Selling the X for an Audi A4 Avant?
 

Yup. We are considering selling the X and getting an "08+ Audi Quattro A4 Avant. The trade off will be a smaller vehicle that gets much better mileage and possibly less maintenance costs. I no longer need the X for towing and maybe it's time to downsize. I'm not sure how much less cargo space the A4 Avant has, but it probably won't be significant. Not set in stone by any means but we are strongly considering it. I'm trying to stay away from a 3 or 5 series wagon. Looking for something different. Anyone have any opinions or comments?

First off, since this is an X5 forum, I say keep your X5. :D

I am an admitted Audi fan so here goes. I love the Avant/Touring/Wagon concept. It is unfortunately lost on most Americans so we don't get as much cool stuff as Europe. The A4 Avant is one of my favorites but I would say to go with a 2009+ as that is the model year they changed from the B7 version to B8.

We have a C6 generation A6 Avant and love it. It is a great looking car, has very decent room for passengers and cargo, and gets great gas mileage. We just did a 1000 mile road trip and got around 28mpg on the freeway and I wasn't exactly observing the speed limits.

We still have my E53 and I love it too.

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...t/IMG_4762.jpg

I'm a big Audi fan who's owned C5 A6's (non-avant) and some of the older 90Q cars. Audi builds a VERY nice car but can be quite complicated to work on if you plan to wrench yourself. Buy a very good set of repair manuals and prepare to buy/make specialty tools.

What engine platform are you considering? Auto or manual? If it was me I'd find a manual tranny. Stupid fun car, especially in snow.

And the resale value on the newer Audi's is excellent. They seem to hold their value a little better than most european cars.

I'm thinking 2.0T automatic. Sticks are more engaging but we already have an M5 and our son has a GTI 6 speed as well. So, and auto would be preferred for commuting and when driving in traffic. Driving a 1.8T Avant Quattro 6 speed right now to see if we like it and how it suits our needs.

I am also an Audi fan. In fact my other ride is a 2004 B6 S4. Helluva vehicle. Have owned Audis before and will tell you that that are great cars as long as you do proper maintenance, just like any other vehicle. Well cheaper to mantain than the X5. Those turbo engines are fun to play with. Just a Chip and you can have an instant 50-60 hp more than stock. Quattro in the snow is better than anything else out there. Better than Subaru better than xdrive. Audis are great vehicles, but nothing like my x5. Good luck pal!

Nice. The 2.0T is a excellent engine and the tiptronic tranny is pretty good.

Can't go wrong with a Audi 2.0T A4 Avant.

Why not just by the original VW car.

Same car different badge, less money…. ;)

FYI....the 1.8T and some 2.0T motors were well known for "oil sludging" problems and I believe their is a class action lawsuit against VAG. Certain years/models were effected. The main issue was folks who'd wait too long to do a oil change or used the wrong viscosity of oil, along with some internal design problems with the engine. Make damn sure you have service records in case something comes up. CPO cars are generally the safest way to go.

I am a new first time Audi owner - traded the X in on a 2011 Q5 2.0T. We really like the Q - it has a lot of modern features that our '01 X didn't have. Power is equivalent to the 3.0i - obviously handling is not as good, but I am going to see if I can improve that. So far we are impressed with it - love the LED running lights!!

My folks just bought a 2011 A4 Avant to replace a Lexus and I have to say that it's really an awesome vehicle. The 8 speed auto is seamless and paired very well to the turbo four and I expect it will return >30 mpg highway if my own Audi experience can be replicated. I'd have considered a manual e46 or e60 wagon if it was my purchase, but the interior room, fuel economy and quattro were selling points for them. BMW needs to bring the new n20 four cylinder over in every variant of the new 3er to appeal to those who cross-shop Audi. A new 320i wagon with the n20 and a manual trans (one can dream) would be a perfect car for my stable...

not even close to the same car. Not if you are getting a Quattro.

Hopefully the B8 avant is larger than the B7. I always included the B7 Avant in past buying decisions but could never get past that it felt way too narrow and way to cramped with the sloping roofline. Feels like a 3/4 scale car to me. Allroad felt like right-sized to me. But maybe the B8 Avant is the perfect San Fran city car for you, and when you have more than one normal sized passenger, you can treat them to a much more pleasant ride in the M5.:D

I also think you should try a previous generation 6-speed manual sport pack X3 before you pull the trigger on the A4.

I drove an X3....didn't do much for me. If I did that, I'd keep the X5 (still may). Manual tranny is out and I want maybe try something other than a BMW. Calculating fuel costs, the savings to us is around $450/year if we get the A4 Quattro. Why did you sell your M5? Great and fun car but it can get real expensive very quickly. I may just keep the X. We own it and know the car pretty well. We keep spending money on the usual stupid repairs but it's still a fun SAV/SUV to drive. Not a bad situation to be in.

Selling the M5 can be chocked up to a mistake but I was looking to simplify my garage and get away from taking care of 3 cars.

I have 2 little ones so my cars are always rolling disasters inside and the X5 is the perfect hauler for me. But still looking every now and then for another E39 M5 or even E60 manual. We'll see. Good luck!

Also a former Audi owner and lover... I think comparing the X and the Avant will be tough in a direct comparison, both are great vehicles in their own right.

Test drive the different motor options to find one that suits. I have found the Turbo 4's to be much more enjoyable then the 6's. I did however HATE the 2.0T with the 6 speed manual. it seemed to me the lower gears were too tight together, prompting WAY too many shifts in town. The 5 speed manual was much more to my liking

just my $0.02 plus tax

As a household that owns both brands (an X5 and an S4) I think you enjoy it. I LOVE my S4 and my wife LOVES her X5. She just crest 100k on the X5...

Funny to post to come across this thread...i've been thinking about trading in my '06 4.4i and have been looking at AWD wagons also. For me the driving force is the CPO is running out soon and wife thinks we should trade before then. I love our X, but it is definitely is not the most reliable car out there, and repairs are insanely expensive, even outside the dealership. Mine just died on the way home from a vacation, had to have it towed to the dealership. Turned out to be just the alternator, but either way was fully covered under CPO. I know the mechanic at the dealership who did the work and he told me it probably would've cost close to a grand otherwise! He also told me that my X5 with the N62 (V8) engines have lots of problems. A few months ago they had to replace some levers/camshaft or concentric shaft issue, cost over $6,000 but again was fully covered by the CPO. So I asked the mechanic about the 535xi wagons as a choice for a trade in, he told me they're replacing the turbos on those at only 20K miles! What is going on with BMW reliability?

My two cents....

The only Audi that I would consider replacing my X5 with would be the Audi R8 :)

Let me say also that I think it is in fact a strange comparison (X5 to A4), but this was previously stated by another member...

I don't really think it's a strange comparison. Different platforms yes, but they are similar in terms of AWD. The X carries more but mileage SUCKS and repairs aren't cheap. I was looking at an alternative to the X to a vehicle that is less expensive to operate, have some carrying capacity, and still would be fun to drive. It' not that I can't afford the repairs but expensive is expensive.

I will again state how much I like the Audi Avants. The A4 Avant is something I wouldn't mind owning but I'd be looking for CPO and they are a bit rare. I was recently looking at the 2012 A6 Avants and it is beautiful! Our '06 A6 Avant doesn't look dated compared to the '12 because the new one is more evolutionary than anything drastic. The MAJOR bad news: the new A6 Avant is not coming to America. :mad:

http://lohjinawi.com/wp-content/uplo...i-A6-Avant.jpg

Hey man, I didn't mean anything by the comment :D but a typical comparison might be comparing two SUVs or two wagons.

I prefer cars over SUVs(SAVs) so I will always side with the wagon :beerchug:

I wouldnt buy an Audi. My wish is to kleep Audi below BMW in terms of sales and quality of cars....Buy BMW always!!

B8 is definitely larger than B7. So much so in fact that I finally pulled the trigger on a 2011 B8 S4. I'm 6'1" and fit with room to spare even carrying passengers in the back...which i do regularly. Absolutely love that vehicle! Love it so much that I am shortly taking delivery of a 2012 Q7 Sport (S Line) as a replacement for my Honda van (gonna miss that van though). Same 333HP supercharged V6 as the S4 but mated to the 8 speed tiptronic vs the 7 speed dual clutch in the S4.

Haven't decided yet to sell my X5. I love it and it's not worth selling for the depreciated value.