[s-cars] POLE: wonderful dilema, S4 or Ultrasport?

[Andrew Beckert]

Personal opinion: Get the ultrasport, it's newer, she won't care about the
S4 power/performance and you'll get better mpg.  Saying this kind of makes
me a hypocrite as my fiancee drives our B5 S4 Avant primarily, but she's
also the resident speed demon and it's a manual, so different priorities.  I
would only recommend the b5 s4 if you were considering the manual.  Are you
her primary mechanic for the Beetle, if not, be prepared for that to change
with either car...  The b5 s4 is a great car, but you will spend some time
wrenching on it, I would say the engine itself is more bulletproof than the
1.8t, but the turbos are a bit less robust, (although I've never had a
failure in either 2.7t cars I've owned).  I would be more concerned about
the torque converter in a b5 s4 and the health of the transmission in
general.  The tips generally don't break completely, but at that mileage you
see alot with intermittent CEL due to the converter not locking completely.
This is pretty common on the tip cars after 50k or so of operation.  They
will continue to run just fine, you will just get slightly worse gas mileage
and the CEL will periodically pop on and off.  For these reasons, I would
say go with the Ultrasport.  It's newer, so you won't spend as much time on
your back, you'll get better mpg and I can't recommend a tip s4 due to the
robustness of the transmission.

ymmv,
Andrew


On Nov 6, 2007 11:49 PM, Aaron Ryba <aaronryba at yahoo.com> wrote:

> S heads,
>
> The time has finally come. I am once again in the market for a new (to me)
> car and was wondering what the all-powerful list would have to say. So with
> my first baby now on the way my has FINALLY decided to get rid of her
> beloved (to her) Limited edition, Luna Green 02 Beetle GLS for something
> with a few more doors and some room for a car seat and stroller. Thank GOD!
> She will not drive a stick so automatic is the only option here. I know, I
> know, How could I live, let alone marry and have children with someone who
> will only drive an automatic? Well, luckily she has many other fine
> qualities that make up for this character flaw. My dilemma now is what to
> get. My choices as I have narrowed them down thus fare are either a 2001/2
> B4 S4 Avant with about 60-80k miles OR a 2004 A4 B5 1.8T Ultrasport Avant
> with about 30-50k miles. With some recent research I figure good examples of
> each could be had for around $16-18k.
>
> While I am temped by the persistent dream of owning a B4 S4 Avant I think
> I would like the gas mileage and the better condition of the newer
> Ultrasport Avant over the S4. I also worry that an S4 would be more costly
> to run & repair once it gets up past 80k miles with two turbos and two more
> cylinders (my S6 is at 143k so I know it can go the distance, its just that
> you can't wait for parts to arrive when a baby needs to make it to a
> doctor's appointment). I have found some S4's for sale that have had the
> major service performed recently though (timing belt, water pump, etc.). I
> assume the 1.8T engine would be easier to work on and more importantly
> would require less attention since it would have possibly half the mileage
> of the S4's TT V6. I already have a 95 C4 S6 so I am familiar with a turbo
> engine and Audi cars in general (4kcsq before this) so I can put Bentley,
> ETKA and hopefully VAG-COM (in the near future) to use on this new machine
> if needed.
>
> I like both cars because since I am forced to get an automatic both of
> these come with the tiptronic steering wheel button shifter. I am likely to
> be the pilot on most all long drives. Has anyone used these things? I
> haven't had a chance to test drive with the buttons. I did get a chance to
> drive a 6spd B7 A4 2.0T recently with the basic Tip trans and it wasn't
> all that bad. The 1.8t has some great potential for tuning to get hp up to
> about 230 or so to keep pace with my S6 for a fairly cheap price. If I go
> with the S4 I'm not sure how much $$ I would spend to modify a car my wife
> would primarily drive since it already has some oomph.
>
> So, this car is really for my wife and not for me. I hesitate to go for
> the S4 when she might not even care about all that extra horsepower, torque
> and sporty suspension. Might we be better off with the Ultrasport since it
> is newer, better on gas, cheaper and easier to work on?  I can only assume
> the newer less complex Ultrasport will be more reliable. But an S4!!! Ah,
> decisions, decisions. Recently my wife crunched the side skirt of her bug
> and punctured a tire which resulted in what will most likely be $600+ in
> damages for new tires, mounting & balancing, alignment and bodywork. The
> point is maybe an older car with a few more blemishes will be a better bet
> for someone who isn't as anal retentive as me to keep it in the best
> condition?
>
> I was also thinking about an A3 just for the DSG tranny paddle shifters
> but the prices are still considerably high and it's not much car for the
> money compared to a slightly used A4 or S4. Also always liked......dare I
> say it here......the Volvo V70R and MazdaSpeed3 but prices are still fairly
> high for the Volvo and the Mazda interior just can't compete with Audi not
> to mention front wheel drive only. I'm pretty much sold on a new Audi, it's
> just which one to get. Any thoughts and comments are appreciated.
>
> Aaron Ryba
> Upstate SC
>
>
>
>
>
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