im about to purchase my first audi... Im in love with the 05.. older bodies..

I have 2 vehicles i like. one quattro, one not.

Whats the gas mileage difference and speed and all between the two?

Which would you recommend?

 

Gas milage advantage on FWD is minimal considering the benefits of Quattro. AWD is a much smoother and responsive ride, not to mention the safety and reliability it supplies during those stormy days. If I was to get FWD becaus eof mpg's I would just get a Jetta TDI. I wouldn't bother with a FWD Audi since its just a half-assed purchase

 

I think the official EPA numbers for my 2002 A4 1.8T were supposedly the same for FWD and Quattro, but that must have been roundoff error. You carry a little extra weight, and there must be some power loss in the extra hardware.

I think the fuel penalty is under 5%, but not zero.

Most of the time, I don't think I benefit, but a few days a year I benefit a lot.

The road up to my house has a few short stretches of perhaps 6% grade. With a little ice or packed snow my 1987 BMW 325i needed me to put on cable chains once every couple of years just to get up that stretch. My driveway is not paved, and just slightly uphill, but with a few inches of fresh snow fallen on warm ground, I could not get up it. That caused me to put the cable chains on about once a year. I hate putting on cable chains. In six years with the Quattro A4 I've not come close to needing them. (I don't even own a set that fit it)

Here in Albuquerque, with snow on the ground, previous cars through an intersection have often polished the surface in the stopping and acceleration zones. The Quattro car (helped by traction control) accelerates smoothly through those zones when most cars around me are struggling to get moving at all.

I love it, but I don't push the car on dry pavement nearly hard enough for it to matter there--so if you are like me, then a lot depends on both your weather and the way your roads are laid out regarding hills.

 

Go for the quattro. Much much better handling.

 

not sure what the FWD gets but my 05 quattro gets 30.4 average over the last 6 months. Highway mileage is around 37 on cruise control and city driving ranges from 22 to 26 mpg. I can't complain.

 

I am in agreement, go with Quattro. As others have put it, an Audi without Quattro is just a VDub.

Having actually driven a 2002 Jetta and my 03 A4, I can say there is more to it than that, like holy crap I expected more out a 2.0, but mostly, go with Quattro.

Audi has had, what, like 35 or so years to develop it? I would say it is about as refined a system as anything out there. I have driven to the limit, and having that system there able to brake and accelerate each wheel as needed, well, I have to say I wouldn't have it any other way.

 

FWD will be faster (high speeds) and will eat less gas, BUT that difference is not big.

 

Different gear ratios? Or just less driveline drag?

 

have an '05 1.8T - it gets 30mpg highway(32.4 best), 23-24 around town - the 6spd manual makes a huge difference.....and yes, it's a Quattro

 

You lucky $^#$*&# and your 6 speeds! LOL I had to go and buy the very last of the 5-speed generation.

I shouldn't complain, I love my Audi.