Cant decide, A6, Q7 or 5 Series

mast3r

mast3r

mast3r

Soldato
Joined
28 Jan 2007
Posts
2,558
Location
Wilmslow, Cheshire
Hello boys and girls.

I Hope you remain covid free and have enjoyed the festivities, to the best of your abilities.

I Find myself in a position where i need some help on the great decision.

I Currently own a 2013 A6 Avant (C7) 3Ltr Quattro (245BHP) S-line and it has been pretty damn fantastic - comfy - fast - economical and somewhat pain free, albeit i had to have a new battery, rear wheel bearing and ABS sensor last month - went to Halfords for a service, MOT and two new tyres (what a mistake that was, they screwed the sensor but wouldn't fix)

Anyway.

I am thinking about changing the car before i loose more money on it and i "want" a new motor but i am stuck, really i cant decide on what to do.

It was always going to be another A6 - have been looking at the facelift C7 BiTdi but close to 30k it opens up options.

I am torn,
2018 C7 A6 Avant - 3ltr Quattor
2018 C8 A6 Avant 50 TDI Quattro

2017/18 Q7 (272BHP version)

But now i have seen the BWM 5 Touring and think the interior has much nicer than the C7 and Q7 but not a massive fan of the extioer looks, looking at the 540i and 530D in a 2017/18.

Due to a change of job ill be doing MUCH less mileage and my commute (when back to the office) will be 5 miles there and 5 miles back with some longer weekend trips.

We have a trailer tent and plan on getting a caravan.


Can anyone offer any advice?

Neither BMW or Audi have these cars in group stock as the larger engines are less popular.

Cheers
 
Mysterae_ said:
My god man, you got your car serviced at Halfords? Was it free or did they hold you at gun point?
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LOL! no it was cheap and i wanted to get the car an MOT with the mindset of selling it on i just thought the hell with it and let them do it. i know... i know
 
BMW 530/540d or the new A6 surely?

The last-gen tech in a C7 isn’t worth £30k
A BiTDI Competition would be lovely but not if you can get into a newer model for the same cash.
 
mjt said:
BMW 530/540d or the new A6 surely?

The last-gen tech in a C7 isn’t worth £30k
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i think you are right, i dont think its a wise move dropping a load of cash on the same car just a few years newer and few facelift bits
 
new/demo Arteon break, versus the Audi/bm offerings , albeit down a bit on power; diesel still has the torque for a caravan
 
Having owned both teh A6 avant and presently drive a 2019 Q7 50tdi, I can tell you that they are very different cars. Advantages of the Q7 are that it has 7 seats, mine has full air suspension (great for towing) and it has lots of interior space for getting older relatives and children in. Disadvantages are that it is massive and very heavy around town.

If i didn't need 7 seats then I would still be driving a large estate/5 seat SUV (Touareg) I think. They are more agile than the Q7 and for those shorter journeys you are talking about I would imagine that the reduced weight would be very noticeable for fuel consumption.

However, for towing a van I would think that a Q7 with air suspension would do the job better than an estate, but only because it weighs more. Rather than the estate being poor at towing, it would just be a little less stable in the extremes, which most people never reach.

One last thing, the Q7 is expensive to buy and service. Halfords would not be my choice for servicing a Q7 and Audi charge a lot. If you fancy an SUV, what about last gen Touareg? I had the R Line 2015 model for 2 years and it was great. Fast, smooth, comfortable and it is available with air suspension as well. if you can find one with it fitted. If it wasn't for the need for 7 seats than I would have got the new Touareg despite the new interior feeling a little cheap (IMHO).
 
Depending how much towing you are going to do an SUV is a better option over a big estate. The overhang behind the rear axle is shorter on an SUV and makes for a more stable towing platform. I moved to an X3 from an F11 530d and the X3 blows the socks off the F11 for towing ability.
 
Dandle said:
. I moved to an X3 from an F11 530d and the X3 blows the socks off the F11 for towing ability.
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What are you towing for there to have been such a dramatic difference, a tri axle race car trailer with integrated palace?!

Surely your 530d handled a caravan with sufficient ability that there wasn't that much room for improvement?
 
Only caravans. The first was 1630kg and the second 1700kg. It's not the ability to pull the caravan both cars had plenty of power and both weigh roughly the same. It's when you get to a point where the the caravan can start to become unstable such as over taking a lorry or a sudden cross wind where the caravan can start to yaw side to side.

The shorter the distance between the rear axle to the towbar point the less the load on the back will have an influence on the car when it moves. The F11 was ok but no where near as good as the G01 and I've not had one occasion where the X3 was being pushed around a which happened a few times with the 5. The self leveling suspension wasn't a plus point either in fact it was the opposite as it popped a bag one time towing.
 
Dandle said:
Only caravans. The first was 1630kg and the second 1700kg. It's not the ability to pull the caravan both cars had plenty of power and both weigh roughly the same. It's when you get to a point where the the caravan can start to become unstable such as over taking a lorry or a sudden cross wind where the caravan can start to yaw side to side.

The shorter the distance between the rear axle to the towbar point the less the load on the back will have an influence on the car when it moves. The F11 was ok but no where near as good as the G01 and I've not had one occasion where the X3 was being pushed around a which happened a few times with the 5. The self leveling suspension wasn't a plus point either in fact it was the opposite as it popped a bag one time towing.
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The chance of a bag going bang is the same as a coil spring snapping, otherwise, air suspension is a major plus point which is often overlooked especially when towing. https://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/trucks/a25236044/towing-air-suspension/
 
The E class estate has air suspension at the rear as well - at least mine did. However, father my in law's E class estate is in the garage again for the 4th time regarding the rear air suspension going faulty again. Car sagging, wires corroded and broken, air bags replaced and still not working properly. Pot luck if you get a bad car on any make I suppose. I never had any issues with mine.
 
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