Check out the size of the fuel tank. Some models have a small capacity tank presumably to penny pinch on production line.

Absolutely love my A4 although I have the 1.9 Tdi which is no longer available.

So you need to be very specific about engines and avoid the autos. It’s a minefield on those issues but the car is fantastic in all ways. Looks handling , but keep to over 55 profile tyres unless you like the hard bumpy ride.

A little known feature of the car is the engine / gearbox configuration which is North /south and this benefits the handling because it allows for equal length driveshafts which reduces torque steer. But cam belt changes require much of the front nose of the car to be removed however.

My son in law has had a series of larger Audis but returned to an S4 Avant 3 litre petrol which is no fitted with a torque convertor gearbox which can handle to extra power. The automated ones were a disaster.. The A4 is so more nimble even though the boot capacity is reduced.

I bought a 2 litre tfsi s-line new in 2016. I think it’s a marvellous car although I’d agree that it’s not really a small estate. I also took the plunge and went s-tronic and, so far, that has not been a problem. I gather that once they started using mineral oil in the gearbox, the problems began to diminish. I participate in an A4 owners online forum and only one regular poster has had gearbox problems.

What impressed me most when I test drove it was how smooth it is. It seems to just waft along and engine noise is barely noticeable. Other owners on the forum say the same. Load carrying space is excellent and as my sons move around different flats in London, it has been a very useful pantechnicon. And then there are the regular trips I make to the local recycling centre with garden refuse and clutter from our periodic chuck-outs of household ‘stuff’.

I’m not a fan of diesel and I accepted that the petrol engine would not give such good fuel economy as a diesel equivalent. However, my annual mileage is around 8,000 so petrol is a better choice anyway. I am amazed that I get up to 44mpg on a run and anywhere between 34 - 37 mpg on short runs. For an engine that can whisk you to 60mph in just over 8 seconds, I think that’s pretty impressive.

The only aspect I’m less than happy with is the ride quality. On motorways it’s as smooth as any other car, but on rougher roads the s-line suspension makes itself felt. I knew that when I bought it, but it was a stock vehicle and it was a compromise I was prepared to make as the rest of the spec was what I wanted.

Lockdown meant that my annual mileage reduced and then during lockdown I had to give up driving due to failing eyesight. As a result, the car has only covered 27,000 miles, although my son is using it at the moment and it will probably go back into semi-retirement when his temporary stay with us comes to an end. I’d like to say that the car has been trouble-free and until this summer that would have been true. However, when it underwent its 4 year service a cracked thermostat cover was discovered and there had been consequent loss of coolant. That was fixed under the extended warranty I had taken out, but then a couple of months later a brake problem occurred which resulted in a new servo. Again that was covered under the further extended warranty I took out but I no longer kid myself that it won’t go wrong.

In summary I would recommend the car to anybody who wants a stylish estate car with good load carrying capacity. There are more boxy competitors with greater capacity, such as the Passat estate, but in my view they aren’t as stylish.