sanity check in aisle 9.. 2005 a6 v8 sline

[Michael Veglia]

Bad news Jim, sorry to hear it, but glad to hear you are okay!

The only Audi 4.2 I have driven (besides a Q7) is, I suspect, the same one you drove (that red STaSIS S5 with the 6 speed). I sure didn't get even close to 27mpg ;)

Anyway, after a year and a half of allroad ownership I have to say these things grow on you. I never would have bought it, it was given to me by a generous close friend, but I sure am liking it for the combination of performance and versatility. So far it has not been the nightmare I anticipated. Mileage sucks at around 15 city and 21 highway (on crappy California gas which sucks the fuel economy out of the best of them). Then again pretty much everything I own seems to get around the same mileage. The big Ford truck a little less, the '83 UrQ (or maybe the '86 4kq) a little more, but really all are within a couple or three MPG of each other.

Not sure I can agree with newer is better. The mid-90s C4 chassis A6q avant was probably the best build quality and best reliability Audi I have ever had. There are so many little things about the C5 allroad that don't measure up. Maybe things have gotten better with the more recent generations. A V8 quattro with a manual would be on my short list of desirable Audis for sure so I can understand the allure. I thought it appropriate to toss out a plug for the elusive allroad 6spd (mine is a tip, I wish it weren't but beggars can't be choosers) just because they are so often overlooked by us Audi enthusiasts.

Mike Veglia