Hi,

Is A4 Avant as good as Subaru Outback for winter driving? My concern: lower
ground clearance (of Avant) - so it could get stuck in snow more easily.
Otherwise, I like Avant because of better on-road handling and better fuel
economy (than Outback turbo). Also - how big is cargo space in Avant?

Thanks in advance for any replies,
Boris

On Nov 9, 8:29*pm, "boris" <some...@nospam.net> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> Is A4 Avant as good as Subaru Outback for winter driving? My concern: lower
> ground clearance (of Avant) - so it could get stuck in snow more easily.
> Otherwise, I like Avant because of better on-road handling and better fuel
> economy (than Outback turbo). Also - how big is cargo space in Avant?
>
> Thanks in advance for any replies,
> Boris

I have an A4 sedan and my son has a '99 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS. I think
the Audi is a better winter car, it has a more sophisticated AWD
system (granted, I'm comparing 2 cars 5 years apart and thoursands of
dollars apart in price...). But the mileage is about the same in both
cars, so I don't think that's a deciding factor.

Dan D
'04 A4 1.8Tq MT-6
Central NJ USA

On Sun, 9 Nov 2008 17:29:39 -0800, "boris" <someone@nospam.net> wrote:

>Hi,
>
>Is A4 Avant as good as Subaru Outback for winter driving? My concern: lower
>ground clearance (of Avant) - so it could get stuck in snow more easily.
>Otherwise, I like Avant because of better on-road handling and better fuel
>economy (than Outback turbo). Also - how big is cargo space in Avant?
>
>Thanks in advance for any replies,
>Boris

A couple of years ago, Audi did a demonstration with all wheel and
four wheel drive cars. All had the same snow tires on them and were
sent up a ski run. No car made it as far as the Audi and its famous
Quattro AWD. It is far superior than anything Subaru makes, perhaps a
little pricier, but worth it.

I've been driving Quattros for more than 24 years. I live in New
England and I have never been stuck in snow.

Dave
RS6

"Dave LaCourse" <dplacourse@pirateaol.com> wrote in message
news:0kehh4htqlfibdgbshrcgi08ktrvd2sr2p@4ax.com...
> On Sun, 9 Nov 2008 17:29:39 -0800, "boris" <someone@nospam.net> wrote:
>
>>Hi,
>>
>>Is A4 Avant as good as Subaru Outback for winter driving? My concern:
>>lower
>>ground clearance (of Avant) - so it could get stuck in snow more easily.
>>Otherwise, I like Avant because of better on-road handling and better fuel
>>economy (than Outback turbo). Also - how big is cargo space in Avant?
>>
>>Thanks in advance for any replies,
>>Boris
>
> A couple of years ago, Audi did a demonstration with all wheel and
> four wheel drive cars. All had the same snow tires on them and were
> sent up a ski run. No car made it as far as the Audi and its famous
> Quattro AWD. It is far superior than anything Subaru makes, perhaps a
> little pricier, but worth it.
>
> I've been driving Quattros for more than 24 years. I live in New
> England and I have never been stuck in snow.
>
> Dave
> RS6
>
>

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=EyKstZ...eature=related

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...=audi+ski+jump

2 videos to keep you going

Why you need quattro not fwd

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=2lUoLG...eature=related

On Tue, 11 Nov 2008 00:00:25 -0000, "Ronny" <123@123.com> wrote:

>http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...=audi+ski+jump

Notice the winter tires with Euro studs that they put on for the final
run. I used to ice race my 1990 2000 QT Wagon with the BMW club at
Newfound Lake in New Hampshire. I had two sets of Hakkapeliitta
snows; one with Euro studs and one without. I made the mistake of not
changing wheels at the end of the day. It was snowing very hard and I
thought the studs would make it easier. I ended up having to drive
to work on Monday morning with the Euro studs. The car actually
crabbed a little on dry pavement. When going through beautiful
downtown Weston, a woman jumped off the sidewalk away from me. I was
making alot of noise. I guess she thought I was coming down the
sidewalk.

I changed to the non-studs that night. Tough to drive on dry pavement
with the Euro studs.... and very noisy.

Dave
RS6

Thanks for your reply.

How reliable is the A4? Is V6 more reliable than I4 turbo? What's real-life
fuel economy?

Boris
"Dano58" <dan.dibiase@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:e0e7f46a-2ed9-4fa7-ab47-1b808cf34f8c@u18g2000pro.googlegroups.com...
On Nov 9, 8:29 pm, "boris" <some...@nospam.net> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> Is A4 Avant as good as Subaru Outback for winter driving? My concern:
> lower
> ground clearance (of Avant) - so it could get stuck in snow more easily.
> Otherwise, I like Avant because of better on-road handling and better fuel
> economy (than Outback turbo). Also - how big is cargo space in Avant?
>
> Thanks in advance for any replies,
> Boris

I have an A4 sedan and my son has a '99 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS. I think
the Audi is a better winter car, it has a more sophisticated AWD
system (granted, I'm comparing 2 cars 5 years apart and thoursands of
dollars apart in price...). But the mileage is about the same in both
cars, so I don't think that's a deciding factor.

Dan D
'04 A4 1.8Tq MT-6
Central NJ USA

On Nov 14, 7:35*am, "Boris" <spa...@nospam.net> wrote:
> Thanks for your reply.
>
> How reliable is the A4? Is V6 more reliable than I4 turbo? What's real-life
> fuel economy?
>


Boris, I have averaged 21.78 MPG in the 5+ years I have owned my car -
80% of the mileage is in-town driving. I have the 1.8T with 6-speed
manual transmission. I do have a heavy foot...... ;-) I have almost
70k miles and the engine has been great, no issues at all. I am a
fanatic about oil changes - every 5k miles with Mobil1 synthetic and
OEM oil filter. By comparison, my son's Impreza gets about 22 mpg in
similar driving conditions.

Dan D