Hi all,

I just registered because I'm thinking of buying a used (2001 or so) A6. I testdrove a 2.7T and that's a very very nice car. It has all the amenities of a luxury car, you know, the divided A/C, soundsystem, etc. I also like the quattro drive and the tip-tronic.

Now, should I be buying a 4.2 or a 2.7T ? Assuming both are automatic (I don't like stick), and considering I'm not interesting in heavy modding, These are the pros and cons as I see them, and I don't see a clear winner:

2.7T pros:
- lighter car, 200lbs ligther than the 4.2
- cheaper, about $5k cheaper for a 2001 model

4.2 pros:
- more powerful?? I care mostly about acceleration, not topspeed. Will the 40lbft extra torque make up for the 200lbs diff?
- no turbo. I've heard scary stories about turbos being a maintenance nightmare. Is that true?

What are the opinions of seasoned A6 owners? I'm not intending to start a flamewar, I'm seriously wondering about the differences.

 

I'm definately not a *seasoned* Audi owner... but I've had my '01 2.7T A6 for a while now and I love it!

Maintenance will always be an issue with turbo engines, but I wouldn't call it a nightmare. The fun you have driving one makes up for any small headaches you might get, in my opinion. As far as performance, you could take the money you saved by buying the 2.7T and put it into a few good mods... you'll wind up with a better performing engine than the 4.2 (that is, if you're willing to mod). The 2.7T has a lot more things you can modify, performance wise, if that's something you would consider

I say go with the 2.7T... you won't regret it!

 

Oh, and PS... do a few searches through this forum and some others... This has been discussed many times before... you'll find a lot of useful discussions.

 

Another think to consider is the price of gas. 2.7 gets better gas milage I am pretty sure. I took a trip from d.c. to boston and back last weekend and averaged 27.8 mpg. Not bad!

 

I did some searching. I liked this post.

Basically, stock performance seems to be equal between the 2.7T and the 4.2, with the 4.2 a little better in the low-end, 2.7 in the high end.

So basically, spending $3k extra for a 4.2 non-turbo gives you more reliability and better low-end torque. Is that a good conclusion?

It'd also had expected any engine with a turbo would be way more expensive in purchase than a non-turbo engine. THe opposite is true here.

 

Accorind to the Audi website. The 4.2 has a 0-60 of 6.0 seconds and the 2.7 has a 0-60 of 7.1

That seems like a hell of a difference to me.

 

Blaze not sure where you got that information but the only thing I see on the audi website it the 3.2 and 4.2 times; not the 2.7T. According to http://www.audiworld.com/model/a6/01/specs.shtml the 2.7T is faster than the 4.2. Also if you plan on modding the car at any point, turbo cars respond much better to mods than NA cars do. Just my opinion.

 

Your right. I didnt realize they dont offer the 2.7 T anymore in the A6.

 

I've driven both. Actully own an 01 2.7T and it drives and handles really well. No major problems. The 4.2 is pretty quick. There is a HUGE difference between the 2.7 and the 4.2 acceleration wise. You can feel the difference if you test drive both. I would go with the 4.2, the extra 5K is definatly worth it.

 

Try this site: http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/Sp...IP&tab=2&sub=0
I used it to investigate into my new purchase, a 2000 Audi A6 2.7T quattro. Just bought it yesterday in fact! The features and specs designate the 2.7T quicker in the acceleration (0-60) than the 4.2. For the 2000 year the numbers are:
2.7T 5.29 sec
4.2 6.53 sec
Hope this helps in the decision making process!