Audi was better than BMW & Mercedes-Benz at one point, but lost its way in India.

BHPian manson recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Varying with individual preferences (stellar ride quality, terrific NVH, interior quality, boot space, reasonably priced extended warranty packages, terrific engine note) the cars are at par if not better in comparison to their BMW and Mercedes counterparts.

However, the brand had lost its way in India and is more than making up for it with deep discounts enabling potential buyers to access luxury half or a full segment higher (A6 vs C Class, Q7 vs GLC, etc.) than they would have been with BMW or Mercedes counterparts.

30 months and 36K with my A4 and I simply love its all-roundedness. It would have been a match made in heaven if it had come with Quattro, cooled front seats, a cooled glovebox and extended thigh support for the front seats but then there's a good chance it would not have fit into my price band at all. Might as well enjoy 95 per cent of der kuchen at 80 per cent of the cost than do without it altogether.

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While we had booked a BMW 3 series and X1, we were issued an Audi A4 and a Jeep Compass 4xe.

BHPian RS01 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

A long pending trip to Europe happened recently. The initial plan was for my parents to visit my brother and sister-in-law in Amsterdam for a few months. Me, my wife and kid had not planned this time due to prior work commitments. But while browsing the calendar one fine day, we spotted a window of opportunity, where two consecutive longish weekends during December end, clubbed with a few leaves, could give us around 10 days off. Hurriedly, the VISA was applied and thankfully received in time.

While we quickly shopped for winterwear, Brother and SIL meticulously planned our visit to the famous Christmas markets and a relaxing getaway for 3-4 days. Two rental cars, one SUV and one Sedan, were booked to accommodate all of us and our luggage. We reached Amsterdam on 21st December and promptly got ready for the trip the next day. While we had booked a BMW 3 series and X1, we were issued an Audi A4 and a Jeep Compass 4xe. Both cars were Automatics. A4 was in its estate configuration. Being a mild hybrid Sedan, it was more akin to my current daily driver back in Mumbai – Ciaz, in its features and drivability. Jeep, however, was a plug-in hybrid, but was given to us without the charger or any charge in the batteries. Surprisingly, both cars were without any spare wheels, as these seem to be prone to theft. We had also opted for a child seat, which was affixed to the Audi.

We brought the vehicles home and loaded our luggage. Boot space in A4-estate was larger and it accommodated most of our bags. The ladies opted for A4 and the men dutifully moved to the Jeep.I took to the wheel and, I must say, driving a left-hand drive vehicle seemed awkward for the initial few kilometers. Brother took the responsibility of navigation and we decided to lead the way as onboard GPS seemed to show an easier route through the city.

We started around noon towards Cologne, Germany. The jeep felt pretty heavy and the engine seemed to pull with effort at slow speeds, but was more relaxed once on the highway. European cities and highways have much higher speed limits than back here in India. Although it was fun to drive at such speeds, a standard Mumbaikar, driving daily for hours in bumper-to-bumper traffic, is always subconsciously cautious of someone jumping from somewhere right in front of you or cutting across from the wrong side. This clubbed with the daunting task of keeping the vehicle strictly within the two white lines on the road, was honestly stressful!! (I later learned that the vehicle was more at fault than me though, more on this in a bit). The drive otherwise was enjoyable and it was dark when we reached Cologne and checked in to our hotel. We promptly changed and rushed to the Christmas markets in the city. We used public transport for the city visits as many places were no vehicle zones and finding a parking nearby would have been a challenge.

The Christmas markets turned out to be very interesting with festivities in full swing and shops selling festive items and food. While we tried some local delicacies, interestingly, we also found a Nepalese stall selling chole-chawal and momos. The next morning was spent visiting the Cathedral, gorging on spectacular city views atop the Koln Triangle, buying fragrances and perfumes, and having lunch, before departing to Valkenberg.

We even spotted a Car with wings atop a museum.

Instead of checking into a hotel, we stayed at a beautiful, river-facing bungalow in Valkenberg. The place was quite serene. Occasionally, we saw barge ships quietly using the river for people and material transportation. We visited the famous Cave Market, which is a market in the labyrinth of passageways underneath the old castle of the city. The next morning, we drove to the Three-country-point, Dreilandenpunt, which is a meeting point of three country borders – Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany. We entered through the Netherlands, crossed Germany, and parked our cars in Belgium, all within a matter of minutes. After a lot of photographs and a good lunch, we left the place to drive back home.

In the Schengen Area, one can drive freely between countries and there are no stoppages or toll plazas to demarcate the international borders. On the highways, one can sense slight changes in the road conditions between the countries. Highways in the Netherlands were more well-maintained and well-lit than those in Germany and Belgium.

During the trip, we had the pleasure of driving in varied driving conditions. We covered 840 kilometers in 4 days and encountered clear weather, rains, strong winds, storms, and snow. Shorter December days meant part of the driving was through the night. This gave us ample opportunity to test the vehicles under varied circumstances.

Although some ADAS features on the Jeep were useful and enjoyable, others were outright annoying. It had Adaptive Cruise Control but, at triple-digit speeds, the distance for the vehicle to ‘adapt’ was a little too less in my opinion. I’m not sure if the distance between cars for Adaptive CC to kick in is a static configuration or is dynamic based on speed, but I must admit, at times, it got frighteningly close to the vehicle in front before slowing down to match the speed. I had to manually override in a few instances and brake.

Headlights’ throw was very poor and was constantly on the low beam; couldn’t be switched to the high beam no matter what I did. This was really frustrating in some low-light situations.

Now, for the lane keep assist. This was a major reason for my stress during the trip. Every time the vehicle steered away from the white lane markings, it gave a loud beep until it was steered back between the lanes. Pretty standard, no problem. But the trouble was that it veered away quite often. Initially, I though the lane markings were too close for a big vehicle, but seeing much bigger trucks on the same lanes negated that possibility. First day, I couldn’t do much other than keep it within the lanes and drive. Once we reached the hotel, I performed some quick tests, and my doubts were confirmed that the wheel alignment was way off. The Jeep always steered off to the right, with or without steering input. IMHO, it was a rented 4-wheel drive vehicle and might have been put to harsh conditions previously and may not have been maintained accordingly.

Some other observations on the Jeep:

• Ingress and egress were easier compared to the sedan.

• Seat was comfortable for long-distance driving. The steering had a rake and reach adjustments.

• The music system was brilliant. Songs on the Radio sounded quite good.

• Jeep was a serious Fuel Guzzler. It had 3 buttons towards the left of the steering wheel – Petrol, Hybrid, and Electric. To open the petrol tank lid, one must press this Petrol button. The fuel tank did not have a cap. Instead, the nozzle was to be inserted through a rubber contraption. We had to refuel it 4 times, whereas Audi was refueled only twice. We did not get to test it on electric mode and the batteries did not charge during the run for hybrid either.

• The back seat of the Jeep felt cramped. My 6+ ft. father felt stuck in the back seat with very little space all around. The dark interiors further made the place less roomy. The boot was also not very spacious.

• Engine grunt was audible in the cabin at most speeds and more so when it accelerated. Vibrations were felt throughout the journey.

In contrast, the Audi was so smooth that there was hardly anything to write about. I drove it for a while and it was a totally different experience. The comfy drive and cozy child seat ensured that my kid slept through most of the journey. No vibrations or engine noise were noticed. Fuel efficiency was much higher and it had ample space for its occupants.

Overall, the trip was very enjoyable and refreshed us thoroughly. Hope you enjoyed reading as much as we enjoyed the trip.

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Starting with a wash to hose off any dust and dirt marks

BHPian JoshMachine recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

New AMC, but the same old charm

Since my previous annual AMC with Glosswerkz expired a couple of months ago, I was planning to get it renewed. However, in spite of reaching out to them a few times, there was radio silence from their end. So I had to look elsewhere.

A car aficionado (trying for TBHP membership)in my society suggested I try out the newly opened CarzSpa studio in Bavdhan. I casually gave them a call and they immediately latched onto the request, providing all the required details promptly. I went to the studio to have a look and I was impressed by the 5000 sq ft setup. The owner Mr. Karthikeya seemed to understand the technicalities of detailing to a good extent, and offered a good deal for premium wash AMC.

I will let the pictures do the talking, as a step-by-step process.

Starting with a wash to hose off any dust and dirt marks:-

Next, the wheel wells and the alloys:-

Cleaning off the dirt:-

Followed by ASMR foam:-

Some tender scrubbing:-

Hosing off again:-

Oft-neglected underbody spraying:-

Next up, the interiors getting cleaned and vacuumed:-

After some more TLC, voila - glory back again:

You beaut!

Some more action out on the streets:-

With Pune clouds playing hide and seek, got a really good classy shot for that wallpaper:-

And one for the keeps:-

With that, the odo is inching closer to the 25,000 km mark.

Cheers.

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The Audi A4 Technology variant costs Rs. 50.99 lakh (ex-showroom).

Audi has introduced new features on the A4 'Technology' variant. The carmaker has also added new colour options.

The A4 Technology variant now comes with a B&O audio system with 3D sound and a flat-bottom steering wheel. The updated A4 range is also available in two new colour schemes: Tango Red and Manhattan Gray.

The A4 is available in three variants – Premium, Premium Plus and Technology, with prices starting at Rs 43.12 lakh. The top-spec Technology trim costs Rs 50.99 lakh (ex-showroom).

The A4 is powered by a 2.0-litre, 4-cylinder, turbo-petrol engine that produces 187 BHP and 320 Nm and is paired with a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. The engine comes with mild-hybrid tech and has a regenerative braking function.

The Audi A4 Premium variant to get the steepest hike.

Audi India will increase the prices of the A4 by up to Rs 2.63 lakh from July 1, 2022.

According to a dealership, the price of the 'Technology' variant will be hiked by Rs 98,000, while the 'Premium Plus' trim will cost Rs 1.38 lakh more. The 'Premium' variant to get the steepest hike.

It is also said that inventories are low and dealers are only offering marginal discounts on the model.

Meanwhile, Audi is said to be gearing up to launch the new Q3 around October-November, this year.

Thanks to BHPian sampadroy for sharing this information with other enthusiasts!

The car is performing really well. Zero rattles, squeaks and problems. The combined average over the 8000 Km is 13.8 Km/L which is really good.

BHPian sauravpat recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

5 months and already 8000 kilometres in!

The dent mentioned in the previous post was removed very easily. Little bit of heat and it popped out. Minimal evidence that it was ever there.

The car is performing really well. Zero rattles, squeaks and problems. The combined average over the 8k kilometres is 13.8 kpl which is really good.

On a recent drive to Mumbai and back, we got a fuel economy of 16.5 kpl throughout (including city driving in Mumbai and Pune). The engine seems to have completed the running in period and efficiency has gone up by around 10%.

Only iffy thing about the whole Audi experience so far has been the MyAudi connect app which is showing a different kilometres driven reading as compared to the odometer. The app is showing a discrepancy of around 450 kilometres as compared to the car odo reading. Important lesson to be taken is not to believe distance driven from an app while buying a used car in the near future when we will buy cars with connected apps in the used market. This problem has been observed by fellow BHPians as well so it is clearly a problem in the app. Other than that nothing to report which is a good thing in itself.

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I did consider a Tesla with the recent fuel price hikes but considering how much I drive and the questionable fit and finish of the Model 3 I decided to stick with the Audi.

BHPian rockporiom recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

BHPian rockporiom recently shared his 3-year ownership experience of his pre-owned Audi A4 sedan, after selling off his 2013 BMW 328i. Here is his detailed experience.

Update: I decided to pull my cost data and statistics for the A4 since I bought it. I use Fuelio to track all expenses related to the car, which might give some insight into associated costs with owning a B9.

Funny enough, I loved my 328i despite all the pain. I just cannot get past that awesome handling and weight distribution that car had. My car did have quite a lot of use, I had just moved to Windsor from the Greater Toronto Area and all my friends were still there so every other weekend I would drive down there. Funny story on a side note, my friend who came with me to look at the cars became my friend based on our craziness for road trips and cars, we were working together and on a Friday while walking to the parking lot after work I just spontaneously asked.

• Me: You wanna grab a bite? I know this place with great shawarma
• Him: he said sure where is it at?
• Me: Toronto
• Him: umm ya sure

I kid you not we drove down 400 km one way for shawarma and drove back the same night. It was a lot of fun, but that just goes on to show how the car was used and to be honest considering it was probably abused and been in a collision with the previous owner it makes me think if it had been taken care of it may not have had half the problems it did. If you take care of the car in most cases it would return the favour.

With regards to electric cars and usage. My back injury aggravated a lot over the last 2 years and covid didn't give me any option to travel in 2020 so my driving has reduced to quite an extent. The A4 to be honest is living a comfortable life with most usage now being within the city with only 2-3 trips being longer than 300 km in one go. Where my BMW did 80,000 in 2 years the A4 has done 40,000 km in about 3 years. I did consider a Tesla with the recent fuel price hikes but considering how much I drive and the questionable fit and finish of the Model 3 I decided to stick with the Audi.

BMW did indeed have quite a few problems with their initial turbocharged gasoline engines but now the B48 and B58 are one of the best engines out there giving many other forced induction ICE engines a run for their money. Many auto magazines refer to the B58 as the modern 2JZ. Diesel really isn't an option in North America, after the diesel gate debacle, almost all manufacturers have shied away from offering diesel engine choices. Most diesel engines are in SUVs in a much higher price bracket.

For parts, yes Germans will punish you hard whenever a major repair comes in, I guess it's just the way they decided to do things based on who their targeted customer base is. It is a bit unfortunate and honestly if it wasn't for them forcing replacing entire assemblies/shafts for a small problem I may have decided to stick with my F30.

Build quality wise BMW does feel a step below Audi but a step above Mercedes. BMWs suffer from rattles and creaks after a few thousand kilometres whereas the Audi doesn't have a single squeak in 80,000 km. I had disassembled the entire dash in my F30 and lined it with noise dampening material and felt tape to stop the rattle as it was driving me nuts. In doing this I noticed the construction of materials and how they had used metal and plastic together which was bound to eventually start creaking/rattling. BMW's target audience has mainly been the leasing market, in the USA their most popular method of sale is a 36-month lease and funny enough their included service has also now been reduced from 4 years to 3 years. Now even in Canada, the residuals have been adjusted to make the 36-month lease more lucrative than the 48-month option. Considering most owners would get rid of their cars within 30-36 months of ownership they probably wouldn't notice any of the rattles. Considering the depreciation and if you are good with being hands-on with your cars/doing DIY you can fix most of these rattles/niggles and get one heck of a used car for a bargain if you hunt well.

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Estonia has speed limits of 50 (70 on some roads) in the city, and 90 or 110 on highways. And I have no words to explain how my right foot is aching to just bury the throttle.

BHPian iceman7 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I have taken my first step into the world of the German Trinity; I bought myself a pre-loved Audi A4 2.0 TFSI Quattro.

What I like

• Clean, straight, timeless design. Not a single design line is out of place or forced.
• FAST 2.0 TFSI engine. 221 BHP & 350 Nm Torque.
• Rapid 7-speed S-Tronic gearbox.
• .Time tested quattro AWD – which I am using to the fullest on our snowed/iced roads.
• 0 – 100 km/h in 6.4 seconds.
• Mature ride and handling. 225 width rubber sticks to the tarmac offering tremendous grip.
• Mile muncher and a very capable long-distance tourer.
• Punchy 12-speaker sound system – deep bass and clear vocals.
• Stellar safety kit.
• Traction control which can be switched off.
• Heated seats (all 4) – extremely useful in North Europe.
• Ergonomics – multiple seat and steering settings help you find your PERFECT driving position.
• The 4-spoke steering wheel.
• Analog Instrument cluster – have always loved the fonts and color Audi use.
• All black leather interiors.
• Solid build quality.
• Slow ageing interiors and exteriors. The car is from 2015, and it does not show its age. Inside or out.
• Spacious boot.

What I don’t

• 7.5 – 9 kmpl in the city – par for the course, to be fair.
• Rear floor hump makes it a 4-seater.
• Slightly cramped interior at the back – legroom wise.
• Lack of Bluetooth audio streaming to play music – fixed this using a plug-in BT adapter.
• Lack of in-built navigation – Waze to the rescue.
• Lack of air vents for rear passengers.
• Current set of alloy wheels the car came with – Resolved now. Swapped with new wheels which will be winter wheels.
• Long term reliability of the 7 speed S-Tronic. Although from what I am reading, the S-Tronic is a bit different from the 7-speed DSG, and hence more robust & reliable. Time will tell!
• Maintaining a Black car – it’s my first Black car. Like an epiphany, I realized much later that maintenance is going to be painful. Not a deal-breaker, just needs extra care.
• Cost of spare parts – this is uncharted territory for me currently.

Sharp front. Still stylish after 7 years.

Rear quarter after a night in the snow. Notice the new wheels.

Simple, well laid out instrument cluster. Love the fonts.

The 4-spoke steering is meaty to hold.

Background & introduction

Unlike Netflix, there is no SKIP button here, so y’all going to have to read this.

The used car market in Estonia is insane. The variety and choice of pre-loved cars you can buy with a budget of EUR 25,000 (INR 21 lakhs) is just mind-boggling. Bump that up to EUR 30,000 and you can probably buy just about any marquee. This led to an expected problem for me – I was a kid in a candy store. My choice of what I wanted to buy changed every day. One day I wanted an Octavia RS, the next day a 3-series, next day a 5-series, next an E-class, next a Seat Leon, at one point I wanted an Impreza WRX STI. Such is the choice available. Absolute bonkers! After weeks of mindless browsing and going through hundreds of listings, I narrowed down my choice to an Octavia RS, 3-series, or a 5-series if I found a clean example.

I am quintessentially a BMW guy at heart. I couldn’t own one in India because of the upfront purchase cost and on-going maintenance costs. In Europe, it’s the opposite - wide choice of clean pre-loved cars, and a great support ecosystem of skilled (non-dealership) technicians. This gave me the confidence, and more importantly, the affordability to look at BMWs. Or Audis or Mercs for that matter. As any self-respecting petrol head, I have lusted after a powerful, RWD BMW ever since I remember. Destiny had other things planned.

Up next was the Octavia RS. Same story as the BMW. Wide choice supported by a great service ecosystem. Add to this, the Octavia RS is absolute VFM and checks all the boxes. Sturdy, handles well, looks good, is spacious on the inside, has loads of luggage space, and more importantly, comes with a 2 liter, 165 KW (221 HP) engine. What’s not to like!

I trawled through our local website for used cars and earmarked all RS and 3-series models I was interested in. There was one stumbling block though – I hadn’t got my driver’s license yet. I had completed all my exams but was waiting for the final driving exam at the State Transport department. Wait time, 3 months. Painful 3 months. This meant I couldn’t go and test any of the cars I liked. Just sit and look at them. This was in August 2021, with the exam scheduled for the end of October.

Then something else happened during that time. Due to local government regulation, eligible members of the Estonian population could withdraw a part of their pension. This immediately meant more cash in hand, which led to demand for consumer goods, including cars. Due to the global shortage of chips, new car deliveries are backed up. What compounds the issue is that Estonia is an extremely small market – 1.3 million residents in the country – so it naturally sits way down the queue if you compare it to France or Germany. A close friend wanted to buy a new Octavia; the dealership gave him a 10-month waiting time. This happened to a lot of people. They had the money to buy a new car, but they couldn’t have it today. This demand spilled over to the used car market. Suddenly, someone who was out in the market to buy a brand-new Octavia could buy a sweet, sweet 5-series for the same amount of money, immediately. The GOD’s of Economics awoke and thundered “If thy shall bring high demand, I shall increase prices!” And that is exactly what happened. Used car prices spiked. Well at least of those that remained on the shelves. All the cars I had shortlisted sold out in a month. Gone! PooF! I decided to put the whole search process on hold till I got my license. What is the point in drooling after something when you know you can’t get it today?

Getting my license. Well, almost.

End October arrived. Happy as a puppy, I went for my driving exam. Messed up a roundabout, failed the exam, and back to the 3-month queue for the next exam. Everything after that was a haze but come early December, we got a lot of snow in Estonia. Heaps and piles of snow. And no, Sir, it wasn’t going anywhere. This meant a lot of people who weren’t confident to drive in the snow started to cancel their driving exams and free up exam slots. I jumped at the opportunity and took the first available slot I could find. Come rain, come hail, come fire, come snow, I was doing the exam. D-Day arrived. Snow on the streets, driving examiner on my passenger seat, and an Opel under my butt, we set off on the exam. Long story short, I cleared the exam. Made minor errors but were overlooked because there was snow on the streets. Hello to the newest eligible driver in Estonia! We are going car shopping again!

Car hunt – Part 2

This time around, I didn’t have to go through the process of deciding what I wanted. The months between my 2 exams gave me time to think, set priorities, and decide a budget. I went out on a focused search – a 3-series, or an Octavia RS. All good RS-es were sold. The one’s available were either too expensive or had more than 150,000 KMS on the ODO. A lot of good 3-series models were around, so started to shortlist them and decide when to test them. An acquaintance works at the local BMW dealership, so whenever I liked a car, I would send her the VIN # and she would get me the full history of the car. The local BMW dealership also had a good bunch of used, dealer certified BMWs on sale, so I agreed to go and check them out. If you have been paying attention, life had other plans.

Car hunt – The twist

During my entire search process, not once did I search for an A4. I had looked for C and E classes, but no Audis. Out of sheer curiosity, I checked A4s that could be had for my budget. I found two – both, 2.0 TFSI Quattro. One of them had 77000 odd KMS on the odo, looked clean, and was priced well. When I saw pictures of the car, the surroundings looked very familiar, so I called the owner and asked for the address where I could see the car. As it turned out, he lived 4 houses down from one of my friends. Checked with my friend and he confirmed he had seen the car around and seems to be a clean car. We agreed to meet on Saturday for me to see the car. WILDCARD option has entered the room!

Saturday arrived. I made a run to a Skoda dealership that had a silver 320d xDrive sitting with them. The dealership was closed, so I moved on to the BMW dealership. The inventory of cars they had in there was staggering. 3s, 4s, 5s, X5s, you name it and they had it. I took fancy to a nice blue 320d wagon. There was one sales guy working and he had just gotten engaged with a customer before I walked in. I kept browsing, but time was ticking. I needed to go all the way across the city, to the outskirts to see the A4. It gets dark by 1530 in December, so I had to make good use of the remaining few hours of daylight. I excused myself from the dealership saying I would come back the following week (which I had all intentions of doing). Off to see the A4 then.

Reached my friend's place, got into his Kia Stinger (which I must say is magnificent to drive) and headed to see the A4. Introductions were made, and as soon as the owner found out that my friend lives 4 houses down the road, things got easier. Looked around the car, inside/outside and all looked super clean. Then we went for a spin. Remember, the streets were still filled with snow. This was my first time driving the 2.0 TFSI, so I was gentle with it. Drove it for 20 mins and it pulled well, went through the gears well, made no sounds while driving, and just felt tight and right. And of course, I got my first taste of what quattro is capable of handling.

The car had 77000 odd KMS on the odo. It is a 2015 make A4 which was purchased by the Ministry of Finance in 2015 and changed hands to the next owner in 2018. Used as a second car, it barely did 11000 KMS a year (which is less by Estonian standards). No accidents, maintained at the Audi showroom, records available. I loved the car. I had forgotten all about the BMWs I was going to see. This just felt right. Next up, we spoke about money. The car didn’t come with summer tires or wheels (they are expected as a standard part of the deal here), so I had room to negotiate. We agreed on the price, but I wanted time to think it over. The owner was in no hurry to sell, so we agreed that I will sleep over it and let him know the next day. Till then, he would hold the car for me. Got back home and spent the whole evening reading about A4s, quattro, and especially the 7-speed gearbox. One big advantage I had with the A4 was that it was at a price where I could buy it without a lease or loan. The BMWs I saw were a bit pricier, and I didn’t want to part away with liquid money for that price range. When I woke up the next morning, I had my answer. Messaged the owner and told him we had a deal. I just bought myself (although verbally) my first ever German. My first Audi!

Transfer of ownership

The car was leased with a bank. This meant I couldn’t just pay the money and bring it home. The current owners would first have to pay the outstanding lease amount, then get the car transferred in their name, and then sell it to me. If I went for the leasing option, it would take 3 weeks for me to get my hands on the car. Plus, there was the Christmas and New Years week in between which would have slowed things further. After waiting for so long, I wasn’t ready to wait any more, especially when we were on the penultimate step. We agreed that I wasn’t leasing, and I would make them the transfer as soon as the car was in their name. Estonia is a high trust economy where your word is sacred. If you say it, you do it. Period. If I backed out of the deal now, this would mean the current owners paid a chunk of money to the bank for nothing and messed up their cash flow. I had practically bought the car. Monday morning the owner paid back the lease balance to the bank. I checked with them how long the transfer would take, and I was told it would be 2 days. I set my expectations for taking the car on Wednesday.

Tuesday evening, the owner called. Car was in their name, and we were free to make the sale. I had just finished work, so immediately got onto making the money transfer to them, and then set off to pick up the car and complete the paperwork. Estonia is 100% digital paperwork. Almost everything you want to do with government services can be done online. I reached the owner's place, we signed a physical contract of sale, went to the transport department website, and transferred the car to my name. That simple. 1 form, a few clicks, a digital signature, and the car was transferred to me. I was now a proud owner of an Audi A4 2.0 TFSI quattro!

Driving the 2.0 TFSI quattro

The 2.0 TFSI was sold in various power variants in Europe. The one I picked up comes with a healthy 165 kW (221 HP) of power. The engine is mated to a 7-speed S-tronic gearbox. After reading all DSG horror stories, this was the only concern I had while buying the car. From the articles I have read online, I have understood that while in essence, the S-tronic is similar to the VW DSG (dual-clutch, et al), the difference lies in the fact that S-tronic uses dual multi-plate wet clutches. These are specific for Longitudinally mounted engines and have dual separate oiling circuits (1 for controls, 1 for gears). This box can handle max torque of 440 Nm. While this lays my mind to rest partially, I do understand that this is a highly complex and sensitive gearbox, so I have my fingers crossed! That said, and make no mistakes, it is as feisty as I expected it to be. Lightning-fast gearshifts that you don’t even notice, eager to upshift, aggressive kick down, and will hold high revs in M mode. I have no idea how high it can rev before upshifting, and I have not had the heart nor road conditions to do that. The car doesn’t come with paddle shifters, but you can push the gear lever to the right to engage S mode, and then push it forwards for upshifts or backwards for downshifts.

In D mode, the car will rapidly upshift at or just before 2000 RPM and I am usually doing 90 kmph in D7 with the revs at 1500. Push the throttle at this stage and it immediately drops a couple of cogs (at times 3), and suddenly the world is coming at you faster than it was a few seconds before. There is some drama. You see the revs jump, you are pushed back in your seat, and you feel the quattro system intelligently deliver the right amount of power to the right (correct) wheel and propelling you ahead. In the city, I am pottering around at 50 kmph in D6 or D7.

Estonia has speed limits of 50 in the city, 70 on some roads in the city, and 90 or 110 on highways. As a new license holder, I try very hard to stay within these limits, and I do. But others don’t. And I have no words to explain how my right foot is aching to just bury the throttle. In the 20 years I have been driving, I have learnt the most self-restraint in the past few months. That said, overtaking traffic on highways is a breeze. You are doing 90 in D7 at a whisker under 1500 rpm. To overtake, you change lanes and bury the throttle. Before you know it, you are doing well over 120 and past the object you set out to overtake. Proper, proper fun. I had absolutely no idea that Turbo petrols can be this much fun. And all of this feels safe inside the cocoon of the car. How, you ask?

quattro

quattro = magic happening. You press the throttle, you feel all 4 wheels moving, you are launched ahead of everyone around you, proper on rails. Take it on snowed roads and just experience the quattro system absolutely dominating everything else around it.

Technically, Audi uses a full-time AWD system (trademarked as) quattro. This permanent all-wheel-drive system uses a center differential to deliver power 40/60 F/R in normal situations, and up to 70/30-15/85 F/R in extreme use case situations. My knowledge of the quattro system is limited to what I read, and what I experience daily, so I am keen to learn more about how it works.

Practically, this has been of great use to me. We get snow here from December (if we are lucky) until the end of March. And when it snows, it snows. No mercy at all. The quattro system has got me out of quite a few tricky situations that a RWD would surely not be able to handle. Latest situation being a 120 kms highway drive where the highway was covered with slush, standing water, and snow. Every morning I see my neighbors in their RWD and FWD cars struggle to get out of our parking lot, and then all the AWDs drive like nothing has happened. There are pros and cons to having the quattro. The biggest con is the weight distribution and handling attributes. An AWD is safer, but a RWD is more fun.

Handling

I am currently riding on 225/50/17 Bridgestone snow/ice/winter tires. These are specifically designed for driving on snow/ice and have more grooves than a regular summer tire. Add to that, they have nails/spikes embedded to be able to grip in snow, and more importantly on ice. Before I moved here, I had no clue about how different driving in/on snow and driving on ice could be. Driving on snow feels more like driving on sand – sometimes packed, sometimes loose. Driving on ice is another thing altogether. Think of a surface that is glazed and with zero grip. Too ambitious on the throttle and you will lose traction immediately. Too late on the brakes or panic braking and you are rendered a helpless passenger in the events that follow. The spiked tires and quattro make things a lot easier and more manageable. Push the throttle and the car senses how much grip each wheel has and delivers appropriate power or braking to respective wheels. You need to try hard to trick the quattro into making a mistake. Driving in snow/ice is the most difficult in a RWD because you are constantly gauging how much throttle you need and keeping the back in place. But it’s a lot more fun for sure.

Quattro combined with disc brakes on all 4 wheels makes handling a lot more predictable on the A4. European cars will offer you the handling dynamics that the Japs or Koreans very often can’t. The steering is weighted perfectly – not too light, not too heavy. It’s just perfect in its weight and calibration. I am unsure at this moment if it is an EPS or a Hydraulic one. My money is on it being an EPS. The car does feel a bit front-heavy, and I haven’t had the opportunity to test how fast it will take corners, but I am pretty sure it will do just fine.

The 225/50/17 tires are meaty, cushy and offer the perfect balance of ride quality and comfort. You do feel some bumps transfer to your backside, but nothing dramatic or bone-shattering. Perhaps when I switch to summer tires and upsize, is when I will see a significant difference. 225 width offers a wide surface contact and traction – especially when power is sent to all 4 wheels. The only times they have broken traction is when I have purposefully been hard on the throttle in the snow trying to drift the car a bit. The traction control system lets you have fun for a few seconds - with the TCS light in the dash flashing wildly - and then takes over quickly to put an end to your tomfoolery. I haven’t dared to switch off TCS and drive in the snow yet. Perhaps I need to find an empty parking lot and see what happens. But again, it is a quattro, and it will be a lot more manageable and less dramatic than a RWD with TCS switched off.

Summer tires – We are 3-4 months away from when we need to switch over to summer tires. It is prohibited to drive with Winter tires in summer for the prime reason that if they have nails/spikes, then the road surface is damaged. A lot of people drive on all-weather tires. This saves them from having to buy 2 sets of tires and wheels and change them 2 times a year. But that will change in winter 2022 as Estonia has changed the specifications of the mandatory winter tires which can be used. My dilemma now is whether to stay with 17 inches wheels and buy a new set of wheels and tires, or upsize to 18 inches? In either case, I need to buy a full set (wheels + tires). 18 inchers look much better and will cover the wheel well completely. Ride should become sharper and a bit more fun. I don’t mind sacrificing ride comfort for this. I had earlier considered 19 inchers, but they are going to be too uncomfortable to live with every day and are a lot pricier to get.

These are MAM wheels that I am planning to get for Summer tires. These are 18 inchers.

Kitna deti hai?

I get anywhere between 7.5 – 9 kmpl in the city, and between 13 – 15 kmpl on the highways. The more I think of this, I realize that this is par for the course. It is a 2-liter engine producing 221 horses, coupled with AWD, and riding on high grip winter tires. Frankly, I do not mind this at all, especially when she starts flying over 2000 RPM. I use 95 petrol, but I am considering 98 petrol once every 5 tanks. Need opinion from experts here if that is OK to do?

Audio setup & quality

Sound is delivered through a 12 speaker Bang & Olufsen system – 4 speakers and tweeters in each door, 2 speakers on the dash, 1 mid in the center of the dash, and a woofer in the rear. Sound quality is rich and punchy. The ability to customize Bass, Mid, and Treble gives you a wide range to setup the sound to your liking. I have absolutely no complaints about the sound quality, and it meets my expectations perfectly.

What does not meet my expectations is Audi’s complete disregard and ignorance of providing BT connectivity to stream music. The car has BT, but that can only be used to do phone calls. Try streaming music, and it just won’t recognize your phone. As a point of reference, a friend in India has a 2014 Jetta, and that has audio streaming capabilities. All I get is a CD player.

But the saving grace is that this can be resolved. Audi offers a connectivity port in the glove compartment. It is a 30-pin plug which is called Audi Media Interface (AMI). You can buy a variety of aftermarket BT adapters that connect with the AMI and allow you to stream music. The choice is wide here. A simple EUR 20 adapter will let you stream music but won’t allow controls from the steering or the in-dash stereo and won’t show your playlist on the dash. Some of them won’t work with Spotify, while the others won’t work with Apple Music, or Tidal.

Then there are expensive one’s which cost EUR 80 – 100 that are specifically, custom made for Audis to address this need. These connectors/adapters not only allow you to play music but also enable steering controls for browsing music, moving tracks forward/backward, and updating your entire library of songs and playlists on the dash and center console. I bought something called “Invery Airdual Bluetooth 5.0 Adapter” from Amazon Germany. Cost me EUR 110 with shipping. It's practically plug-and-play. I had my phone connected within seconds, and my entire playlist updated on the dash in about a minute.

Sound output (volume) is a bit lower than that from the radio, but there is no loss in the bass, treble, or mid. I have nothing against Estonian radio stations (they play very good music and talk less) but on long drives, I prefer having my library of music. Only downside of this adapter is that it constantly draws power from the car even when the car is switched off. I read this much later than I had received the product. My workaround is to just disconnect it if the car is not going to be used every day.

Navigation

The car doesn’t come with navigation as standard, so I use Waze on my phone instead. Waze has up to date maps, extremely good navigation, recognizes speed limits on roads and highlights them if you are going too fast, and most importantly, lets other users highlight hazards on the road, in real-time. The best feature is that users can also update in real-time the presence of cops on the maps. So, if you have a cop car hiding in the bushes with a speed gun pointed at the road, users can just update this on the map. I don’t speed, but it’s a good feature to have.

Lighting

The car comes with a simple halogen, dual headlamp assembly powered by H1 and H7 bulbs. The previous owner changed the parking bulbs from normal ones to LED bulbs, so they now look like DRLs. The front headlamps provide decent illumination in both low and high beams. Fog lamps are halogen as well and provide ample spread and illumination. It’s the same at the back, all halogen bulbs.

Earlier on, I did think of swapping them all with LED/projector units but refrained from doing so. Mainly because 1) I do not want to tinker with the original setup, especially with electronics, 2) Cost, 3) We are headed into summer where we will have more than 14 hours of daylight; more than 20 hours in June, so switching to projectors or LEDs provide no additional benefit, and 4) there is a risk that the car won’t clear the mandatory technical evaluation which needs to be done every couple years. A swap would make the car look much better, but the cost is just not worth it. I’d rather use that money on some kickass wheels and maintaining the car.

Other points

• The car comes with a space-saver spare tire and is neatly placed in a compartment in the boot. This allows full access to the boot space.
• Boot space is adequate and can take 3-4 suitcases along with smaller bags.
• Rear floor hump makes fitting a 5th adult impossible.
• All doors have deep storage slots which can hold water bottles and other small items.
• Armrest is fixed between the front seats and can be adjusted for height and reach. Makes driving very comfortable.
• Large storage area below the armrest is equipped with a 12v socket.
• Car comes with a separate ashtray and cigarette lighter compartment just ahead of the gear level. It has a smooth opening and closing mechanism. Looks chic in design and operation.
• IRVM and ORVM auto-dim when there is too much glare from behind.
• Upwards retracting ORVMs are so cool.
• Bonnet opens with the help of a single hydraulic strut that also keeps the bonnet open.
• All 4 doors get puddle lamps and red door open indicators.
• It has been sub-zero weather ever since I bought the car, so haven’t had the chance to test the cooling. If it is a warm summer, then I can test this.

As my closing to this review, I am going to reiterate what GTO says (loosely translated) – always buy a car with a great engine. Bells & whistles will stop exciting you one day, but a great engine will keep you happy every single day you drive it! I have found my great engine.

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I have got a minimum of 10 km/l in Bengaluru traffic and a maximum of 17.5 km/l on a busy highway. With spirited driving on the highway, the fuel efficiency showed 13.5 km/l.

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Likes

• Silent and smooth engine with good fuel economy.
• Good quality and plush interiors with minimum chrome.
• Properly insulated cabin. Outside noises sound far away.
• Audi Virtual Cockpit- the best iteration of a digital instrument cluster.
• The spare wheel has its own space, leaving a huge boot for luggage.
• Comfortable suspension that does not compromise on handling.
• Small steering wheel, weighs up nicely in dynamic mode.
• Audi phone box actually increases mobile coverage in rural/ hill areas.

Dislikes

• No rear-wheel/ all-wheel-drive even as an option.
• No Audi pre-sense. So no increase in power from the Mild Hybrid System.
• Strictly average sound quality from the 10 speaker system.
• Android Auto / Apple Carplay is wired only. No use of the wireless charging pad.
• The car is front heavy. Can be easily felt at high speeds if the boot is empty.
• The gearbox is slow in Comfort and Eco mode. Changes to fast shifts in dynamic mode.
• No ventilated seats (not offered in this class). No perforated leather on the seats.
• A small horn is hard to reach and requires a hard press to work.

Background

1. My old ride: The 2014 Santa Fe, was a beast of a car. The complete disconnect from the road by the suspension and the steering means this car can be driven for hours without fatigue. The engine is a sleeping monster, once a driver learns to compensate for the slow auto-box, this car can easily keep up with the likes of 520D. I have also managed to keep up with the legendary 530D on our roads.
2. My profession: I command cargo ships and specialise in Car Carriers. Over the years I have worked closely with Daimler/ Mercedes, VW, BMW, Ford and all the Japanese brands. I get to see the latest and greatest of their cars (not all the time, we do second-had runs too).
3. Usage: Predominantly highway runs with occasional city use. So a boot is needed. The spare wheel is also important.
4. Decision making: As my old ride is a large and fast SUV, many cars feel super slow to my perception. I rarely drive my father’s Creta or my wife’s i10 as they are just too slow. Any car we purchase will be looked after and driven by my wife as I am out at sea half the time, so her liking the car is important.

The decision to buy a mid-size sedan from the four rings:

• I always wanted my next car to be European. I have been looking, in passing, at new cars for a few years.
• In 2018 with a budget of 60 lakh in Bengaluru, I was getting an AMG C-43 within my budget. Since Santa Fe was only 4 years old, I decided to postpone a car purchase.
• In 2021 with the same budget of 60 Lakh, I could not get an ordinary C class or the 3 series before discount!
• Spoke to the family, if this trend continues, even the base Germans will not be affordable in a few years. So with the BMW 3 series or pushing budget to a Volvo XC60 in mind, we started our test drives in September 2021. I first tried the pre-owned route, since my wife has to take care of the car, these were quickly dismissed.

[Before I go into the test drives I want to say that in Bengaluru, every showroom I visited, we were attended to immediately and all questions were answered. Once we walked out of the showroom only follow-up as per my request were done. We felt welcome everywhere we went. This is different from our Nexa/ Honda/ Hyundai experience from 3 years ago.]

First stop - Mercedes Benz (wife wanted to try GLC): The test drive of the GLA was nice, my kid loved the sunroof. I liked the engine. The digital instrument cluster is probably the sharpest I have seen in this segment but the car is too small. The wife did not like the ride and found the interiors basic for rear passengers.

Then I sat in the C class. Seating was almost go-cart style with only a little height adjustment available. Looking at the interiors I was like “Are you kidding me!”. I carried the latest C class to china in March 2021, and that model ‘maybe’ will come in 2022. The boot can’t even take one large suitcase with the spare wheel. Did not do the test drive of the C class. I had a similar reaction in the GLC. Since I recently did a Daimler run, I have seen the latest Mercedes in March 2021 going to China and these outdated cars will still be sold in India well into 2022. So no Mercedes for us.

Next stop - BMW: After the Mercedes experience, the 3 series interiors came across as basic. The digital instrument cluster is digitised just to tick off someone’s checklist, it would have been better looking with a physical cluster. OK, so these are not what makes BMW famous. Let’s do a test drive.

Drove the 330Li. After the diesel Santa Fe, this car did not impress. I repeatedly confirmed with the SA sitting beside me if the car was in sport mode. So if the 3 series petrol was not as good as the car we were replacing, then we would have to look at X3 or 530i. My wife’s old company used BMWs for office pick up / drop and my wife flatly refused to consider X1/ 3 and X3. She finds BMW to be uncomfortable for passengers on city roads and bumpy highways.

Still wanting a BMW, I requested a price list for the 3/ X3 and 5. The sales rep kept pushing for the 330Li with long waiting for the regular 3 and 5 series. No discounts on any of the cars. Eventually, the difference from the Audi was just too much to ignore.

Volvo: The following weekend, I took a long test drive on the S60. This is a very comfortable car with usable ADAS. The car drove itself in Bengaluru traffic with SUVs squeezing in front and no lane markings. The XC60 is a completely different car. Opulent interiors with proper massage seats (not like Mercedes) and excellent sound system. Got a good offer on the outgoing diesel model. The New 2021 petrol model has at least 2 months waiting after launch and no Android Auto/ Apple Carplay! Only Android head unit. Without Apple Carplay, for me, the car is out. With Siri, I listen to and respond to email/ SMS/ What’s App etc. without taking my eyes off the road.

Special mention to Yesudas and his boss Arun at Martial Motors Bengaluru. They attended to all my requests, got the car to my place and spent hours with my wife answering all her questions.

Unfortunately, my wife was not keen on an outgoing diesel model of the XC60 which will be a headache to re-sell like I was experiencing with the Santa Fe. These cars, no matter how good, get no attention in India.

The next day my wife told me she had arranged for me to test drive an Audi A4 and the car will be at our home first thing in the morning.

Before the car arrived, I quickly opened the A4 – 2021 thread on Team-BHP to check for any complaints. Only got pages of sweet discounts on the forum.

The test drive was good. The car was peppy, comfortable and boy the virtual cockpit looked nice. The seating position was also the highest compared to 3 Series, C class and S60. I clearly told the SA that any car with the term “DSG” attached to it gave me the creeps. (yes yes I spend too much time on team-bhp.com ). He told me Audi uses a different drivetrain and I should search for Audi DSG, not Skoda DSG.

The A6 was also discussed but no Quattro there so even if it was cheaper than the 5 series, the BMW was a better choice.

Back home, the last-price OTR quoted by the Audi SA was far lower than any price we had heard for weeks!

We finally decided to purchase a 50 lakh mid-size sedan to replace our SUV and then next year purchase a Thar to have an SUV sedan balance in our garage. My kid was OK with the small sunroof of the A4 because I have a strict ‘no sticking head out of the sun roof’ policy.

Delivery Experience:

Once we had decided on the A4, the showroom had trouble confirming the colour we wanted. By mid-October, most of the discounted A4s were sold.

My wife insisted on Blue outside and Beige inside. They finally offered a Blue exterior and Tan interior, which we accepted.

Two weeks after the initial booking, we took delivery of the A4 in Navarra Blue with Okapi Brown interior.

We decided to take a loan instead of paying up front. The loan process was smooth and the showroom representative handled everything.

Continue reading BHPian gungax's A4 ownership experience for more insights, comments & information.

There were several Audi A4 models at the event. Cars like the Audi e-tron, A5 Sportback, Q8 & A3 Convertible were also present.

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I had the opportunity to attend the Audi Experience - Classic Weekend.

Venue - Jio Drive-in Theater showing 007 - No Time To Die

This was my second experience at a drive-in theatre. As a kid, I remember visiting this drive-in theatre near Kalanagar, which was more than 20 years back. That makes Jio the 2nd drive-in theatre in Mumbai.

This theatre is managed by PVR and located on the rooftop of Jio world drive. You can sit in the vehicle and tune your FM to 88.5Mhz or even sit outside the vehicle as they have big speakers in the open.

While you are seated comfortably in your car watching the movie and tuned into the local FM, the biggest irritant is the sound from those big speakers outside which enter the car's cabin in spite of having the windows closed. As the sound from FM has a delay, you end up hearing the outside speakers first and then from your car FM, it feels kind of an echo.

There were many A4s and, of course, most were in our favorite colour, the Navarra Blue. Coincidently, they were standing adjacent to each other. Birds of a feather flock together - 5 Navarra Blue A4s in a single frame. (I know the colour is not clearly visible but you need to trust me)

Those beautiful eyes

A few of the vehicles were owned by Audi itself and were probably lent to the media house for promotions.

There was the Audi e-tron which was being used by Autocar India guys, there was an A5 Sportback, Q8, A3 convertible, etc.

Vehicles were maintaining social distancing.

Audi had organized the event well, they even handed over gift hampers to all the guests and had organised snacks and cola for all. I must say the burger served was really very fresh, crisp and hot.

I definitely had fun at the event. Thanks to the lovely vivid beauties around me, I enjoyed drooling over the cars more than the movie itself. I can visit again for the burger if not for the movie.

Sorry for the late post, the event was on 13th Nov 2021.

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