Anyone with twins/young kids who can offer some car advice?

Well today ended up being interesting.

We tried the Audi A6 Avant and the 5 Series touring. Both I could just about drive with the rear facing baby seat in behind me, but not in a comfortable driving position.

We happened to spot a rather nice 2019 Audi A7 for sale, so wondered if we could try the baby seat in the back of that just out of curiosity. Incredibly there’s quite a bit more room in the A7!! I can actually drive in my normal, comfortable driving position and get the baby seat in behind me with a little space to spare.

So, having test driven it for a couple of hours, mrs spleen really liked it and we’ve put a deposit down on it.

It’s the S-Line Quattro TDI 50. Plenty of poke and half decent economy, and a big enough boot too.
 
Surprised the A7 is roomier than the A6. I thought they're basically the same thing. Both have a shorter wheelbase than an A8 surely?
Bit late, but BMW 6 GT has mega legroom in the back. Anyway enjoy! Is it from an Audi dealer? If not, can you get an Audi warranty on it?

Anyway, enjoy :D
 
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mjt said:
Surprised the A7 is roomier than the A6. I thought they're basically the same thing. Both have a shorter wheelbase than an A8 surely?
Bit late, but BMW 6 GT has mega legroom in the back. Anyway enjoy! Is it from an Audi dealer? If not, can you get an Audi warranty on it?

Anyway, enjoy :D
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I was surprised too - the legroom so to speak doesn’t seem any bigger, but it’s the space between the rear bench backrest and the seat in front that’s bigger - thus there’s more room for the bulky baby seat. Bonkers really.

Yes it’s from Audi so I’ll get a year of warranty. Because it’s the 3.0 diesel engine I won’t be able to get it into the Audi All-in plan after that which is a bummer, but will extend the warranty in any case for piece of mind.
 
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Spleen Sauce said:
I was surprised too - the legroom so to speak doesn’t seem any bigger, but it’s the space between the rear bench backrest and the seat in front that’s bigger - thus there’s more room for the bulky baby seat. Bonkers really.

Yes it’s from Audi so I’ll get a year of warranty. Because it’s the 3.0 diesel engine I won’t be able to get it into the Audi All-in plan after that which is a bummer, but will extend the warranty in any case for piece of mind.
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You can still get a service plan with them - worth looking at next Black Friday.


Paid £450 odd for my S5 with 2 services.
 
MrRockliffe said:
You can still get a service plan with them - worth looking at next Black Friday.


Paid £450 odd for my S5 with 2 services.
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Every time I've spoken to Audi about getting a 2-year service plan for my S4 I was told I can't because it's an S/RS car and they don't offer them on vehicles with engines over 2.0l.

How did you manage to get that for your S5?
 
cokecan said:
Every time I've spoken to Audi about getting a 2-year service plan for my S4 I was told I can't because it's an S/RS car and they don't offer them on vehicles with engines over 2.0l.

How did you manage to get that for your S5?
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So you can’t get the all in one plan, but the service plan is available online: https://service-plans.vwfs.co.uk/audi/the-plans
 
cokecan said:
Every time I've spoken to Audi about getting a 2-year service plan for my S4 I was told I can't because it's an S/RS car and they don't offer them on vehicles with engines over 2.0l.

How did you manage to get that for your S5?
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Forgot to say: when you next get it serviced, make sure you have 5W30 in it, rather than 20. It’ll help with the cam rocker issue. Some people are recommending 40, but it isn’t in spec according to the service manual, so Audi advised it could cause issues with the warranty if anything went wrong.


How are you getting on with it in general? I wanted the Avant ideally, but they were a little more than I was prepared to spend.
 
It's been a solid car for the 3-years I've had it and absolutely handled a newborn and associated accessories (who is now 3-years old herself!) without any issue. Certainly wasn't ever thinking "boy, do I need more luggage space!". Performance was hitting the spot too. I did test drive an S5 originally as they are mechanically the same cos Audi had no S4 Avant's in the showroom at the time, but I certainly preferred the size of the Avant overall. If I had to add any critique then I'd say the rear legroom is a little bit lacking for an adult (maybe I was expecting more given the car's length?) and I really REALLY dislike the hesitation this engine/gearbox combo seems to have when you plant your foot from a standstill. It makes sneaking out of a junction quickly when it's busy just unnecessarily stressful as it inevitably bogs down and doesn't rev quickly for a short time as you expect. it's PCP is due to end early next year so may have missed the boat on the 2-year service thing now, but maybe for the next car if I stick with Audi. Given used car prices I am seriously considering just keeping it and paying the settlement figure. I'm in the fortunate position where I agreed the deal literally right before lockdown in 2020 so the settlement figure on the contract is actually very reasonable in todays climate!
 
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cokecan said:
It's been a solid car for the 3-years I've had it and absolutely handled a newborn and associated accessories (who is now 3-years old herself!) without any issue. Certainly wasn't ever thinking "boy, do I need more luggage space!". Performance was hitting the spot too. I did test drive an S5 originally as they are mechanically the same cos Audi had no S4 Avant's in the showroom at the time, but I certainly preferred the size of the Avant overall. If I had to add any critique then I'd say the rear legroom is a little bit lacking for an adult (maybe I was expecting more given the car's length?) and I really REALLY dislike the hesitation this engine/gearbox combo seems to have when you plant your foot from a standstill. It makes sneaking out of a junction quickly when it's busy just unnecessarily stressful as it inevitably bogs down and doesn't rev quickly for a short time as you expect. it's PCP is due to end early next year so may have missed the boat on the 2-year service thing now, but maybe for the next car if I stick with Audi. Given used car prices I am seriously considering just keeping it and paying the settlement figure. I'm in the fortunate position where I agreed the deal literally right before lockdown in 2020 so the settlement figure on the contract is actually very reasonable in todays climate!
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The legroom is my S5 isn’t great either. It’s worse than my F31 by enough that it’s not comfortable for adults behind me.

I wish I’d gone for an avant but I’ll probably hop into a C/E 63 next.
 
Rear legroom is important if you need an adult to sit in the rear if you have a fussy child or need to feed them in privacy. Also most rear facing seats can be quite bulky and eat into the front passenger leg room.
 
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So picked up the A7 tonight. As nothing is ever simple at all in my life, couple of issues since driving it home:

1. Apparently a used approved Audi does not come with an Audi Connect subscription, they’re expecting you to pay the best part of £200 a year for the functionality!! Every used approved BMW I’ve had previously has had at least a year of connectivity included.

2. There’s an occasional horrendous rattling noise coming from somewhere in the front of the car, possibly somewhere in the dash more towards the passenger side of the car. So it’ll have to go back to Audi to get that fixed as it’ll drive me completely mad.

Otherwise, it’s very nice :)
 
Spleen Sauce said:
1. Apparently a used approved Audi does not come with an Audi Connect subscription, they’re expecting you to pay the best part of £200 a year for the functionality!! Every used approved BMW I’ve had previously has had at least a year of connectivity included.
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Yep, bit cheeky really

Spleen Sauce said:
2. There’s an occasional horrendous rattling noise coming from somewhere in the front of the car, possibly somewhere in the dash more towards the passenger side of the car. So it’ll have to go back to Audi to get that fixed as it’ll drive me completely mad.
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Good luck. I've taken my whole car to bits trying to stop the various rattles. Do you have the B&O system? If so, there's a good chance I know what it could be :-)
 
So the annoying dash rattle only happens once the car has properly warmed up - I’m suspecting it’s somewhere buried in the air vents that shrinks a bit when it’s hot.
 
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