Currently hunting for a new car for the wife and one thing that's come up is a 2002 A3 Quattro (110bhp TD). If it wasn't for the lack of choice of cars we like in our price bracket we'd probably not even consider a 4wd one as it's a bit unnecessary in my view for a car like this.

I know a reasonable amount about the engine and the rest of the car but little about the 4wd system. Anything to watch out for/experiences?

Cheers
Kev

There was a 4×4 reliability report on the Daily Telegraph website, and from what I recall Audi didn't come up too well, to my surprise – it only stuck in my mind as I'd been toying with th eidea of an all road. The report was compliled by the warranty people.

No problems with mine, but it is only 4 years old. Agree about it being a bit of overkill in that car though.

Mine is petrol engine and as much as I love it – it is very heavy on fuel.

I have a 9 year-old Allroad – 2.5 TDI. Not sure about problems with the 4WD system, but I think the suspension system specifically on the older Allroads has been known to cause problems (not on mine thankfully).

Made a huge difference in the recent snow – I'm lucky enough to live in a very rural area and could get about with no problems at all, even with ordinary road tyres.

You don't say about the gearbox but my tiptronic does some interesting things and the later multitronic has a reputation for going expensively wrong, I think…

I have a seven year old 1.9 TDI A4 Avant quattro, circa 63K miles.
Touch wood, no issues yet.

The 4WD system has, for me, proven to be excellent. So much so that I would actively seek it out in any future car purchase.
Great in the recent snowy conditions, and always felt confident on muddy tracks/in heavy rainfall/in icier conditions.
Wouldn't go back to 2WD if I could help it.

Any reliability issues I have heard of relate to suspension systems in Allroads – MSN Cars recently published a UK Reliability Top Ten/Worst Ten list compiled from industry data.

my a4 is 14 years old and no issues, used in Canada so A-works well in bad weather and B-gets hammered as all the compacted snow and ice is like off roading for 6 months,that being said when it breaks I'll probably have to throw it away

Four-wheel drive isn't just for muddy fields and farmers. It's useful in all weathers, and gives you a nice, safe, planted feeling in the wet.

I plan always to have a four wheel drive car in my fleet, for road use, all year round.

My Audi 90 quattro is 20 years old and has done 180,000 miles. The quattro system doesn't give any trouble at all; it just keeps working.

I recommend it.

iirc the smaller vag cars' 4wd system wasnt a fulltime 4×4 like on the passat syncro or the a4/6……i seem to remember reading that it was a haldex system which meausure the amount of grip of each wheel at any given time….ie, once one of the front wheels loses traction…it kicks in to help out…..goes off to make sure its true or not…EDIT
http://www.tyresmoke.net/forum/audi-chat/85516-torsion-quattro-vs-haldex-quattro.html