Looking for a new car...

[arumdevil]

hi, I have been a member on here for years but never owned an S2. I am mates with S2 bo though and have driven his and we recently went to europe and the ring so drove the RS2 as well.

I used to drive a Saab 900 turbo which I loved (awesome boost at low RPM) and had a porsche 944 turbo briefly and then got a 1992 Subaru Legacy turbo estate. Yesterday I crashed said subaru and so I need to replace it hence this thread.

The subaru was almost perfect for my needs. There were only 2 major things that let it down for me - it was feckkin thirsty on the petrol, and it wanted revving a lot to get the power out of it, which I wasn't used to coming from the saab.

I am wondering if Audi had anything that might be able to replace it.... here are a list of essential criteria:

• Estate
• AWD
• turbo - Quick (doesn't have to be balzingly fast - a good tdi might suffice???!!!)

Also better fuel consumption would be nice so considering a TDI but are there any older one's with quattro?

An RS2 would be awesome but i CANNOT afford one at this point and the running costs are a bit of a kick in the teeth what with petrol prices these days. Also I would need it to handle some fairly bumpy gravel roads so a nice lowered RS2 wouldn't be that practical.

I know this is an S2 forum so most of you are probably going to try to sway me in that direction, but I really need an estate with good ground clearance and decent performance, and preferably good fuel economy!

Lol, sounds like too much to ask I know, and My budget is only around a grand which makes it even more of a long shot. Just wondered if you guys might have any thoughts on any suitable audis or even anything else that might fit the bill.

I heard someone recently sold a nicely souped up 80 tdi for next to nothing but don't recall if it was quattro or not.

Any advice welcome.
cheers

[dest]

Mine is low, but ive never had any problems with speed bumps etc, and high speed on bumpy back roads have never been a problem either.
Fuel economy and high performance dont really go hand in hand lol
I personally dont think you have a chance in hell of getting a 4x4 turbo estate for a grand! You can have mine for 4.5 though lol

[HPmuirt]

I suspect the S2 is probably MUCH more thirsty than the Saab, Porsche or Scooby.

My friend had a Legacy Turbo which went fast but bits fell off it like it was French and so he could barely give it away, let alone sell it for a grand. When he finally did sell it, it turned up in a bank raid a few weeks later

Having had a Legacy I suspect that you are now convinced that you can buy most fast AWD estates for a grand and I am afraid with an Audi that is just not possible. As Dest hinted, plan of £4.5K plus for a nice one.

Good luck with the search and hang around here, but I bet you end up with either another Legacy or a Volvo 850 (and that is FWD) if a grand is all you're spending

Cheers n

Si

[Jamo]

Consider looking at the older S4 estates, cheaper than an S2 but basically the same engine.

Doubt you'd get a decent car for 1k

[Nj]

best compromise I can think of is see if you can pick up an audi 80 2.0 16v and then look into mods to get more oomph out of it (bike carbs etc). but as the oomph goes up the fuel economy will go down obviously.

or... i've seen V6 or V8 80s go for under a grand. you might be really lucky and find a quattro one but... we come back the cheeky wee fuel economy issue.

if you get something with a decent engine you can always save up and get an LPG conversion later. just a thought. good luck.

[GazzaG60]

legacy turbo eh. my mate had a saloon a few years.

you wont get legacy performance and handling from an audi for the money. id look for another or an impreza wagon for the money. cant get a cement mixer in the back of a wagon though.

the legacy was a a bit special. some rally based parts as standard getting ready for the impreza. high desity alloy closed deck block. better gearing. lsd rear diff (most of um) heads not as good as impreza as they are hydro lifter ones rather than solid. charge cooler works just as well as the top mount though, with a better pump.

[arumdevil]

Hi Guys. Sorry I didn't respond to your replies - I forgot all about having posted this and didn't get any email notifications

Anyway, thanks for all your replies, I appreciate it.

I know what your saying about the budget - I don't expect to get an S2 - nice or otherwise for a grand, lol.

Anyway, to fill you all in - I nearly got a nice slightly later legacy twin turbo for an absolute bargain price (not far over my budget) from a legacy forum enthusiast in a tight spot, but someone beat me to it

I then struggled to find any decent legacies at any price, let alone within my budget. Whilst looking I spotted a saab 9000 Aero advertised for a grand - offered the seller £considerably less and he accpeted, so I am now driving that which has ACC, Leather sports heated seats, sunroof, cruise, a load of other nice toys etc. Full main dealer SH and everything running sweetly. Not estate or 4wd but very quick and on full boost by 2000 rpm which is nice! It would be ideal for me if I did a lot of motorway driving as it will return up to 40mpg there if driven within the law, but I don't and as I want 4wd I am still looking for a legacy or decent audi quattro TDI.

So, maybe you guys can help me with the following technical question? :

Went to look at a friends A4 1.9 tdi quattro tonight. It's registered in August 1998. He wants well over a grand for it, obviusly but I should be able to get about that for the saab.

it has a red I after the TD, so I'm guessing that is the sport version with more (anyone know how much) power?

I've been looking up the various quattro systems on wikidpedia, and it seems the quattros system is based on the haldex thechnology (and therefore a big comprimise on usable 4wd performance) but I'm hoping I'm wrong and it's based on the torsen diffs? Can anyone confirm this?


MAny thanks for all your replies so far, and for any more!

Cheers,

ArumDevil

[arumdevil]

[just making sure email notification will work]

[s2driveruk]

a4 1.9tdi was pre-haldex i'm 99.9% sure. As for power with the redI...prob 110bhp.

[T2Andy]

What a very strange thread

[BRY]

Engine is longitudinal in the A4 so it's not haldex it's a real quattro.

[shark_90]

A4 1.9TDi quattros go for a fortune mate.. I'd be surprised if you get it for less than £2k. Anything A4 sized is Torsen, so you have proper 4wd. A3 and smaller is Haldex (bobbins).

[shark_90]

And by the way, A4 1.9TDi quattro's are 110bhp. They are by no means fast I'm afraid!

[arumdevil]

What a very strange thread

yes, I suppose it is...

[arumdevil]

A4 1.9TDi quattros go for a fortune mate.. I'd be surprised if you get it for less than £2k. Anything A4 sized is Torsen, so you have proper 4wd. A3 and smaller is Haldex (bobbins).

Yeah I took it for a drive last night and it certainly wasn't fast. TBO if it's good a decent 4WD drivetrain and it's economical then I can live without the performance. I'm looking at £2.5k to have it. Not sure.

But thanks for all your technical advice, at least now I can make an informed decision.

cheers