the TFSI against the 42.8 of the TDI, based on current fuel prices I estimated it would take about 300,000 miles to recoupe the difference in list price

The reality is that I am getting up to 30% less mpg than stated in the brochure
The real world figures for me are more like 24mpg average against (from what I am told by other contributors on this site) 40mpg average for the diesel
Based on this set of figures I would break even in 36,000 miles - or in my case payback within 2 years

RGBArgee

· #7 · Oct 19, 2009

I think you need to factor in Residual value and fun too!!:thumbsup:

neilmcv

· #8 · Oct 19, 2009

RGBArgee said:
I think you need to factor in Residual value and fun too!!:thumbsup:

Good point!!

(Plus you will have far more fun if you are not sat on a garage forecourt every 250 miles)

Shrek

Discussion Starter · #9 · Oct 19, 2009

Cheers Guys,

I know from having a 1.9TDi in a SEAT a few years back getting the quoted MPG was reasonably achievable and as mentioned people generally seem happy with the 3.0TDi.

As for Sat Nav... a choice between £1550 or £1950... I just can't see it... I have a TomTom already which is fantastic and hasn't let me down and it cost less than £300. The built-in Sat Nav's just seem overpriced for what they deliver. If it was say 500-600 quid for something that was essentially integrated then I might well be tempted but £1500-£2000, I just can't quite stomach it. As mentioned I saw the blast posted by another user earlier.

Based on the 49/51% retained value I calculated an approx £400 advantage to the TDi. I'm most concerned about the 2.0 TFSi being nowhere near the quoted figures. I know they are based on EU tests so don't always reflect real world conditions but if it's a long way out it makes comparison difficult.

Thanks,

Gareth.

Shrek

Discussion Starter · #10 · Oct 19, 2009

TJM_A5 said:
Shrek,
1st thing: get a 2-door! lol. Only joking...

:laughinatabove: - fair point, but the sportback seems to provide a good compromise for us, don't have kids yet but plan to at some point so it it offers that flexibility if we need it. And it still looks good IMHO, although yes of course the coupe edges it.

Cosmicblue

· #11 · Oct 19, 2009

Shrek said:
As for Sat Nav... a choice between £1550 or £1950... I just can't see it... I have a TomTom already which is fantastic and hasn't let me down and it cost less than £300. The built-in Sat Nav's just seem overpriced for what they deliver. If it was say 500-600 quid for something that was essentially integrated then I might well be tempted but £1500-£2000, I just can't quite stomach it. As mentioned I saw the blast posted by another user earlier.

Having had several Audi Satnavs in recent years (all RNS-E for those that care as opposed to the latest 3G MMI in the 2010 MY A5s) I can honestly say that the TomTom is a heap of useless junk in comparison (I have a 540 Live, about 3 months old). Just everything in a TomTom is inferior - even the 7 digit postcode search which should be excellent is a let down. The Audi offers just 5 digits and then a list of different categories in the vicinity of the destination - absolutely superb in the real world. And to cap it all the 540 Live reboots itself once a day as you are driving along - a known problem apparently.

The Audi system is a bargain - honestly it is.

Shrek

Discussion Starter · #12 · Oct 19, 2009

Cosmicblue said:
Having had several Audi Satnavs in recent years (all RNS-E for those that care as opposed to the latest 3G MMI in the 2010 MY A5s) I can honestly say that the TomTom is a heap of useless junk in comparison (I have a 540 Live, about 3 months old). Just everything in a TomTom is inferior - even the 7 digit postcode search which should be excellent is a let down. The Audi offers just 5 digits and then a list of different categories in the vicinity of the destination - absolutely superb in the real world. And to cap it all the 540 Live reboots itself once a day as you are driving along - a known problem apparently.

The Audi system is a bargain - honestly it is.

Fair play I can see that's annoying although I've never had such problems with my Go 520.

OK, so one option would be to get the Nav (which I didn't notice includes things like AMI which I was speccing anyway) and going for the manual 3.0 TDi.

Thoughts regarding Manual vs. s-tronic? I was badly burnt with an old DSG on TT that cost me > 5k to fix, but not so worried if it's under warranty. Plus a leap of faith and hoping they've ironed out most of the gremlins.

Thanks again for all the comments.

loc

· #13 · Oct 20, 2009

Absolutely get the Sat Nav MMI Navigation Plus! Read these to understand how profoundly this choice will affect your cars multimedia systems and their controls in the case of A4/A5:

Will the real MMI please stand up? Difference between standard radio Concert/Symphony and the optional DVD navigation's MMI controls in B8 platform Audi A4 and A5
http://a6retrofit.tripod.com/articles/a4a5realmmi.html

Summary of current Audi multimedia systems and history
http://a6retrofit.tripod.com/articles/audimultimediasystems.html

speary

· #14 · Oct 20, 2009

I think you probably know which model you want so if you can afford it get the one you really want. sod the fuel cost and residuals there isnt much in it anyway.
As for SatNav, in the long term it will probably make the car more saleable but as far as function is concerned, my tomtom 720 is streets (pun intended) ahead. You put in a postcode and a house number in and you arrive at the front door of that house. Maps and corrections are constantly updated. Which In Car Satnav gets updates.
When your car is 3 years old, so are your maps.
And OMG!!!! nearly 2 grand as an option. Blatant proffiteering by the manufacturers IMHO

Ageing Biker

· #15 · Oct 20, 2009

And OMG!!!! nearly 2 grand as an option. Blatant proffiteering by the manufacturers IMHO[/QUOTE]

+1 (unsurprisingly!)

RGBArgee

· #16 · Oct 20, 2009

Shrek said:
Cheers Guys,

I know from having a 1.9TDi in a SEAT a few years back getting the quoted MPG was reasonably achievable and as mentioned people generally seem happy with the 3.0TDi.

As for Sat Nav... a choice between £1550 or £1950... I just can't see it... I have a TomTom already which is fantastic and hasn't let me down and it cost less than £300. The built-in Sat Nav's just seem overpriced for what they deliver. If it was say 500-600 quid for something that was essentially integrated then I might well be tempted but £1500-£2000, I just can't quite stomach it. As mentioned I saw the blast posted by another user earlier.

Based on the 49/51% retained value I calculated an approx £400 advantage to the TDi. I'm most concerned about the 2.0 TFSi being nowhere near the quoted figures. I know they are based on EU tests so don't always reflect real world conditions but if it's a long way out it makes comparison difficult.

Thanks,

Gareth.

The point about sat nav is that you will get a large percentage back at resale on a V6/V8 and some will say they are difficult /impossible to sell without that option.

Your shout though... I went for the NAv but do rate Tom Tom apart from all the bloody wires, suction cups etc etc..

Cheers
RG

RGBArgee

· #17 · Oct 20, 2009

Shrek said:
:laughinatabove: - fair point, but the sportback seems to provide a good compromise for us, don't have kids yet but plan to at some point so it it offers that flexibility if we need it. And it still looks good IMHO, although yes of course the coupe edges it.

If you are only planning kids I would go for the Coupe for now! :cheers:

audi78

· #18 · Oct 20, 2009

Shrek said:
Cheers Guys,

I know from having a 1.9TDi in a SEAT a few years back getting the quoted MPG was reasonably achievable.....

Ah that takes me back a few years! My first 'proper' car from new was a 1.9 TDi Ibiza sport 130 brake. Loved it, ragged it 90% of the time and still got low 50s MPG overall and nearer 60 on a 'sensible' journey. Offical 0-60 was about 9.1 secs from memory but just felt so much quicker especially at higher MPH when I could 'embarrass' (probably the wrong word as I wasn't a deliberate boy racer - honest!) superficially 'better' cars as ridiculous torque on it for its size. Having shared that trip down memory lane, you'll probably tell me now you actually had a 1.9 TDi Leon anyway.... :thumbsup:

Back on thread, the A5 3.0 TDi is obviously a different proposition from any 1.9TDI Seat. I'm getting c35 mpg overall in mine at minute, and don't usually hang about and am often in a gear lower than probably should be, but know others with newer models and/or more miles on the clock are routinely getting low 40s. Definitely a 'class' car, massive fun, and yet still some economic sense behind it IMO.

Welcome to the site, you will love it and learn loads. I'm a relatively newbie and not exaggerating by saying I learn something, or at least read something to ponder upon, most days of visiting!!!!

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RGBArgee

· #19 · Oct 20, 2009

audi78 said:
I'm a relatively newbie and not exaggerating by saying I learn something, or at least read something to ponder upon, most days of visiting!!!!

Agree with all your comments.. talking about learning something did we ever establish what Audi did to the 2009 model 3.0Tdi Quattro to make it have lower CO2/Lower Car Tax and better MPG figures than the 2007/8 models??

Cheers
RG:thumbsup:

neilmcv

· #20 · Oct 20, 2009

RGBArgee said:
Agree with all your comments.. talking about learning something did we ever establish what Audi did to the 2009 model 3.0Tdi Quattro to make it have lower CO2/Lower Car Tax and better MPG figures than the 2007/8 models??

Cheers
RG:thumbsup:

Yes - They probably found out you can lie in the brochure and get away with it!!!!

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