sbitch

I'm a UrS6 (C4) owner and with a new (1st) baby on the way my wife is finally willing to give up her 02 Beetle for something with 4 drs. I am thinking of either a B5 S4 Avant, a B6 Ultrasport Avant or an Allroad all automatic. Comments from the Audifans s-list stated that fitting a carseat in the back of an A4 car would be a bit snug. Additionally that added space in an A6 platform sized car would be appreciated. Anyone with experience willing to chime in here?

Also interested in reliability between a 2.7tt with 60-80k miles and 1.8t with 40-60k miles. Looking to spend around 18k max.

When does the major service need to be performed on the 2.7tt (TB, therm, coolant, etc)? 80k?

Tranny problems with the tiptronic on the S4?

Any other major service/issues to look out for?
Turbo life?

TIA

The_Jerbel (Jordan)

I will say that the 2.7t should have already had the TB done as well as the T-stat etc by the time it hits 80k. The tiptronic's seem to be a good tranny in these cars, although I have manual so maybe somebody with a tip will chime in.

I think the 1.8t is probably a more reliable platform turbo-wise, but definitely not as much fun

The turbos are the big thing on these cars. They tend to be a big reliability concern, but depending on how they are treated, they can last a very long time. My original k03 turbos lasted for 160k miles before I swapped them, and they were still running fine. You just need to make sure that the car gets up to operating temp before you push them, and also that the car can run for a minute or two after you push them to let them cool down.

Have the car inspected and VAG'd before buying it.

LCP

...I would say the allroad is great for the purpose and the S4 is bad at it (esp. if you are not short), but with a concern for reliability and your 18k constraint, I'd skip on it. With the allroad, you get air suspension problems (likely to be repeatedly over your life), possibly torque converter failure on the transmission and the beauty of the 2.7T engine bay (although to a lesser extent than with the S4 and its cramped engine bay). Can you get an A6 Avant 3.0? It's not going to be fast, but it won't bother you 99.9% of the time -- and it will get you the package with no suspension problems.

jprice@CPS

Mazda CX-7

Roque

Kids are 3 and 5. So the 5 year old is in a booster seat which takes up little space, while the 3 year old is in a forward facing toddler seat which takes up a lot of space.

In the S4: The passenger side seat has to all the way up to make room for the toddler seat and feet. The five year old sits behind me with little foot room since I am 6'-1". When he grows out of the booster in a few years, his feet will be able to go under my seat in the foot well, but until then his feet are cramped against my back rest.

In the A6: The kids have plenty of room. Huge difference. All trips out of town are in the A6 for sure. Way more space and comfort for everybody. Then throw on the Yakima box up top and you're set.

If I could only have one of these cars and no other large cars in the garage, I'd have to take the A6. I'm not a fan driving it since it has no performance, but it would have to be the one from a practical standpoint. S4 is too small to transport two kids more than 25% of the time.

DocWyte

in the back of it tho. My wive's old B5.5 Passat was much larger. She now has a B6 A4 avant, which is only slightly larger than my B5 S4 avant.

Either car with two kids in car seats would be tight.

The Allroad is much larger, but has it's share of added complexity...

Avantugofast

Practically speaking i wouldn't have an S4 for kid transport all the time.

Bruno_S4

The backseat is very tight. Especially if you go with a Britax rear/front facing. Fugetaboutit.

Small Town Terrorist

Go with with an A6. If more kids are planned or unplanned, go with a MiniVan. :-)

UR-Idiot Savant-S6

Negative, way too tight. My 04 C5 A6 Avant is perfect for the job, consider one.