AUDI A6 2.0 TDI SE 4dr (2004)

Audi A6 2.0 TDi SE Review - Bit of a chunter, unexpected

I got the Audi A6 2.0 TDi brand new, which was probably a mistake. The reason to get it new is the warranty and supposed level of cover available, but this was pretty poor at the best of times, with the dealer trying to sort of sweep aside our complaints about high oil usage and clutch shakiness. I've asked other owners online and it seems there might be problems more widely, both with the A6 and with the TDI (tedious) engine models.

Anyway we did get these things done under warranty in the end (to cut a long story short) and nowadays it's a very reliable car. It's hard to shake the feeling that something else will go wrong, but the longer it lasts the more hopeful I am.

The reason I put up with so much hassle is that the A6 2.0 TDi SE is such a good vehicle to be using day to day. Huge space for five large adult passengers, loads of space left still in the boot. We got roof bars for our one and we regularly have three adult friends with their gear in a roof box for walking holidays, and it does those trips fine. It can sometimes struggle a wee bit on the hills, and for that reason next time I might go for the 2.7 litre model as it's more or less the same fuel economy but a lot more power.

Originally we didn't have parking sensors, which caused a lot of confusion really. I held out getting them fitted whilst we sorted out the clutch problem, as I wasn't sure for a time if we'd just throw in the towel and sell up. But after that was sorted we got them and it's definitely a worthwhile investment. It might be worth getting them second hand and fitted by an independent garage, because the way we did it worked out quite expensive.