1996 Avant

I like it mate! Small Audis always seem better in wagon format and you cant go wrong with the tdi lump

These are great cars. We've had four over the years and current have an Avant in the model after this in red.

Coilovers could be a good idea. One of my very few issues with the car is I find the suspension a bit wallowy. Some better wheels would improve the looks a lot.

Well I'm surprised here, I didn't expect much love for this car and I've got a few replies liking it, happy days.

I've had this car since the back end of last year. So far it's only had 3 issues.

1. On the test drive, the car lost power, and a light came on, a quick google revealed the car had gone into limp mode. At this point I walked away but the seller rang back later insisting he'd fixed it and said it was a jammed actuator. He offered to knock a couple of hundred off the car and deliver it to make up for the inconvenience so I said yes. The next day the problem came back again. I got on the net and read all I could on VNT - variable nozzle turbos. It's very common for the vanes to stick and the most common solution is to pour mr muscle oven cleaner into the manifold to clear out the carbon. I did this twice and both times the problem came back. I drove to the local garage and asked to borrow their fault code reader. (They have become good friends and let me use tools and their ramps) I took the car out for a drive with the code reader plugged in and was ready for the light to come on. This time the car jumped and cleared and pulled on full power like it should. Since then it's been perfect. I've read that once a week it's a good idea to warm the engine up fully and drive it hard up to the redline to prevent carbon build up and more sticking.

2. The parcel shelf it's a retractable roller blind type. Quite a good design. It's removable but on mine the unlocking button was jammed so I had to fight with it using a screwdriver to remove it. I bought another one from a Passat from my local breakers, this is almost the same car but the shelf was slightly different when I got it home. I managed to strip it and fit the button and springs into mine. Luckily this worked and it's now spot on and works as it should.



3. A couple of week back we had a drive to the coast, I had drove there and my lass was driving back. We had just done 65 miles back and were near home and there was a loud bang and something went flying out the back. My lass thought a tyre had blew but to me the car was rolling as it should so I didn't think it was a tyre. We pulled in and I looked underneath. One of the fuel tank straps had snapped and fell to bits. The other 2 looked very bad too. I ordered a full set of 3 from Audi and replaced them all. I'm glad I did all 3 as the other 2 were rotten when I had removed them.

Another than that, the car has been brilliant. It has tons of room, drives lovely and runs on fumes.

I'm lucky that my car came with a plastic boot liner.

I've always fancied the 1.8T, I've heard they can be tuned and made to go very fast.

I love mine. It's a 96 avant tdi in kingfisher blue. they're so well made and don't rust because they're galvanized (apart from the front wings). There's lots of them about on the roads where as other cars of a similar age have long since been scrapped. I love the shape of them, they're a handsome looking old thing. I'd love a Quattro version but I've replaced that many things on it it's like Triggers broom. Clutch , cambelt, waterpump, bearings, 1.8T bigger brakes and 1.8t suspension. Full leathers and 'S' steering wheel. Facelift headlights and rust free front wings. If I bought a 1.9 Quattro I'd probably end up having to do it all again.


Mines a 90bhp version. It doesn't smoke at all. Gets 50+ mpg no matter how I drive. Except in winter/april where it drops to about 44. To help with that I've got a piece of rubber mat that I drop between the bumper and rad to help it warm up quicker. I also run it on about 60/40 veg oil/diesel when the weather is warmer.

Is yours 110? With a bv43 turbo from a 2.0tdi 170, some t4 injector nozzles, a bigger intercooler and a remap I bet you'd be close to 200bhp.

I've got the big brother A6 Avant with the 2.5tdi 5-pot, great car although mine is looking tatty now. High 40s to the gallon is quite do-able, and it just sits on the motorway and munches the miles. Put 16" wheels on mine from a later A6 and it feels lovely. Might drop the tyre profile on the front tho - it does sit a litle nose up.

Mine has the red "i" in the back and is the 110bhp model. I've spoke to a few people and everyone says on mine the remap is a nightmare as its a solder and chip job.

I'm really thinking about coilovers, new wheels, and maybe Matt black paint. The pics make mine look better than it is, it's slowly getting pinky red fade.

Also check the vac lines running to the turbo and to the valves on the bulkhead. They can perish or rub through which can affect boost and maybe cause limp mode. These tdi's benefit from removing and cleaning out the inlet manifold. Oil vapour and carbon deposits from the egr leave a rocky mess in there. Oh and fit an egr blank plate aswell.