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Buying & selling modern classics in the real world Buying & selling modern classics in the real world
Danny celebrates Audi’s staple with a base model that is a father and son special
DANNY HOPKINS
I like advancing through technology as much as the next car person… but bizarrely I’ve only ever actually owned one Audi, my A6 Avant. It was, unsurprisingly, a truly excellent car in every respect until the auto ’box went south. I had an A3 company car back in 2010 that was very good too, extremely efficient with the legendary 1.9 TDi diesel engine, it was simply brilliant, but I couldn’t love it. Like so many German cars I have had over the years, it was beautifully made, thoughtfully designed and genuinely engaging to drive. But there was very little joy involved, no sense of fun or eccentricity. You wouldn’t want to pop out for a drink with it.
So, it was about time that I headed back (in time) to see if I could really find some ‘soul’, something about Audi to bring a real smile. Most of my car mates thought I was wrong for starters, I needed to up my game. As I was musing on the four rings an email arrived from reader Phil Chadwick and, suddenly, these thoughts became a reality. Phil told me of a colleague who needed to find a home for an old car. In no time I was offered an early A4 B5, the first with the 1.8-litre, 20v four-pot. Owned by David Charlesworth of Surrey, it needed a service, an MOT and some bodywork, but at £350 on only 75,000 miles, I took the plunge. The added benefit of a full service history and recent cambelt were also not to be sniffed at.
The A4 has been in production since November 1994, so my car is an early one, really early. David’s father, Michael, bought it new in early 1995 as a retirement present. Michael loved his Audi, maintained it perfectly, always keeping it garaged, and you can feel the care with which it has been looked after. He passed away in August 2012. Over 17 years of driving he had put barely 40,000 miles on the clock, it was his cherished companion. David inherited the car and, having previously found it a bit boring, ended up growing to love it dearly. It became his main car for eight years… he put 33,000 miles on the A4 and loved every single comfortable, dependable one of them.
As I drive it now, I begin to see why. It’s not fast, despite the 20-valve engine’s racing pedigree, in fact it is definitively unexciting (although it does lift its skirts ab
