[s-cars] S4 Replacement

[Igor Kessel]

calvinlc at earthlink.net wrote:
> My wife and I have a 2.7T A6 with the tiptronic due to her having shoulder
> problems and my opinion is that the guy who did the programming for the
> automatic transmission should be exiled to Siberia!  The thing sometimes
> takes a second or more to shift down, the shifts are not what I would call
> "inspired," and the "tiptronic" thing is no different than what a ratchet
> shifter gave a '78 Camaro...well except for the fact that you could add the
> $28 shift kit there and get some respectable tire barking shifts.  I hope
> the S6 is better.  Does anybody know if APR or any of the other chip
> companies mess around with the auto transmission programming? I would pay a
> good deal just to get shifting as good as what a vacuum modulator gave you
> back in the 70's and 80's.  We dorve the Allroad when we were looking at the
> A6 and just decided the extra money wasn't worth the extra room since we had
> a pickup for Home Depot duties, as well as the 200 Avant.
> --Calvin
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: s-car-list-bounces at audifans.com
> [mailto:s-car-list-bounces at audifans.com]On Behalf Of John Farr
> Sent: Sunday, March 20, 2005 5:50 PM
> To: s-car-list at audifans.com
> Subject: [s-cars] S4 Replacement
> 
> 
> My '93 S4 just turned 211,000 miles, still running great, but I need to
> replace it as my daily driver. I was considering a used M5, but price,
> maintenance (I have a great independent Audi mechanic), and the need to
> drive a mountain pass in the snow every day in the winter ruled this
> out.
> I'm down to the choice between an '02 or '03 S6 Avant and a 6 speed
> Allroad. I know I can tweak the 2.7T to S-Car performance levels, but
> what about the Allroad suspension?
> Nobody seems to sell upgrades or airbag deletion options.
> My issue with the S6 is the tiptronic. I've always driven manuals,
> although after driving a S6, it didn't seem too bad in the manual mode.
> Anybody out there have a S-Car with a tip that wants to share their
> thoughts? What do you think of the super Allroad option? I defer to the
> great wisdom of the list. Any help would be much appreciated.
> John Farr
> '93 S4 Emerald/Ecru

Now wait a minute! Siberia's untapped nature is absolutely gorgeous and 
Siberia is inhabited by warm-hearted and notoriously hospitable people. 
Just make sure you visit it in July. :)

John,
If I were you I would w/o a doubt choose the Allroad. Oh, wait a minute. 
I did choose the Allroad! :)

A year ago exactly when we decided to get something bigger for my wife 
to replace her 1998 A4 1.8t quattro we bought her a 2004 Allroad 2.7tt. 
What promoted us to hurry was the rumour that Audi were to discontinue 
the 6-speed manual turbo cars beginning 2005 m.y. and my wife refuses to 
touch automatic cars with a 10m pole. We were assured by AoA that the 
Allroad would follow the sad and miserable way that the A6 2.7tt had 
gone that year. If you recall the A6 manual was discontinued beginning 1 
January 2004 and it was replaced by the joke on wheels named A6 S-line 
(automatic only). Thus I sold her A4 in a hurry and got her the Allroad.

It turned out that AoA was full of it and the manual Allroad was to be 
available for one more year: 2005. But I digress.

The car is phenomenal. We absolutely love it. I would strongly recommend 
getting yourself a manual car if this is what you're used to. You will 
never be happy with the automatic. I often hear that "with this much 
power you don't need a stick shift" from people who are completely 
missing the point. It's not the acceleration that matters. It's the 
braking ability and the turn-in surefootness of a car with a dry clutch 
that we hold so dear. Last year I test drove an S8 and an RS6 and left 
both cars underwhelmed and unimpressed. No stick? Thank you, but no, 
thank you.

The suspension in the Allroad is easily done with the VAG-COM (go search 
audiworld.com on the "402 mod")

Also keep in mind that the Allroad gets its unique 6-speed box geared 
for towing. Its gears are spaced very tightly if you compare it to the 
6-speed in the A6 2.7tt and its rear is 4.38 and not the 4.11 as the one 
in the A6. This makes the manual Allroad lightning quick from the 
standstill.

Money permitting I'd get the 2005 Allroad since it is the last year of 
production and we all know that Audi seems to like to field test its 
cars on consumers. The best part is, if you're like me and hate leather 
with a passion, you will be able to get the Allroad with its gorgeous 
plaid interior. All in all I bought my 2004 Atlas Grey for $37,200, with 
Grey Plaid interior and no options whatsoever. I retrofitted the HID later.

Good luck.
-- 
Igor Kessel
two turbo quattros