Looking to buy a D4 - options advice please
 

Hi there all,

I'm in negotiations on a couple of 3.0TDI D4s. Really are lovely cars. I've had a D2 S8 for the past 12 months and I've loved it. An A8 convert (always been an Audi man). The fuel consumption on the S8 though and the miles I do is making me think I could buy a D4 TDI with the fuel cost saving I'd make (slight man maths admittedly).

My question is around the audio in a D4. Was Bose and B&O two additional levels of audio options offered? I'd ideally like the upgraded sound system, but then I've seen a car which looks fantastic, but 'only' has the standard audio.

Now my D2 S8 doesn't have Bose. It's an OK stereo. Quite clear still but lacks the bass that my TT's Bose used to have. I dare say though that the standard D4 stereo is probably leaps and bounds on in terms of my 2000 D2.

Any comments welcome, but ideally wanting to know is the standard stereo still half decent. And secondly, are the Bose/B&O options worth holding out for?

I can only speak from experience fella, and my opinions are based on what I've listened to personally. My wife's A4 (2006) has standard Audi audio and it's okay, but only okay. My D2 (PF) had Bose, it was great (great bass, as you experienced in your TT) though I've never listened to the standard Audi kit in a D2 to make a comparison. My S8 (2006) has B&O and it's excellent, as stated by many others, but it was the car I bought and not the sound system. I was just lucky to have the chance of an 8 with it in, but saying that I'd probably look for it in any future purchases. The size of the A8 cabin probably makes it a great arena for the B&O though I'm not sure if it's of the same quality in newer smaller cars that Audi have fitted it in.

I'd say the best thing to do would be to spend some time at a dealers checking out the sound quality of the options available and decide whether it's an essential requirement for your future D4. It could save you ages looking for a car with the spec you think you'd like best, only to find it wasn't worth the wait. I hope that makes sense?

My advice is take the car on it's merits, don't focus on a single option. When looking for a D4 I wanted as may toys as possible, there is little difference in value between a car with few or many options but to get the high spec you have to be patient, pro-active and move fast when one comes available.

I waited over 6 months, daily checks of autotrader and audi.co.uk and eventually got a high spec car for average market value from a main dealer! To be fair it hasn't been a bed of roses since but I haven't found another car that ticked all the boxes for me yet either :ROFL:

So take your favorite CD and go listen, see what you think as that is all that is important!

I had standard audio in my D2 and it was pretty decent. Bose in my D3s which was a good bit better, and B&O in the A7 which is even better (not sure if it's worth 6k in a new car though).

Make sure you play with the DSP options as you can make it sound really bad with the wrong sound focus setting :)

My D4 has the standard Audi stereo,nowhere near as good as Bose let alone B&O,but that being said its ok.

My D3 has the "standard" sound system in it. Not brilliant, but then I have cloth ears and just play MP3s and radio on it anyway so it does for my needs. I bought the car because it was one owner with 16k on the clock, the right colour combo, in excellent condition and had FASH. The fact it had a good stereo instead of a fantastic one didn't even factor in it for me.

The fact that the D4 is still a current model, I would take the others' advice and go to a few dealers with your CDs and check out a standard, Bose and B&O car and then decide if it is the "be-all and end-all" of your deciding factors. +++

I have had Bose in my D3 and both D4's it was better in the D3 in fairness, the system seemed to have a better tone. That said it depends very much on what media your using to play through it. I link up an 80GB ipod and have everything on there ripped using Apple Lossless which gives you a decent quality file. You can also do this on the D4 with SD cards I think which works well. I don't think the internal jukebox allows you to use that type of file for some reason although I haven't tried it on my latest motor.
It is worth having Bose or the rarer B&O if you like your music. Bose was standard on the sport spec cars. Personally it's one of the options I wont by a 8 without, there are plenty to choose from so hold out. My previous 3 litre Sport is back on the market now ;)
One other thing to avoid on the D4 is the standard seats imho they gave me back ache in a day of driving a loaner, get the comfort or sport comfort seats with 22 way adjustment. You will be grateful you have them after a few hours behind the wheel.

Hope this helps +++
Cheers Glyn

I too have the standard audio in my D4 and I consider it perfectly fine. We also have a Q7 with Bose and the standard D4 system isnt noticeably inferior. Having come from a D3, the D4 has a much quieter cabin which obviously helps with the audio. In my opinion, a much more useful option would be the sim card slot which gives you google earth mapping and a wi-fi hotspot.

Appreciate all the responses folks. Went and looked at a Bose specced car at the weekend which was very nice indeed. Didn't really get that much chance to play with the audio. Was a lovely lovely car indeed. Thinking I'm going to have a search around for the right spec car. There are plenty out there, hopefully someone's ticked the box for a slightly better specced audio but it wouldn't be a deal breaker...

Its worth keeping an eye out for the noise cancelling option - Pretty sure its standard on the S8, but I think it was optional on all the A's.

I was blown away by how quiet it made the interior sound. It was the step up from single pane to twin pane again easily. And I do mean blown away. It was whisper quiet in the cabin.

If you enjoy your audio, its an option that I think I'd be looking out for personally +++

The standard stereo will sound just fine. Until you hear the Bose. And then the Bose sounds really great, until you hear the B&O.... :D Just be careful what you sample, you might get a bit needy +++