On Jan 24, 8:26*pm, "Jeff Strickland" > wrote:

> > Why would you think a 2.0L 4-cylinder can drive an A/C, but a 1.6L can't?
>
> had a 2.0L 4 pot protege -> A/C was working fine, the engine was
> anything but smooth as expected
> from a 4 banger that was not through the honda treatment (adding lots
> of complexity in the process).
>
> on 1,6L i read of nothing but problems with A/C performance (chevrolet
> mostly)
>
> <JS>
> You are complaining of the performance of a Mazda and a Chevrolet on a BMW
> board where you are asking an opinion of an Audi?
>
> What's up with that?
>
I don't see how 1.6L in audi is fundamentally different from that in a
different car
as plebeian as you imply mazda and chevrolet are (unless i read too
much into your response)
Automakers, with rare exceptions for honda s2000, aren't exactly eager
to extract the most power out of the lowest displacement.

That might have something to do with the fact that
1. the target audience is not exactly looking for the cutting edge
dynamics
2. you could just as well accomplish the same with the proper gearing
and throwing
the 6th cog into works.

But, needless to say, one got to ask the question: what is the
threshold where
there's just not enough power for a/c to be effective and the
anecdotal evidence
points somewhere in the 1.6 to 2.0 range.

I'm considering a 1.6 mill in A4 because the $4/gallon gas might be
history
in the heavily screwed up US metro areas such as silicon valley and NY
but it's very real where i live. That coupled with the perception that
1.8T is not
the best engine audi had to offer. The perception in my neck of woods
is that 1.6 is bulletproof due to the simplicity inherent to its
design.
The locals could not say the same about the bmw 4 pots even though
given that I want an xi trim I'd have to pony up for 2.5 I6 anyway
which I was considering before i dug for the service part of the
equation (see below).

> BMW makes a very nice I6 that fits your needs. The 330xi or the 325xi are
> current cars in the E90 chassis, and also exist in the E46 chassis -- both 3
> Series cars. I don't know if you can get an xi (AWD) in the 5 Series or not,
> but I think not. In any case, BMW's I6 is a fine motor that will deliver
> plenty of silky smooth power, and can be had in an AWD format. You can also
> go for the straight RWD format of the 3 Series or the 5 Series if the 3 is
> too small.

[long rant about my views on service]
I want an awd sedan for my current purposes (don't want an suv or a
crossover).
hence 5 is out of the picture for now: no awd and complex electrics ->
I must
have mentioned that bmw service around here is vastly inferior to
that of vw in terms of avalilability and quality.

Me thinks i'd have to do with A4 or A6 quattro primarily because of
the
puny official bmw service in minsk. There are 6 or 7 official vw
services
in the city of 2 million and one official bmw service that reputedly
rips people off (it's good to be the only game in town i suppose).

I definitely don't want to be stranded with no options for service if
the relationship with the singular bmw service won;t work. And being
the picky ******* that i'm the chances of that are high: the locals
just don't seem to buy into the "customer is always right, even
when he is wrong". I don't think most of the businesses around here
can spell "l-o-n-g s-a-l-e". Hey! Make a buck! Quick!

thanks