NeilT

Hi all

I've been trying to convince a friend to buy a Scoob (almost did it after a demo in mine) but his Mrs is not to impressed by them so he's looking for an Audi A4 1.8T.

So any opinions on these cars? How do they compare to the Scoobs?

Neil

MattN

in what area do you want to compare?

performance - no contest scooby wins
fuel economy - no contest audi wins
build quality - no contest audi wins
toys - no contest audi wins (on an SE)
residuals - both poor

The Audi is a more refined expensive saloon, the Scooby is a junior performance car. If you want pace go for the scoob anything else go for the Audi.

GRANT

Neil,
Brought a new A4 1.8T new 5 years ago.Covered 43,000 and went through 2 turbos(replaced as an exchange under warrnty)
To many tyres, useless in the wet.
But very well built and the wife loved it.
Sold it 3 years ago and got a good price for it.
Nice solid family car not as flash as a BMW but NOT A SCOOBY by a long mile.

Grant

Crapaud62

I borrowed an Audi 1.8 turbo Quattro Sport last Saturday. Very impressed with it.

It is definately slower than a scoob but so much more refined and build quality in a very different league. Less understeer than the scoob and feels much heavier which can be good or bad depending on the circumstances. Engine was a bit rough at high revs but good torque.

Sports suspension was hard but helped good handling.

However, IMHO both are surpassed by the BMW 330Ci Sport I had out today. It has the quality of the Audi with the added excitement of a brilliant chassis and wonderful steering feel.

This is not meant to be in any way negative, all are excellent cars and the only true way to form your own opinion is to take them all for a test. Good fun testing too

sulli

Slow

S3 is better

jamesa

Be careful with A3 quattro`s / S3`s / TT`s - have heard of problems with the rear hubs. It seems there is corrosion of a `rose joint` which has led to wheels coming loose etc....

Cheers

[Edited by jamesa - 10/17/2001 12:22:16 AM]

jon44w

slow...

s3 is slow to....

rs4 is better

Crapaud62

RS4 should be better at nearly £50k

Seamus

RS4 - Hmmmm
S3 is slow, and was very disappointing.

Ran an A4 1.8T Avant before getting the Scoob, Did 50K in 18 months and didn't have 1 single problem. However it was pretty useless in the wet, not that quick (150bhp), ate brake pads and not exciting to drive. Not bad for taking rubbish to the tip though.

Scoob makes me smile everytime I drive it. Happy now. GF didn't like it when I bought it, drove it now loves it!

RickyD

If your wife is not too impressed with the Scoob I would seriously consider the A4 1.8T (Sport).

My father had one as a company car about four years ago and I loved driving it.

The performance was good and the economy was better than my old car which was an 2.0i Astra Convertible.

Keep the wife happy & get an Audi!

Cheers

RickyD

The Zohan

IMHO
Depends what your mate wants from his car.

Audi is generally well made and holds it's value

I tested an A4T & A3T Sport - Preferred the A3's handling.
Compared to a Scoob it does not stand a chance performance and fun factor wise.

NeilT

thanks for the opinions folks, I'll pass it on to my mate, who I'm sure will go for the Audi. As for me I wouldnt part with Scoob MY00 for anything (give me another 6 months and I'll probably be bored with her tho! - then its PPP time eh!)

cheers

Neil

www.scoobyworld.co.uk

pwebb

a lot of the above posts seem to relate to old shape A4 and old shape scooby - there is a new A4 1.8T which looks pretty nice with twin exhausts and tidy styling - there is a blue one at the top of my road and it definitely looks a lot better than the current new age wrx - it is probably lighter and faster too.
Like the scooby - best bought in Europe where Audi is a 'tin box' cheap car maker and does not have the brand cachet or price tag of Audis in the UK!

Paul W

[Edited by pwebb - 10/17/2001 4:20:18 PM]

Mike Burton

I had the old shape A4 1.8 T Sport before the '01 I've got now. Two very different cars.

Drove it into Leeds for the best part of a year on a daily basis. Was returning (well according to the DIS?) just over 31mpg. That was with doig 85/90 on the M62 until it ground to a halt, then stop start all the way into Leeds. I drive the scoob the same, and that returns 19-20mpg (worked out)

It really depends what your friend is looking for in a car. If his Mrs doesn't want a Scoob, then its probably a good half way car. It certainly isn't a bad car, and my other half prefered the Audi to the Scoob. The ride, build, noise, mpg, service are IMHO better with the Audi, and for 90% of the time on the road your probably better of in the Audi anyway. (depending on the roads you drive most of your mileage on)

My next car will almost certainly come from the Audi stable again as the 10% extra the scoob delivers (i.e performance) is just not worth it for the crap you have to put up with the rest of the time, especially road noise.

Im glad I've got a scoob, but I won't be sorry to see the back of it when the lease is up. Im of the thinking its better to regret something you have done, than something you havn't

Regards

--
Mike

logiclee

Tell him to buy a Skoda Octavia 1.8T to get the Audi running gear and build quality and with the money saved buy a second hand Scoob.

Lee

SJobson

Why an Audi A4 1.8T? That engine's pretty average in every car it's used in, although the longitudinal mounting in the A4 is probably best. But I'd be looking at an A4 2.8 Quattro, far more fun and different to the Scoob but with its own merits.

Or the 3.0 Quattro if it's a new one - but for the price of a new A4 1.8T I'd go for a more fun old shape one.

Oh, if he wants economy, you can chip the 2.5 V6 TDi Quattro up to 190bhp and 280lb ft of torque, which is nice - still gives over 40mpg.

AJbaseBloke

Late in - but if ride and noise is an issue, why not go the Legacy route. The B4 will run rings around the A4, espescially the D revision (BE5D).

Quiet, fast - good handling too.

TaviaRS

I'd go for the Octavia RS (well, I am biased!). Compared mine to a friends new shape A4 1.8T, all he kept saying was thats just like mine! He was decidedly upset when he found out that mine was £6k less (that pays for insurance and a fair ammount of fuel!) and had a longer warranty (3yr unlimited mileage). Its more exclusive than the Audi (how many have you seen?). The only drawback is the badge, (I personally love it, its an inverted snobbery thing) a lot of people wouldn't be seen dead in one.

Veracocha

The S3 is as fast as a MY01 but far more comfortable with better interior and more relaxing ride. Probably not as involving but a fun car non the less. Maybe one to consider, although it is a three door.

Dizzy

pah...
1) I thought this was about the A4 1.8T
2) The s3... get proper 4wheel drive not some poxy imetation the sullies the quality quatro reputation

My friend has the a3 1.8T and I was very impressed by the performance and general quality but it cost more than my scoob and I know which I prefer

The Audi is the heads choice the scoob is the hearts choice
nuf said.

Mike Burton

For less than the price of both cars, you can get a 1-2 year old S4, some of which are for sale after being fettled by the likes of MTM. One was on the autotrader website not so long ago. T-plate car for 19.5k. Bargin

--
Mike

logiclee

Autocar tested the Octavia RS against the A3 1.8T last week. Here are a few comments.

Engine bays identical down to the last clip, cap, pipe and wire. You would need to be a VAG expert to tell them apart.

No differnce in quality of interiors, although you got more in the Skoda.

Skoda offered better performance and a better drive.

Skoda is over £6000 cheaper.

Lee

Veracocha

Sod it I think I will sell my Audi and get a scoda! Or maybe I won't.