[fre2bpowerless]

Go for the 3.2 if you don't mind paying more for petrol. You can run it on regular petrol, it'll just be slightly slower. 93 RON is whats recommended though. Also, if they are ordering it expect to wait up to 6 months for both. Spec it well, your gonna be driving it for the next five years.

My other car is a 530d and you should consider it, more comfortable, more space and rwd makes it fun Take it for a spin, try the sport+ mode. :evil laugh:

[nishantmohan]

thanks everyone for valuable advice. I've pretty much decided on the diesel. I'm negotiating hard with audi fellows for a good price.

[androdev]

Test drive 530D like others suggested unless you are very much set on A4. The audi is definitely one hot car in its 3.0 trim, but 530D should match A4 3.0 in the drive department and exceed in every other department. Of course A4-3.0 is definitely a special car and an enthusiast car while 530D could be just about anyone's car.

[PlatzdaTurbo]

Originally Posted by androdev

Test drive 530D like others suggested unless you are very much set on A4. The audi is definitely one hot car in its 3.0 trim, but 530D should match A4 3.0 in the drive department and exceed in every other department. Of course A4-3.0 is definitely a special car and an enthusiast car while 530D could be just about anyone's car.

Would just like to add here-
Though my experience in the f10 (backseat) has been fairly brief , i guess it was enough for me to judge that the A4 on 17s will surely be more comfortable with better ride quality than the f10 running on run-flats. Not hugely but yes,marginally.
Feature-wise a fully loaded 3.0 tdi and f10 30d would be about fair & square (since night-vision ,HUD not offered on the f10).
IMHO, latest gen MMI high and iDrive are both pretty much intuitive and easy to operate. The MMI has a buttons to access every detail where as the iDrive has browsing keys to access each function.
Looks, personally of course i love the A4 but the f10 too ,though too soft is very elegant in design. Anyway looks are highly subjective. Some would like either car ,some would not.
As i said earlier somewhere, you could not go wrong with either. They look good,are loaded and offer near identical performance. Trust me its a wonderful dilemma to be in
Just a piece of advice here, if you still are looking at the 530d as an option, i would advice you to sit back to back in the rear seats of both, the A4 and 5. I say so as though the 5 is bigger on the outside, i am not sure how much that translates into substantially more space on the inside, especially the rear. You might want to check that.

[nishantmohan]

i'm set on the a4 as opposed to the f10 530d or the XF D S. I really like the f10 (530d and m5) and the jaguar but i don't see myself purchasing them at this point of time (even if i had the money). They don't suit me in many many ways.

I've sat in all three cars, they're fine....nothing noteworthy space wise. Only I will be in the car for 90% of time; maybe i'll be joined by someone on the front seat 5% of the time and remaining 5% is when going out with family or friends so i'm not really bothered about space. I'm sure it'll be enough.

[nishantmohan]

In some european forums and articles i came across something about a diesel particulate filter problem that plagues modern diesel cars from the 3rd-4th year of usage due to cold starts and start-stop usage. Apparently diesels are meant to be driven in certain powerband regularly so that the engine warms up and kind of settles in. My understanding of this isn't clear.

Can anyone please shed some more light on this? Also, should we be looking at this as a major issue?

thanks very much....

[PlatzdaTurbo]

Originally Posted by nishantmohan

In some european forums and articles i came across something about a diesel particulate filter problem that plagues modern diesel cars from the 3rd-4th year of usage due to cold starts and start-stop usage. Apparently diesels are meant to be driven in certain powerband regularly so that the engine warms up and kind of settles in. My understanding of this isn't clear.

Can anyone please shed some more light on this? Also, should we be looking at this as a major issue?

thanks very much....

Dont worry. I was aware about the DPF issues before i bought the Audi and was a bit skeptical about the whole matter.
Keep the car going frequently, use it and dont just keep it lying in the garage, rev it to the mid-range occasionally when you drive and you wont even remember the particulate filter issue after a point of time. Trust me, i have this baby for a year now and no issues regarding DPF have cropped up.
I repeat, keep driving it frequently. German Diesels = Meant to be driven extensively.

[ajmat]

I dont think DPF's have been added to India spec cars