How Does the B6 A4 Compare to B7 A4 in ALL Aspects? Performance/Reliability, etc.

[MJH 102383]

I decided NOT to get the S4 because it's just too damn expensive to maintain, lol. But the 2005 and 2005.5 Audi A4 really grabbed my attention. I absolutely LOVE the new B7 body style but I am trying to decide which to get. I'm looking to spend under $22K and do some clean mods. Nothing too crazy just some springs, HID's, window tint obviously.

I'm just trying to decide between B6 A4 and B7 A4 because both are around 40-50K miles, etc.

What do you guys recommend? Performance potential of both?

What does it take to get these cars into 13's? Just trying to get and idea of the potential.

Any known problems? How reliable are they after 50K miles? Thanks!

And I'm looking at 6-speed most likely but is there any reason to get automatic? Aside from the driveability, etc. Thanks!

[Larson7.62]

Well, you are posting in the B7 forum...So I would of course recommend the
B7. As far as looks, I love the B7 much more than the B6. Performance wise, I've heard that a B6 with a KO4 turbo will put out less or equal to a B7 with juts a chip. However, there are no Big Turbos out yet, which means the B6 has more capability in reaching higher horsepower. I think AWE has a kit coming out soon though. With a Chip, exhaust, intake, you should probably put out somewhere near 275hp

Definetely get the 6 Speed. When I got mine I had only driven a stick twice before, but love it so much more than auto. Reliability is pretty good after 50k, just watch the timing belt around 80k.

[lak2881]

I have owned both a B6 and a B7. The power and tourque of the B7 engine is far superior to the B6. My B6 was a 5 speed as well so on the freeway the motor ran at fairly high RPM's. I like the way both cars look equally but i have to give the B7 the edge because it is the newer body style. AS far as suspension goes to my knowledge they are almost identical. I am running the exact same suspension that was on my B6. The interior is for the most part the same except that i know have steering wheel controls which i hardly use. That my 2 cents.

[JMG]

Supposedly the 60/40 split for quattros gets rid of some of the understeer characteristics of our nose heavy A4/S4s. I know the B7 S4s are at least 60/40 split, not sure about the B7 A4s. Although the B8 A4s are 60/40. B6s are still 50/50. Anyone confirm this?

[renz609]

Supposedly the 60/40 split for quattros gets rid of some of the understeer characteristics of our nose heavy A4/S4s. I know the B7 S4s are at least 60/40 split, not sure about the B7 A4s. Although the B8 A4s are 60/40. B6s are still 50/50. Anyone confirm this?

I think only the 6mt b7 s4's use the 60:40 split. The tip and the B7 A4's still utilize 50:50.e

[acidrome]

^ nope. My B7 A4 6MT Quattro has 60:40 split

[Kerschera4]

i would take a b7 everyday before my b6. they look tons better and the 2.0t is easier and cheaper to make fast than the 1.8.

also, with the b8 coming out are you going to want to drive an a4 thats 2 body styles old or just one?

[muffinman]

Larson - actually, if I remember correctly, the AWE Big Turbo Kit's supposed to push the 2.0T north of 300 hp... I want to say 310-320 at the crank but don't quote me on that

Performance - the 2.0T has more tuning potential and much better performance out-the-box... you can get a chip and some cheap bolt-ons that'll push it way beyond a 1.8T with a big turbo kit

Looks - the big grill = Audi IMO... the B6 looks classy and I like it alot, but the B7 is totally recognizable as an Audi and has more a "presence" on the road... looks more aggressive

Reliability - outside of the PCV and DV, which are both covered under warranty and/or are easy fixes, the B7 is pretty damn solid... they actually had above-average reliability ratings in CR surveys and according to truedelta, the B7's are faring pretty well ... don't really have to worry about coil packs and the other little things that plague the B6's. Makes sense that Audi cleaned up and fine-tuned everything since the platform and alot of the mechanicals are carried over from the B6

Get the B7.. it has more staying power and will hold it's value better

[MJH 102383]

Some awesome responses guys thanks so much really appreciate it. This seems like a great community and unfortunately Acura communities are definitely not the same way at all they're more kids 19-22 extremely frustrating.

Anyway the B7 sounds like my best bet I'm trying to find a white or black one with under 50K miles for $21K or less. I know it's tough, but so far I've found a couple.

How is the gas mileage on the 6-speed? And the AWE Turbo Kit or whatever how much is that likely to cost? And how reliable? And with it what kind of 1/4 mile potential does the B7 have?

[muffinman]

Some awesome responses guys thanks so much really appreciate it. This seems like a great community and unfortunately Acura communities are definitely not the same way at all they're more kids 19-22 extremely frustrating.

Anyway the B7 sounds like my best bet I'm trying to find a white or black one with under 50K miles for $21K or less. I know it's tough, but so far I've found a couple.

How is the gas mileage on the 6-speed? And the AWE Turbo Kit or whatever how much is that likely to cost? And how reliable? And with it what kind of 1/4 mile potential does the B7 have?

AWE is legit... they develop some kickass products for the B7 (check out their quad exhaust)... always expect a top-notch product from them. The BT kit is supposed run somewhere around $4,000ish? Do a search for it, there's a big thread somewhere in here

Are you looking at a quattro or FWD? Stated mileage for quattro is 22/30... I get more like 18-19 in the city and 31-32 on the highway; big difference (our cars are porkers, takes alot to get it rolling)

[acidrome]

6MT Quattro does about 370~420 depending on how you drive and how much ur on the accelerator.

The AWE bt kit will cost roughly $5400 and the kti will have about 375 to the crank.

Stock the B7 will do the quarter mile in mid to low 15.

[tre]

^ nope. My B7 A4 6MT Quattro has 60:40 split

How do you know? I would love to know if this is true?

[davis449]

I am more partial to the looks of the B6 over the B7, but as you can see, the power potential won that battle with me. I would recommend that you wait for the APR BT kit before you consider going that route. I only say this because APR tests all of their equipment specifically for the daily driver, so it has to be reliable before they'll bring any modification to market. Not that AWE isn't legit or anything, I know some are going to flame me hard for my post, but I trust APR way more. I have Stage II with a fuel pump, the total cost for me was around $2600 to get here and that's including software at $500 because I didn't both with the other programs, I just stuck with 93. tack another $1300 on that to include suspension and that's the total performance mods I have in the car excluding rims and tires, we won't talk about how much looks cost me.

[acidrome]

How do you know? I would love to know if this is true?

I know because that was one of my questions and purchasing points when I bought my car back in August of 06. I have an early 07 and the salesmen told me that our cars (who ever has Quattro) was the new Quattro with the 60:40 split. I do believe all B7's have it but I know that the 07's+ have it.

[B. Rock]

courtesy of wiki..."Another notable inclusion is the 3rd-generation Torsen T-3 quattro system, which uses a 'default' asymmetric 40:60 front-rear torque distribution (this new asymmetric centre differential was only available initially on the RS4, and later, on the S4. The remainder of the A4 range still utilised the 50:50 split diff)" never 100% trusted some of the wiki stuff, but that page seems fairly legitimate, considering the spelled utilized the 'english' way

[davis449]

I know because that was one of my questions and purchasing points when I bought my car back in August of 06. I have an early 07 and the salesmen told me that our cars (who ever has Quattro) was the new Quattro with the 60:40 split. I do believe all B7's have it but I know that the 07's+ have it.

To the best of my knowledge, the only B7 that got the 40:60 was the RS4.

[JMG]

To the best of my knowledge, the only B7 that got the 40:60 was the RS4.

I know at least the 06+ S4s did as well. The 25quatto that I drive was the first to offer it for the S4.

[nick71692]

^ nope. My B7 A4 6MT Quattro has 60:40 split

not sure about that. I dont think we have a 60:40 split yet

[nick71692]

now owning both a b6 and recently a b7 they are completely night and day. The b6 is a pig and slow, but this new 2.0t makes the car feel much faster than it really is. over all the the b7 is mich like the b6 except for nose and ass and motor. alot of similarities between the two

[MJH 102383]

Okay thanks again for all of the responses. And the AWE kit is definitely something that I would consider! Okay so the 6-speed is recommended? How about the all-wheel drive version vs. the front-wheel drive version? Which is better on gas / handling and which is quicker in terms of 1/4 mile time and acceleration? Thanks!

[acidrome]

Quattro 6MT ftw!!!

[A4A4A4]

go quattro or go home

[Six Speed Turbo]

go quattro or go home

I second the s#!t out of that motion Sir!!!

[jayphil82]

You want to put a big turbo in the future but you seem really worried about the the gaz consuption between the FWD and the AWD or the B6 and the B7!? To get this car in the 13s you know that you will need to consume more gaz...

Anyway the stock or chipped B7 quattro is not that hard on gaz because of the 2.0T is really gaz efficient but even chipped, we are far from the 13s.

[Larson7.62]

Larson - actually, if I remember correctly, the AWE Big Turbo Kit's supposed to push the 2.0T north of 300 hp... I want to say 310-320 at the crank but don't quote me on that

I didn't mean with the BT, just the other options I listed (Chip, exhaust, intake, etc.). But realistically with just the other options it would probably get up to 260-265 hp, not 275 like I previously stated.

[Bmeister]

Okay thanks again for all of the responses. And the AWE kit is definitely something that I would consider! Okay so the 6-speed is recommended? How about the all-wheel drive version vs. the front-wheel drive version? Which is better on gas / handling and which is quicker in terms of 1/4 mile time and acceleration? Thanks!

If you want to mod for more power, you want the quattro and the 6spd manual to handle just about whatever you throw at it. Quattro will enable you to launch like a rocket off the line without worrying about wheel spin as you'd have with a FWD A4. Stock, I'd guess the FWD may be just a bit quicker (moving) due to lower weight. Off the line though.....quattro FTW.

I've only owned my B7 about one month after many months of pre-buying research, but have put on ~2000+ miles for a few long weekend trips so far. I have the REVO chip upgrade, and easily got 32-35+ mpg on the highway at 60-80mph speeds. It hasn't been tracked yet, but passenger timings of 0-60 are easily low 6 seconds with an OK launch and will get a tic or two quicker as I get used to the light-effort Audi clutch and longish shift throws. The 2.0T/6spd-manual-quattro is the ideal A4 --- Great performance when modded while retaining outstanding fuel economy when cruising.

Handling-wise, punch the gas and turn hard and the quattro digs in and pulls you around a corner like you wouldn't believe. Having driven multiple BMWs, Corvettes and Porsches over many years, the quattro system is the real deal and will outperform the FWD counterpart handily.

[MJH 102383]

Some awesome feedback guys thanks so much for the reviews! Really appreciate it.

It really is coming down to a 2005 Mercedes C230 Kompressor Sport Sedan vs. the '05.5 Audi A4 Quattro. The Mercedes I just like the looks of and the factory warranty, but the Audi seems to have a LOT more to offer in all aspects.

Some questions that I have are the following:

1. Is the B7 A4 offered in quattro AND in automatic, or does the quattro only come in 6-speed?
2. Do all the B7 A4 Quattro's come with xenon headlights?
3. How expensive is the maintenance on the B7 A4 after 50K miles?

I really can't decide between the automatic and the 6-speed. Owning all manual cars I feel like I should stick with another 6-speed, but I'm honestly trying to get away from modding for performance, lol.

[bcramer]

Some awesome feedback guys thanks so much for the reviews! Really appreciate it.

It really is coming down to a 2005 Mercedes C230 Kompressor Sport Sedan vs. the '05.5 Audi A4 Quattro. The Mercedes I just like the looks of and the factory warranty, but the Audi seems to have a LOT more to offer in all aspects.

Some questions that I have are the following:

1. Is the B7 A4 offered in quattro AND in automatic, or does the quattro only come in 6-speed?
2. Do all the B7 A4 Quattro's come with xenon headlights?
3. How expensive is the maintenance on the B7 A4 after 50K miles?

I really can't decide between the automatic and the 6-speed. Owning all manual cars I feel like I should stick with another 6-speed, but I'm honestly trying to get away from modding for performance, lol.

1. The A4 Quattro is offered in both a 6-speed manual and a 6-speed Auto/TipTronic

2. No. They all come standard with regular halogen headlights. If I recall correctly the bi-xenons are part of the Lighting Package.

3. I dont know.

Many will say to go with the manual tranny. However, if you're only going to Chip, Exhaust, Intake then the auto tranny should handle it just fine. When you start looking to upgrade turbos then you would need to worry about it.

[yload]

1, yes as stated above
2, Halogen standard convenience package comes with the Xeon auto-levelers
3, if you purchase up front with Audi Care can be pretty cheap but over all it is not that bad, I paid 600 bucks for the service included to 50K, but you will probably be purchasing used as most B7's are gone?

I say go manual if you have had it in the past you will not be disappointed but if you want something easy to drive go for the automatic, but personally I have driven both and the automatic is slow without chip, so is 6-speed but does not feel as slow.

[aphextwin2050]

Some awesome responses guys thanks so much really appreciate it. This seems like a great community and unfortunately Acura communities are definitely not the same way at all they're more kids 19-22 extremely frustrating.

Anyway the B7 sounds like my best bet I'm trying to find a white or black one with under 50K miles for $21K or less. I know it's tough, but so far I've found a couple.

How is the gas mileage on the 6-speed? And the AWE Turbo Kit or whatever how much is that likely to cost? And how reliable? And with it what kind of 1/4 mile potential does the B7 have?

I was able to get a 2006 A4 Q-tip black with 19,000 miles for 21,500 before taxes back in December.

I think that's around the best time cause Audi floods the market with off-lease cars...plus considering new model year, there might be even more bargains.