Generation Gap: Audi A4 Edition

"Amoore100" (amoore100) 08/24/2016 at 22:23 • Filed to: Generation Gap, Audi, Audi A4, All audis look the same

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Welcome to Generation Gap where we ask you about your favorite generation of a certain multi-generational car nameplate. Then, explain why your choice is right to the rest of us uneducated folks.

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Last week we covered the Audi 80, the venerable predecessor to the modern Audi A4. Today we take a look at the A4 itself and decide which of these compact four/five doors best upholds the Quattro legacy. Is it the original B5 which had strong Audi DNA? Or is it the new one which is almost Skoda-like in its angles and lines?

The options:

First Generation [1994 - 2001] B5/Typ 8D and facelift

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Second Generation [2000 - 2006] B6/Typ 8E-8H

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Third Generation [2004 - 2006] B7/Typ 83-8H

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Fourth Generation [2007 - 2015] B8/Typ 8K and facelift

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Fifth Generation [2015 - Present] B9/Typ 8W

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dogisbadob > Amoore100 08/24/2016 at 22:36

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I like how the second and third look exactly the same, and the same goes for the fourth and fifth gens.

And that’s a good pic of the OG because it’s a base model with the hubcaps and black door handles :p

Zohaibman72 > Amoore100 08/24/2016 at 22:37

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First Gen for sure. I cannot stand the Fourth Gen. I feel like I see it more than the Camry, and it bores me to death, doesn’t help that most audis look so similar.

The first gen had a look that was passive aggressive. It looked like it was aggressive and not aggressive at all. It looked like a clean cut luxury sedan, and it’s probably one of my favourite cars to see lowered/modified.

Too low for my taste, but you get the idea.

Amoore100 > dogisbadob 08/24/2016 at 22:43

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Yeah, Audi styling has always been rather uninspiring. I kind of appreciate their quiet elegance though, it’s the polar opposite of whatever the hell BMW is doing nowadays.

Base is best! Here’s the 2016 1.4 TFSI, the newest base A4:

Maxima Speed > Amoore100 08/24/2016 at 23:02

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The 2nd gen cars (B6) have such an understated elegance and simplicity. They embody an ideal of capable all weather (AWD) performance subtly hinted at by the lack of low air ducting or fascia prevalent in later cars, giving the car the appearance of more ride height more akin to a rally-ish car.While still maintaining sleek, smooth, professionally bland lines that make this car distinctly German.

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > Amoore100 08/24/2016 at 23:13

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Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury:

No A4 has ever left the factory an extraordinary machine. However, each of them has potential to be more than it was built to be. None more so than the B6. It combined the 2nd generation 1.8T (the one that didn’t need a full rebuild every 75,000 miles) with a 6-speed manual, and wrapped it in unassuming elegance. No other engine in the history of VAG has as much of an aftermarket as the 1.8T does. This is a car you can truly use to build the ultimate clean sleeper, and because of their age, it can be done for hundreds, not thousands.

Saracen > Amoore100 08/25/2016 at 00:22

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I’m biased towards the second gen because I owned an ‘05 Avant. Which I regret selling.

Amoore100 > Saracen 08/25/2016 at 00:31

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Get another? The prices are dropping and the styling is holding up pretty well...

Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction > Amoore100 08/25/2016 at 03:42

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I have a 3rd gen and spent somewhere around 2000€ in the last months on it to repair it, so I might be biased.
This car is the worst, it’s bland, unreliable, not fun to drive. Yet somehow people want them, so the prices are kind of stable. I will probably sell mine as soon as I find a job that’s closer to my home (all my other cars have terrible fuel economy).
I heard the first and second gen were better from a reliability point of view, but the design is even more boring.
I won’t buy any other VW product anytime soon (except maybe a gated shifter, if I go insane)

RT > Amoore100 08/25/2016 at 10:14

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I choose the 1st gen, later generations improved on it but brought nothing new to the table when compared to the competition.

But the first A4 changed Audi’s image by killing the Audi 80 stereotype. It also dominated BTCC and had a pretty cool RS model which was available in avant form. Overall, it’s just a more interesting car to me compared to the rest. My only gripe is that it never got the 4.2 V8.

Saracen > Amoore100 08/25/2016 at 12:27

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I might if I can find a decent one, though 6-speed Avants are more expensive.

jkm7680 > Amoore100 08/25/2016 at 22:22

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B5 for lief. My ‘97 was a great car. Really reliable as well.

Amoore100 > Zohaibman72 08/25/2016 at 23:15

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Awesome! Haha, you must live in Europe somewhere because even in the Bay Area while they’re common, they’re certainly not Camry-common. Excellent summary of the B5 by the way, I think part of the reason it looks so clean is because it adopted many of its predecessor’s ‘90s-esque simplicity.

Amoore100 > Maxima Speed 08/25/2016 at 23:18

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True, it looks like a 2000's take on the ‘90s Audi 80 and therefore it seems to draw many styling cues from the rally era. Also, it was the last A4 before the ‘shield’ grille came into practice which probably helps it look more simplistic and refined, like a squared-off B5.

I see what you’re saying about the rally-stance...

Amoore100 > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather 08/25/2016 at 23:22

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That makes a lot of sense; at first I was confused since I had heard of the 1.8's reputation for being a ticking grenade of an engine but you clarified that by stating that the engine was updated for the B6. In that vein, I appreciate your write-up, I’m learning more and more about different kinds of cars by the day! Also, B6 sleeper wagons FTW!

Of course, you could get an S4 Avant but then you’d have twice the cylinders to mend when everything goes pear-shaped :/

Zohaibman72 > Amoore100 08/25/2016 at 23:23

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I live near Toronto, Ontario (Mississauga), so basically europe lol. Very common to see Audis, especially in my upper-middle class area. In Canada the Camry is less common than the Elantra, Civic and Corolla

I love pre 2000s audis but they are very uncommon here unless you go to a car show.

When I worked at a car wash I made friends with a guy who had a black B5 S4 with air suspension and BBS rims and absolutely fell in love with it

Amoore100 > Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction 08/25/2016 at 23:25

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Man, that sucks. I personally never warmed up to that generation either; while the earlier ones might look more bland, the third gen just looks a bit misshapen, like someone accidentally left a B6 in the cooker for too long. Sounds like the rest of the car isn’t much to write home about either, but you have to remember that around that time Audi was kind of turning itself around as a brand so perhaps it deserves some slack. Sorry about your current situation, I guess selling the B7 and getting another super-cheap secondhand Megane for DD purposes wouldn’t be practical?

Amoore100 > RT 08/25/2016 at 23:39

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Out of curiosity, what was the big differentiation between the B5 and the B4 80? They seem pretty similar stylistically and the B4 had the mighty RS2 Avant flagship so the B5 seems more like an evolution of the B4. Maybe it was BTCC which changed their image? I mean, Touring Car Racing in general is one of my favorite motorsports of all time...

Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction > Amoore100 08/26/2016 at 03:51

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I originally bought the Audi to have a reliable and economical car to go to work while I work on my DD 505 (it has some rust issues and deserves a general overhaul). I bought it in December, thinking that I would have more free time from January on (new customer, shorter commute). In the end, the customer I work for renewed the contract and I’m still there (consulting is a bitch).
So, in short, the last few months where: buying the Audi to repair the 505, having no time to repair it, Audi breaking down, switching to 505 for DD duties, repairing Audi (BTW 2000€ were parts only at reseller price), switching to Audi, still having no time for the 505. But from November on, I’ll have some time again, since I quit my consulting company.
So I’ll either get a job quickly that’s nearer, ditch the Audi and drive one of the fuel sippers and repair the 505 little by little, or I’ll stay at home a few weeks, in which I’ll have the time to repair the 505, depending on the job situation.
The only Megane I’d consider is the RS, which is surprisingly economical actually.

RT > Amoore100 08/26/2016 at 07:03

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Both the 80 and A4 used different generations of the B platform, so they’re quite different underneath. They introduced the A4 a whole year after the A6 and A8, so I assume they must’ve put more work in it.

BTCC is awesome, but I doubt it would have had that much effect on Audi’s reputation in the long-run, especially on an international level. I’d say it’s more likely to be the cars themselves coming off as more upmarket and futuristic, just pointing Audi in the right direction for the next few years.

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > Amoore100 08/26/2016 at 08:30

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The 4.2 is such a basket case, it’s so much easier to just build a 1.8T. IE the $10k chain job that the B6 S4s require every 100k miles to keep the tensioners from giving out and trashing the engine.

Amoore100 > Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction 08/26/2016 at 10:52

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I love your 505, I hope you can get it perfect someday!

VincentMalamute-Kim > Amoore100 08/26/2016 at 22:13

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B5 looks the best. Mine isn’t an A4 but I bought it based on its looks. I kinda regret the rear airdam and not thrilled that the carbon hood means less Nogaro.

Amoore100 > VincentMalamute-Kim 08/27/2016 at 02:28

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I’m assuming S4, then? Love the color, although I concur on your points with the airdam and the hood.

VincentMalamute-Kim > Amoore100 08/27/2016 at 14:24

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I think the carbon hood is needed because of all Audis huge forward weight distribution but then I also can’t bear the thought of painting over carbon fiber. First world problems huh?