[urq] Future Audi : is there a TDI planned ?

[Louis-Alain Richard]

On the Audi.fr web site, I found this :

A8

3.0 gas : 84 050 Euros, average fuel con. 9.1 l/100km (26 mpg)
3.0 TDI : 82 000 euros, average fuel con. 6.6 l/100km (36 mpg)

V8 gas : 97 500 Euros, average fuel con. 9.5 l/100km (25 mpg)
V8 TDI : 99 000 Euros, average fuel con. 7.6 l/100km (31 mpg)

So, from this we can conclude : the V6 TDI is the preferred engine in
France, hence the lower price. 

Also, just to see what would happen here (in Canada, you'll do the math for
the USA) if they would introduce Diesel engines in the A8, let's compute. 
20 000 km a year, fuel at 1.50 a liter, and comparing the most likely
engines, the V6 TDI with the actual V8 gas. The difference is 2.9 liters per
100 km, so over a year it's 580 liters at 1.50 each, that is 870$ a year. 

Over a standard lease of 4 years, that is 3480$.


So the gains in fuel economy are not huge, but the ROI could take as few as
4 years if the premium associated to the TDI is lower than the 5000$ for
that engine over the VR6 in the Q7. I guess this won't be the case since the
V6 TDI needs a lot of emission controls to meet the North-American targets. 

So, as I said before, Diesel must be marketed as a premium engine (cleaner,
torquier, greener) over the base, not only as the cheaper alternative. About
a month ago, I drove each version of the new Touareg (gas and TDI) and I
would buy the TDI without thinking twice. Performance was about equivalent,
but the 406 ft-lb of torque at 1600 rpm is what made me choose the TDI. 

Louis-Alain