Yeah,

Anyone considering a TDI...it's really the way to go. As as most of this board are Americans, you guys should make it a point to bring it up to your Audi dealers every time you talk to them. With the adblue, TDI is 50 state compatible, so the only reason Audi won't export the TDIs to the states are market acceptance issues and the extra cost of servicing another engine variation. The benefits to its TDI customers would be stunning however, the engine is just amazing.

 

This article http://tinyurl.com/3c5m7u talks about the Adblue system from MB. There is a comment that it is suited more to large vehicles so maybe A3 type cars can't really benefit. MB has a long history of selling diesels in the USA, still it will be interesting to see how these SUVs sell and if any of the press gets others like Audi to consider TDI

 

test drove an A6 3.0 dsl lovely car but when pushed it did 7.4 MPG[:@] and it was super quite VERY IMPRESSED still wouldn't buy one though, I just don't like diesels because of the expense of the repairs

 

No acceptance problems here - only a craving. I email AOA monthly, encouraging them to bring the TDI and new colors ( Mugello, Avus, Daytona, Suzuka) for the A3 - and of course, quattro without the 3.2.

 

yep colors make the car as do the wheels but the only thing that puts me off is the UK fuel prices ( im waiting for my free electric wheel chair ) then ill throw the keys away

 

Techbod,

I agree with you that the 3.0TDI is a supersweet engine! The only one I drove was in a Q7 test drive I took. I hate that machine(I'm not sure what to call at Q7!) but then engine was great in it. Even with that massive hunk of steel on it, the Q7 was a snappy performer. Next year, Audi in Taiwan will be important an A5 3.0TDI. My dream car! I'm saving my pennies and already working on convincing my wife that two doors with two small children is fine! hahaha. The 3.0 is just so smooth in its power delivery, even better than the 2.0TDI, which once chipped, can sometimes deliver a massive wave of torque as the turbo spools...sending your car ever closer to the slowly accelerating car in front! After chipping, the performance of my 2.0TDI does require some extra caution in the application of throttle...hit 1700RPM (idle is at 900) and it just wants to GO GO GO!

I'm not sure which part of the world you are in, but I'm curious, what would be your baseline figure for the cost difference of diesel versus petrol engines? Say, diesels costs 20% more, 30% more etc? And, I know the answer is probably very complicated, but could you give me an idea of why it costs more? And even more importantly, any preventative maintenance you would recommend to help head off these costly repairs? Audi's warranty in Taiwan is only 2 years, so if my A5 TDI dreams don't come true, this will become an issue fairly quickly!