Quattro vs 4Matic
#11
AudiWorld Super User
Never tried to pull off in second, I don't think it can. I just leave the car in comfort mode with the transmission in auto and it does terrific. A little bit of slip is allowed before it locks and trudges along in the worst of it.
#12
AudiWorld Member
I've also owned a Subaru legacy GT in the past, 10 years ago. I did a full STi swap in that running 350 whp. I used summer tires in the snow with that thing and it handled pretty good. Best part is I had a manual e-brake so going around corners was exciting at the time. Don't think I'd do such things now being a bit older.
#14
AudiWorld Super User
That's all well and good, but everyone needs to remember that quattro won't help on an iced road...unless you're running on studded tires. I tried that experiment years ago...And LOST! Just sayin'.
Last edited by derfA8L; 02-10-2016 at 05:33 PM.
#15
exactly Derf. people think that quattro is all encompassing. You can NOT stop any quicker on ice with Quattro when you can on a car without it. Quattro will help you go and probably helps on turns, etc. But ice is ice, very unforgiving...
#16
AudiWorld Super User
It does help on turns, a tiny, tiny bit. Quattro will keep you from getting stuck, and keep you from losing control. Anything beyond that is all in your tires.
#18
AudiWorld Super User
Yup, first weekend in a brand new 1996 A6 Quattro and it's snowing lightly. Took a sharp curve on a back country road, but didn't realize there was a layer of ice under the snow. Everything happened in slow motion: I see the car's rear end out of the corner of my eye as the car does a 180 and comes to a stop with my wife muttering something I can't repeat. Good thing there was no other car on that road 😨
#19
For me it was a 1998 A6. In a fairly tight turn, the car kept going straight. I tried to get it to rotate with the throttle, but it was too little too late - and a tree prevented any further progress. Fortunately, my wife was at home - or I'm sure I'd have gotten the same.
#20
Having owned Audi's with Quattro, Mercedes with 4matic, and BMW's with x-drive, I must say that Quattro outshines all of them, with all-season tires, put winter tires on and they are great driving in blizzards and in deep snow banks. IMHO - Quattro > 4matic > xDrive.
Only other all wheel vehicles that can compare to Quattro are Subarus
Only other all wheel vehicles that can compare to Quattro are Subarus
I've had a couple of A6 Avant's since 2003. Always have snow tires on in the winter. I ski a lot and drive in snow a lot. I love my quattro.
They stopped importing the the Avant in 2012. I'm not a big SUV fan (Q5/7 or Macan/Cayenne - although Porsche uses their own AWD, not Quattro). Some of the E-Series wagon's look okay, but I'm not sold on the 4Matic.
I've thought about the A8, although I think I'd need to run double roof boxes for some of the bigger ski trips with the family. For the summer, my daughter is old enough now that I won't be throwing a tag-along in the back of the avant, it will be 4 bikes up top.
Any suggestions?