25th Dec 2013, 07:11
An update about the fuel consumption. For an SUV it's pretty good. It gets US 30 MPG on highway, 20 MPG in severe city driving conditions during summer time, and 16 MPG in severe city driving conditions during winter time, with snow on the streets and cold temperatures.
22nd Jan 2014, 22:10
It was very cold today (0F or about -17C) and I noticed that the suspension gets even more stiff in cold weather, even after driving it for a while. The suspension (probably the shock absorbers) get so stiff, the whole car feels like it's a rigid piece of wood. Over road irregularities the vehicle is so bouncy, it literally gives me nausea. It bounces like a boat in bad weather. Very unpleasant.
9th Feb 2014, 18:41
Just had a first fault, the quite common oil level switch issue. While driving the car, a low engine oil level indicator appeared on the dash. As I could read over the internet, the oil level was correct but there is actually a pretty common fault with the switch itself. There are people out there that pulled over to add a quart of oil, but then they got a message saying there is too much oil in the engine. Had the switch replaced by Audi, and things got back to normal. Note that there is no conventional oil dipstick on this engine, but rather an electric level switch inside the oil pan (the oil level is shown on the center display console in the car functions settings). There is no way to physically measure the engine oil level like in the older vehicles. However, there is an existing tube going into the oil pan at the front of the engine, and one can buy and install 'plug in' an aftermarket dipstick on sites such as eBay for around $30. I would strongly recommend this, as the electric level switch seems to be less than reliable. I don't think Audi is offering a dipstick as an option at the moment of purchase of a new vehicle, but it would be worth asking them about it. This dipstick is available on all Audi models having the 2.0T engine (such as the A4 and others).
20th Aug 2014, 21:16
Original poster. Noticed the air conditioning is pretty weak. We don't have very hot days here, but still the system has trouble cooling down the interior. The air doesn't blow ice cold, it's cold but definitely not impressive. Could be that there is not enough refrigerant, or the system was designed this way in order to perhaps, save some gas (by reducing the engine power needed to run the A/C compressor).
In order to get the cabin at a acceptable temperature, the blower needs to turn continuously almost at the highest speed, which is noisy.
If this is not a refrigerant issue, I'd suggest you skip this car if you live in very hot areas.
Another negative, is the turbo lag. It takes about a second between quickly depressing the gas pedal, and the moment when the engine starts pulling. Not very safe in emergency situations.
Don't go with larger mags or low profile tires, unless the roads in your area are perfectly smooth. Even with the standard tire profile, this vehicle makes you feel the slightest bump or crack on the road. Terrible.
Finally, this car with the 2.0T and automatic transmission, is rather sluggish in slow traffic. It's just not easy to modulate the accelerator at very slow speeds; it's annoying.
I have to praise the good handling of the vehicle on the highway, and the available power when going uphill or accelerating on the highway. Except for the turbo lag, the engine has plenty of power; rather impressive for such a small engine in a large vehicle. Oh, and the engine growling is also pleasant, not overwhelming, yet definitely with a sporty touch.
4th Jan 2015, 04:27
Original reviewer. The car started consuming oil at a rather high rate. Over 1qt at 1000 miles. What is surprising is this happened all of a sudden. The car was always been driven smoothly. Next oil change is due soon, could be a clogged oil filter?
3rd Feb 2015, 18:07
Original reviewer. The car went to the Audi dealer, which was very helpful. They replaced a crankcase seal, which was related to a clogged PCV valve (a part that filters the oil vapors from the engine). The PCV valve was replaced to a new designed part, and this completely solved the oil consumption.
Have a read on this forum for additional information on this issue
As a side note, we had very cold weather here in Canada, and I noticed the car doesn't heat very well inside the cabin. It takes a while to warm up, even the heated seats take a while, and even when the engine is at operating temperature, the vents don't really blow hot air. What is more, the air vent to the front windshield is poorly designed. It is located to the center of the dashboard, and doesn't warm well the glass on the sides, causing it to freeze.
As mentioned previously, the ABS is very aggressive on slippery surface, causing the car to stop very slowly. The fix for this is to keep the brake pedal depressed just enough so you don't let (it makes a noise) the ABS kick in.
10th Feb 2015, 14:41
A few more quirks.
This car has what's named turbo lag. In other words, the accelerator pedal doesn't respond quickly when suddenly depressed. I found myself in situations when switching lanes from a slow going lane to a faster going lane was not safe. The car took almost one second before the acceleration responded. Under no circumstances should you count on accelerating suddenly for a safety maneuver, or you may have an unpleasant surprise.
Other remarks are about the windshield liquid. The spray nozzles are hard to adjust and the windshield doesn't clean properly, especially on the passenger side. Volvo has a good nozzle spray design, which uses less liquid while being a simpler design and more efficient on cleaning the windscreen. Maybe Audi guys could have a inspirational look at their competitors and improve their design.
28th Feb 2015, 17:04
Original poster. I just found from an Audi forum, that the vehicle has a Sport mode, which is enabled by placing the shifter in the 'S' position. Driving this way, I noticed that the suspension has better response, as well as the transmission gear shifting. I did mention in my original post these two items. In the S mode, the car drives as it should, and I have nothing to complain about the transmission and the suspension, they work great.
One item, the original Audi winter floor mats are definitely poor. They let water accumulate underneath, even when carefully cleaning the snow off the boots when getting into the car.
10th Nov 2013, 21:18
Original poster.
The car has now 15K miles. It's not being driven very often. I've noticed one issue concerning the oil filling cap. There is a rubber surrounding the cap. Dust and dirt from the road accumulates on this rubber. Eventually, when the oil filling cap is removed for an oil change, the dirt falls into the engine. This car is driven in Canada, where the city puts sand and salt on the roads in the winter. The rubber surrounding the filling cap was full with sand, and I noticed that the oil cap had sand particles underneath. This is pretty important for engine life and wear.
To prevent this, I would suggest to use some sort of a sticker to fully cover the engine cover hole where the oil cap sits.