Audis with air suspension query
 

Hi all

Mainly a question for those with relatively recent air suspended models (post 2014 really) - I'm currently looking at S6 Avants and have a long standing issue with not being able to get any of my cars since our 2004 A6 Avant onto my MIL's driveway, which was badly installed by pikeys and has a horrific peak to the tarmac at the top of a very steep drive, which has caught every subsequent car I've tried to get on it, including my old D2 S8 and current S5 Sportback and Golf GTI.

Her selection of 5 Fiestas of various generations bought since the drive was done have all been short enough wheelbase and high enough ground clearance that they're fine, so there's zero incentive to spend money on sorting it properly.

I'm wondering if lift mode can be used for slow speed manoeuvring, or if the handbooks all say to only use it statically when prepping to jack the car up? My closest experience of cars with lifting suspension is the hydraulic system on the Citroen BX! With those you can't drive the car in the highest setting as it locks out the struts completely and using any steering lock at the same time is likely to wrench something out and result in green wee on the floor!

I've seen my perfect spec S6, but the timing is as usual lousy and need to find £20k down the back of the sofa.....but it is lovely spec

Adrian

I think you are confusing lift and jacking mode. Lift is the highest setting and of course you can drive in it, it's a bit bouncy and it drops down again once you reach certain speed. The speed at which it drops down is dependant on car and which and how many lift levels it has. I think it was about 50mph for D3 to drop from Lift to Comfort and on Q7 it's about 25mph to drop from Lift to Off-road and about 50mph to drop from Off-road to Comfort.

Jacking mode is for when you are jacking up 1 corner. It does not change the hight and remains in whichever hight setting it was before, it just tells the car that you will be jacking up to stop it from trying to level itself as you are lifting up and jacking mode switches off as soon as you start driving.

Not in the year range but my D3 can be driven in lift mode no problem. In fact I use it for the exact reason you mentioned - for going over a high kerb. Lift mode will automatically drop to normal ride height once the car reaches a certain speed (according to the owner's manual).

yes i always put mine into lift mode driving locally over speed (bas---d) humps
be carefull with old S6,s as they carry a £600 tax disc + +++

One I'm looking at is £155 pa +++

if it's post 01/04/2017, remember it is +£335 for the first 5 years from the start of the second licence, i.e. about 6 years in total

Not that it should matter if it well used

Good point - although the advert quotes £155, a quick check on gov.uk suggests the higher rate is still applicable until November '22. Still cheaper than the S5 to tax

Still working on the Mrs to persuade her to change! Apparently we need sofas more than a new car......

I've just had to spend £3k on getting some old sofas refurbished :mad:

The extra tax is for 6 years, not 5, as it is from the second tax event for 5 years, still worth it though, especially when it gets cheap after 6 years

its all going up 1st april
 

Cars with a list price of over £40,000 when new pay an additional rate of £355 per year on top of the standard rate, for five years...

plus the £165 which is also going up on the 1st (was £155)... which started at £140 it goes up every year...

so as from friday 1st of April it will be £520 for 5 years after the first year of reg ...

rip-off

For some reason I thought the S5 was more to tax than it actually is - cost me £340 last summer. The Golf is £170

It wouldn’t put me off buying the S6 if there’s one more year at the higher rate - there’s not much change from £40k for the car so a couple of hundred in VED isn’t an issue for me

Derailing the thread slightly, but did you get any further on your search for an S6? I've been dipping in and out of a search for S6s myself, so am keeping a close eye on what's being listed for sale on a few sites.

I can't justify the stretch to it at the moment, but there is a beautiful 2017 Avant for sale in a very different colour rather than the usual monochrome shades. I'm not sure how long it's been on the market but if that's the one on your radar then it surely must be worth a look? B&O would have been nice to see on this particular car, and I think it must be an Exclusive body colour. It's listed on a main dealer's site unfortunately (so a few £thousand price inflation to begin with).

If you’re referring to the dark green one with wood dash trim, I did enquire about that one but both the spec is odd and the service history appears lacking. I think it’s one of those weird centrally ordered specs to show off elements of the options pages, as the RSE is rarely seen,likewise the wood. But who specs rear side airbags and doesn’t tick the box for heated rear seats?! It’s only been serviced twice and the gap between them was significant

The one I was really keen on sold within a week. The Mrs wasn’t up for any finance so it was a non-starter. The one I’d seen had the lovely sprint blue paint and ticked all my wish list of options (acc, pano roof, heated front and rear seats) and also added the all round camera view and HUD to the mix. Had the nicer 20” wheels too. I suspect another with similar spec won’t appear until that specific car appears on the market again……..was genuinely gutted 😞

Somebody who wants to protect their rear passengers in the event of a bump but doesn't feel the need to heat their bums up for a few days a year?

Seems completely reasonable to me!

Clearly, but my point is that it's a cheap option that combines well with the RSE and rear airbags if you want to cosset your rear seat passengers. I use my front heated seats quite a bit, but never had a car with rears and would like them and it seemed an odd option to omit in that case.

Assuming it is the car I described, here's a link to it - eta they've dropped the price £2k since I last looked:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-det...02202152553734

First service wasn't done till 21 months/15k miles, then 2 years 8 months till the next one at 31k miles. Big gaps and risky given the turbo oil feed issue with this engine, which appreciates annual ramps and stamps more than most (unless you're lucky enough to have the revised parts already!)

The one I loved was this one - eta - removed link as the image is too big for the screen.

Oddly, I've had loads of cars with heated rear seats, including both my current ones.
Rather by default than choice and I can't recall a single occasion when any of them have been used! :ROFL:

Personally I never use the heated drivers seat, though SWMBO is quite a fan both as driver and (front) passenger!

Don't forget the heated steering wheel.