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Thinking about a new Audi A4 with the 2.0L turbo engine. I am used to 6 cylinder engines that are usually 3 or more liters in size. I run a lot of electronics for work, and sometimes with the engine idling (no more than 15 minutes) with the A/C compressor running also.
How well does the 2.0L with turbo handle these loads? The 3.5 liter V6 engine in the Toyota handles things very well with no hiccups. I used to have a 4 cylinder back in the way and when you turned on the A/C, it felt like it was a 2 cylinder engine.
I do know the new A4 has a fairly powerful alternator at 150 amps, correct? I have used 1000 watt power inverters in the past also.
I am just a little nervous about all the electronics gadgets in cars these days, and the push towards smaller engines with turbos -will this wear the engine out more and lead to less reliability. I keep cars for at least 6-7 years.
Normally I would just say go drive the car, but to express all these concerns about reliability and longevity and then talk about going from a Toyota to an Audi just seems like you are setting yourself up for disappointment.
Keeping a car for 6-7 years is no big deal. I would think every car on the market should be able to last that long. How many miles though? What are your expectations? An Audi is going to require more maintenance. It is going to spend some time in the shop. Does that mean it is a bad car? I don't think so. But the ownership and expectations of people differs.
modern turbo engines are decent plus if you feel power lacking some extra HP and torque is just a tune away but depending on how the turbo is set up it may be laggy on the low end or lack top end power most are set for low-mid range power band these days.
I drove 4-cylinder turbo VW GTIs for 15 years. I wouldn't hesitate to own another 2.0t. It has plenty of low end torque. It's reliable. If you're bored, you can re-flash the ECU for cheap money and give yourself 40 or 50 more horsepower but the car is quick enough without doing that. I've had the dual clutch transmission and the manual transmission.
The only problem with turbos is you are putting premium fuel in them. When the price spread used to always be 20 cents, it was no big deal. These days, 50 cents isn't unusual. Over the life of the car, it adds some operating costs but mostly, it's just annoying in a 30 mpg car. After 15 years, I decided my next car would take 87 octane.
If you're going to keep the car 6/7 years, put the 7/100 extended warranty on it. I did that with my VWs and never made my money back but it's one less thing to worry about.
How much does a replacement turbo cost when it goes kaput?
No, no turbo for me, thank you.
Why place yourself in such a financial vulnerability at such a young age?
Modern turbos are very reliable, and generally will be replaced under warranty if they saw some kind of failure. I retired my 8 year old stock turbo after 130k miles and it's still good even after being pushed well beyond it's efficiency range, just sitting in my garage right now.
Even if you had a buy a new one they are not that expensive, and you might as well drop in a larger one for easy HP.
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