GanS

Thanks to all who answered my powered vs. manual Sports seat enquiry. I think Moro had the right of it, in fact - the manual sports seats do hinge at the front and it makes it hard to get the angle between backrest and seat base exactly right, because you can't tilt the base independently of raising height (except for the weedy front-edge tilt control which does not help with the crucial base-of-spine angle).

However - I borrowed another manual sports seat A4 (not cabrio) and had a miserable hour getting back pain and thinking "damn, I can't buy the car in stock, it's a choice of going elsewhere or waiting 12 weeks to get what I want with electric seats". I resigned myself to the latter and THEN - bingo, found the right position. After another hour of driving to make sure, I went ahead and bought the manual Sports seat cabriolet.

Pros: It is available now, has my deposit on it, and can be picked up on Tuesday after registration, taxing, Tracker fitting, etc. This is a big plus, in fact, as the alternative is September and it's looking like a good summer this year.

It's a good colour (silver-blue-blue) - had initial reservations about blue dash but it grows on you fast, and the wife loves it.

It was ordered as a demo car so has lots of gadgets: 6-cd changer, Bose sound, light pack, ski hatch in rear seats, wind deflector. I'm having a go at getting Kraft wheels changed onto it, we'll see.

Number plate (rather fittingly for a grown-up Audi TT, which is sort of how I see the Cabriolet) ends 03 XTT :-) I rather like this, and paid nothing extra for it - randomly available plate.

Cons: hope I'm right about the seats - comfort seemed OK after an hour's trial in the 'sweet spot' position (following a couple of hours later from the initial hour of backache-inducing failed trial, so I'd have thought any problems would have shown up as I was already tired).

And now, the big thing (new for here, as far as I can see): it's a 2.5 TDI.

Reasons: it's by far the best performing engine, all that stuff about mid-range torque is really true. I've tried both the 1.8T (normal A4 and Cabrio), and 3.0, and the diesel is far faster than either. The 1.8T saloon was pretty good but 1.8T multitronic cab was just too heavy and sluggish for me around town (plenty fast on the motorway).

"People buy BHP, but drive torque" - the TDI is far more driveable than any of the others, I found (I never tried the 2.4 but it sounds the slowest of all). Obviously others will differ, and will talk about heavier engines and front-weighting, etc. - perhaps they're right.

There are plenty of reasons why you might not like it - it's not as smooth - gearstick trembles slightly at traffic lights - and then there is the noise. I thought it was acceptable, even on the A4 (the road, not the car) in heavy traffic with the top down; and it does fade out above 20 mph. Startup was a bit of a shocker - to me - but it's a roughish roar, rather than artic-lorry-type clatter. When I took my wife, expecting derisive "Ha ha! It's a bus!" type comments, she actually thought it was nothing odd - even while standing outside toward the rear of the car, and she couldn't see what I was worried about. So diesel it is - not for the economy as such (though you can't argue with cheaper refuels plus higher resale value 'cos of all the company car buyers - especially if emissions tax codes go up, as I'm sure they will). Nope, I went with diesel because of performance. We'll see if I was right in the Autumn, we have a trip planned to the Lake District.

Hope the TDI hasn't made me un-kosher for this board (I'm not by nature the caravan-towing suburban 'sensible' dieselhead my brother now accuses me of being - I shared all your reservations, but driving the thing won me over); look forward to telling you how it goes.

Incidentally, if you hadn't noticed, it's a clone of Diakos' car, at least as far as colour goes.

hashluck

I cannot knock the choice of diesel on performance grounds and I was tempted myself but a couple of things put me off

i) The Audi 2.5 TDi is not a patch on the BMW 3.0 and is not enough better than the BMW 2.0 and that would always naff me off even though I would not want a BMW cab and you cannot by a diesel version anyway! I guess I have just been waiting for a better Audi diesel (like the V8 they are putting in the A8, 750NM of torque!!!!!)

ii) Resale - you make an interesting point but I would have thought most 3-4 year old Cabs will be bought by private buyers not company car buyers. A private buyer for a cab will I think go for petrol. It will be very very interesting to watch the resale value of the TDi.

So, welcome. You have thought your purchase thru and are happy as we all are with our 1.8Ts, 2.4 and 3.0s. I went with 3.0. Not that much more and no less economical than the 2.4 and I wanted more than 4 cylinders. Each to their own.

GanS

Thanks :-)

Not sure I understand (i) - I wanted an Audi cab, and the diesel seemed the best performer, so it was a question of that vs the other Audi cab engines (I appreciate I've taken the minority view in choosing one, but there we are). Having gone at it that way round (Audi first, then engine), I guess the comparative quality of other manufacturer's diesels don't really bother me - I never setout to buy a diesel.

(ii) You may well be entirely right - resale value wasn't a particular sales pitch by the Audi guys, and nor was resale a major factor in my choice of purchase. I suppose the value will depend on whether other people like it as much as I do and it remains desirable, or if it is genuinely too noisy for most and it becomes a dead duck model when something new comes out. I hope not, obviously ...

One thing is that I have a slightly gloomy view of the economy and anticipate future oil shock (I should point out this is a purely amateur view from reading between the lines in the news; I'm not in the City or the oil trade or anything). Anyway. FWIW I have a sneaking feeling that fuel consumption may become more of a factor in car desirability in the near future - even the salesman thought the 3.0 was "too thirsty". But it was a damn nice drive, I have to say :-)

hashluck

i) That is the thing with buying cars decisions are not always logical but emotional. You did the right thing, choose the car and then the engine. I struggled with the fact that there (IMO) better 'performance' diesel engines out there.

ii) I don't think any of the variants will ever be a dead duck but the diesel is an unknown quantity. However demand for cars like the 330D Coupe suggest there is a ready market for diesel sports cars.

You are absolutely right about fuel consumption which is why I have two cars (the other being a 320D). I think many other Cab owners either have it as a second car or do not drive particularly high mileages. I really, really want to sell the 320D and use the Cab every day but it breaks my heart having to stop for petrol every 300-400 miles as opposed to 600+. I have now argued myself into the corner that a diesel cab is the perfect car for me but I still didn't do it and I still don't know exactly why!

GanS

Well, as you said, the heart rules the head :-)

Certainly there is a difference in experience between the 2.5 TDI and the 3.0, whether it be sound or smoothness or whatever; and if you bought the one you prefer over the other, this can't be wrong.

Thanks for the reassurance re. the 330D and depreciation etc.

diakos

<center><img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/50184/dsc00567.jpg"></center><p>
although a bit dirty in that pic...

Ari_UK

GanS,

Just my two penneth worth.

I think that the fact that the diesel cabrio seems a less popular option may well work in your favour as there will be less to choose from if someone wants a second-hand one. Also people buying cars second-hand are invariably more concerned with things like running costs so the diesel cab may be a more popular choice for a used buyer than a new buyer.

Finally, every week diesel engined cars become more "acceptable", which is why we are now seeing diesel coupes (BMW) and cabrios (Audi) Even Jaguar are bringing out a diesel. A few years from now a diesel engine will be a far more "default" choice than it is today for many people.

I drove a 1.9TDI A6 300 miles one day last week and was shocked by how well it went. The 2.5TDI must be superb, and hopefully being a V6 a lot smoother (the only downside to the 4 cylinder 1.9 I drove).

I suspect that time may prove you've made a cany choice...

Good luck with the car, I love mine (1.8T) and I'm sure you will too.

Ari.

GanS

Yep. saw it in your other post :-) Nice. I must say I probably would have got it in darker colours if I'd ordered from scratch (this one is new, but from stock). With silver, you don't get the "not quite Nuvolari yet but heading that ay" effect of the double grille, because you can't really see the bottom one's silver lining. But it looks nice already, and I think it's going to grow on me even more ;-&gt;

MoroBlueUK

I hope you enjoy it... Glad you could find a comfortable position to sit in -- you've saved yourself kilos and pounds !!! Having had an allroad diesel before I just thought I'd let you know that you can upgrade the engine by chipping it to release 220BHP and around 40% more torque --- it would leave my 3.0 cab standing...

GanS

Thanks!

Got it now, looks fantastic. Diesel is a bit noisy for a cabriolet, but this seemed more a case of me being sensitive, than something that affected others - wife, initially diesel-sceptical brother, and friends, have sat front and back and had no complaints with roof down (though they did say that in the rear seats this was more because of the wind whistling past their ears! I think roof-down works better with just 2 in the car). I have to say it does sound very diesel-like when coming to a halt or parking, and I find myself trying to glide in quickly and rushing to take the key out when arriving at someone's house, so as not to spoil their first impression of the car.

Performance wise it is good, very fast off the blocks in intermittent traffic - it's at its zippiest when shifting up and down between 10 and 40mph in 2nd/3rd gear in medium-traffic faster roads, but at lower speeds it's a bit 'surge-y' in stop-start traffic, as you have to flick between 1st and 2nd gears in very short order and you get explosive bursts of torque switching on and off each time you pass through the rev range). It is quite possible to drive smoothly, but needs practice not to throw the passengers back and forth. I am rapidly growing to love it, though: in light traffic, when you have space and the inclination to accelerate, it makes Chiswick Roundabout feel like a high-speed centrifuge, even with all the traffic lights.

It doesn't FEEL fast on motorways, but this is because it's so quiet and the revs are so low: in reality, you put your foot down, feel no surge, think nothing's happening, and then have a shock when you realise everyone else is somewhere behind you and you're doing 120. I have the DIS speed limit warning set now to avoid accidentally getting myself banned...

I suppose, having said this, it sounds silly to ask about chipping, but I am intrigued... where does one get it done, and what effect does it have on insurance ?