A4QM Avant: First 1,000 miles (long)

["Shaun D. Mullen" <smullen@philly.infi.net>]

Some impressions, observations and such after the first 1,000 miles
behind the wheel of my new santorin blue mica '98 A4QM Avant:

-- It is a drop-dead gorgeous automobile, in my view perhaps the most
attractive wagon/estate since the Volvo P1800ES and Aston Martin
Shooting Brake.  The Avant looks lovely from any angle, especially those
that accentuate the upsweep of the waistline.  I loved the class and
sophisticated, if understated, design of my old '92 100CSQW, a beautiful
wagon in its own right, but the Avant is a whole different beast.  You
just want to throw a couple of mountain bikes on the roof rack and go. 
The santorin blue mica is lovely.  It is not the color I would have
preferred (my A4 is about as base an Avant as you can get; more about
that later), and I had no choice as to the color.  But I quickly became
enamored of the blue even if it tends to attract a little more attention
than I'd like.

-- The five-speed is great.  I'm sure the sports suspension would
further enhance the experience, but the stock setup is more than
adequate for my needs.  Ride and handling are terrific and, perhaps
needless to say, the car is substantially more tractable than my
100CSQW.  The factory-installed Contis (which is what the current run of
Avants are wearing) would not have have been my choice, but are
satisfactory.  They're quiet, and the car itself generates relatively
little wind noise.  The lighter weight, 190 ponies, 30 valves, manual
and quattro are a potent mix: 60mph comes up very quickly.

-- After many years of largish 200 and 700 series Volvo wagons and five
and a half years in my 100CSQW, the adjustment to a smaller automobile
has been a little difficult.  There is not a whole lot of rear legroom
with the front seats well back, and the rear deck seems way small
compared to my '92, especially with the lack of concealed storage
space.  (One flank storage area is filled with the jack and tool kit,
the other with a CD changer; there is no under-deck compartment as in
the old 100 and A6 wagons, which are great for stashing stuff.)  That
said, there is a fair amount of room, the deck just isn't exactly
cavernous.

-- Fit and finish are terrific, but some of the interior materials (fuse
box cover, the already notorious thrumming spare tire cover on the back
deck) seem a little cheap compared to my old 100CSQW.  The leatherette
seats are taking some getting used to, but that was a necessary
concession to get the price down.  Besides which, the seats are
comfortable and very supportive, so no big deal here.

-- Yes, the passenger-side mirror is too small.  And, as some others
have complained, the window controls are indeed too far back on the
driver's side door.

The premium Bose/Audi Concert sound system is awesome.  Although there
have been some complaints on the list from A4 owners about iffy radio
reception, I've been delighted to find that my favorite stations come in
a bit stronger now, no small consideration since I live pretty much on
the fringe of the FM reception area of the nearest big city and long
have had problems getting adequate signals from the far-left-of-the-dial
(read low power, public radio) stations I usually listen to.

-- A $30,000 car is out of the range of many of us on the list.  That
said, it is possible to find an A4 quttro Avant for about that or a few
pennies less at a time when the average price of a new car is $21,000
and few cars at any price can match this one.  Difficult, but possible. 
My sales guy and I looked at every Avant in the pipeline -- stateside,
at the dock in Wilmington, Del., on the high seas and at the factory,
and found exactly one that met my requirements: (1.) quattro, (2.)
5-speed, (3.) premium sound system (in the absence of there being a
wiring interface for a less expensive aftermarket CD unit, although one
apparently has just come onto the market).  Every other car in the
pipeline was semi- or well-loaded, mostly Tips, and the sticker quickly
climbed to $35,000 and well beyond.  Avants seem to be moving rather
slowly.  Everyone I talked to in doing my pre-purchase homework
attributed that to an unwieldy accessory mix.  But, there are no dealer
incentives -- publicized or hidden -- at this time.  My spy at Audi of
America says none are contimplated.

-- Did I consider the competition, such as it is?  I didn't give the
more expensive AWD Volvo a second thought and never considered the less
expensive Subaru.  After over 200,000 miles behind the wheel of a
quattro, nothing else would do.  My modest first 1,000 mile complaints
notwithstanding, the Avant is a quantum leap in virtually every respect
from my '92 100CSQW.  And was 10 big ones cheaper, to boot.

-- Did I have any doubts that I'd made a wise choice?  Not really,
although parting with my 100CSQW after 206k was sweet sorrow.  If I
needed any confirmation that my choice was indeed wise, it came the
first time I drove the Avant after dark.  It was raining heavily. 
Visibility sucked.  I had a one hour drive ahead of me -- a mix of big
city, freeway and narrow and twisty back country roads.  Probably
needless to say, I made the drive with aplomb.  The high beams were
awesome, the fog lights a great improvement over my old Audi.  The
braking response was sure.  And, as is its wont, the quattro made me
nearly oblivious to the wretched conditions outside as I sliced through
the rain and fog.

Shaun Mullen
West Grove, PA