1983 Audi 4000 S | Retro Review
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- Who knew Pat Goss had an Audi 4000? Hang in there Retro fans! We're preparing to live stream a few super early seasons of MotorWeek marathon style in their entirety. Who's ready for that?!?
Episode 218. Original airdate: 03/15/1983
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I've owned a 4000s, a 4000cs quattro and a Coupe GT. loved all three of them. Audi used to make wonderful, simple, reliable cars.
My first new car was a 1986 4000S. By then they had added a third gauge, a power sunroof, and refreshed the overall design a bit, plus the engine displacement had been increased to 1.8l. That damned upshift light, though, always came on in fifth gear! The Brazil Brown interior was one of the most beautiful colors I’ve ever seen.
Yeah but the gas mileage went down when switching to the 1.8 L
"The 4000 isn't exactly light -- 2,400 pounds..." Boy, those were the days. Fast-forward to 2020 and the successor A4 has picked up 1,100 more pounds along the way -- and is still considered a "lightweight" car by today's standards.
I mean... 1100 more pounds over almost 40 years? That's not awful imo.
Even despite the weight gain they've managed to exponentially improve acceleration. A 12.5 second 0-60 time would be considered dangerously slow in today's high-performance world.
aint that the truth! Cars today are HEAVY. I thought growing up in the 80's with all this new tech "space age" alloys, compoite materials / carbon fiber...…….that cars in 2020 would weigh like 1500 lbs and be able to keep up with traffic and be FUN to drive (due to the LIGHT weight) on only a 100 BHP electric drive motor!
[deleted] And probably gets better fuel economy.
I was just about to make this comment that's insane,, a Corolla today is almost 1000 pounds more than that
I always chuckle at a young Pat Goss with his corduroy bell bottoms and 70's swagger!
That crank sunroof brings back memories! As a kid we had an E21 BMW 320 that had one.
The blank was for the turbo boost psi. The clock above told you the lag time . lol
My 1981 Audi had a crank sunroof too. But my 1981 BMW had a power sunroof..
@@des9655 one of mine only had a quick release manhole cove style.
I bought a 1982 4000s when I was in college used for $1600 in 1995. The car got great MPG and was quite fun to drive but man did it nickel and dime me for a lot of little things. I paid so little for it I didn't mind too much but new would have been upset given all the little issues I had with the car. Yes, it was easy to work on so given the engine design so that helped. Lot's of electrical gremlins and from what I hear from current German car owners that hasn't changed much at all. Very solid and safe feeling to the car though.
The good ol' boxy 80s Audi 4000 S, love it.😍
Wow!!! Good to see Pat Goss in your reviews from way back. Also nice to see, both of you are still in the business.
That’s about the most-informative Pat Goss has been in the past 36yrs
If this is "the most enjoyable" car he had I wonder what are the others...
I love the Retro Reviews. Thanks
The Audi 4000S was basically the same car as the Volkswagen Quantum.
The VW Quantum and the Audi 5000 were the same. The VW Fox and the Audi 4000 were the same cars
@@76TomD That's incorrect Tom. The VW Quantum was the VW Passat in the rest of the world, and was built on the same B2 platform as the Audi 80 (or 4000 in NA) The Fox however was the Brazilian built version of the Gol, which used VWs sub compact PQ24 platform, which in that generation had no corresponding Audi equivalent. The Audi 100 (5000 in NA) in this generation, was built on VWs C3 platform, which at the time, had no VW variant.
@@macgto the 83 5000 (usa) was a c2 not a c3.
Tom Driscoll Then my information must not be correct. From what I have found, starting in 82, the 5000 was built in the C3
@@macgto The C3 was the redesigned (streamlined body) 5000 new for 1984 in the US. 1983 was the last year for the C2 5000 in the US. I had two of them and one C3
I had a 4000 5+5. (5 cylinder + 5 speed) The cloth interior held up very well. The video shows a lot of body movement during maneuvers. Cars have really improved.
Mark W : I had a 1980 2-door 5 cylinder automatic in college ...Wish I’d had the 5 speed. What was your 0-60 time in the 5+5?
Uncle Cliff had a 1981 Audi 5+5
It looked great in the driveway next to our 1982 VW Scirocco
Never understood why people call a manual, 5 speed. Autos have different 'speeds' too. How would you refer to a vehicle with a 5 speed manual or 5 speed auto? I believe the Ram truck used to come with either or.
I can't get enough of these retro reviews, particularly since they started getting uploaded in 60fps!
These were made for TV, meaning the source material is 29.9fps (or fields per second if you want to be a real nerd about it). In any case 60fps does nothing here, it's just uploading a good quality version with little compression that matters.
I love boxy cars.. they look handsome
I wish that Audi and Volkswagen would release an updated version of their blocky classic designs like the mk1 GTI and the Quattro.
Probably cause I'm a young person. This car is ugly to me.
Aren’t you special
I’ve been waiting for this retro review for ever, as my first car was an Audi 4000. But mine was a 1980 model with a 4 speed and round headrests with 70s scirocco wheels. I loved that car, even tho it broke all the time. Being a senior in high school my part time job didn’t actually help much with paying for repairs, so it sat most of the time. We used to do our own motorweek road tests with it on the deserted back roads near our house. 0-60s, braking tests and slalom testing....dam we had fun!!! Now please post the 85+ 4000 tests too and c2 5000 models if u have them.
My first car was an 84 model, and I loved it! Very roomy for its size and had great fuel economy. Not the fastest, but fun to drive. Did not have any major problems until around 2007, then was killed by electronics (repairs being more expensive than the car). I still miss it.
My first car was a 1982 4000S. Fantastic. Superb quality, 35-40 mpg, comfortable, excellent sound, gorgeous cocoa velour interior.
How they were mentioning “the upcoming W124”
Very unusual to hear
I thought it was unusual to hear him mention west Germany
Did JD mention W124???
It's amazing how fuel efficient cars can be when they don't have to worry about things like emissions or safety standards!
Regulations are normally written in blood.
There was emmisions here. Just early into the Clean Air Act that the grace period took a few years. But the were smog and emmisions compliant
And only packed 150 hp
I still see these around! Perfect boxy shape.
I never see these in the US
Great rigs backnon the day. We had a 82 5000. One of the best cars with exception of the electrics
@Frankie Basile Northern NV, Cal.
I always liked these Audis, the shape was tidy and clean, with more than a hint of Scirocco on the front fenders. The dash and cabin is so period VW, I love it. Direct and to the point, if not a little austere. I was surprised by the manual winding sunroof...I might expect that in lesser Passats/Quantums of the era, but by this time the VW group was clearly trying to push the Audi brand upmarket. Many Japanese cars had power everything by this time (Maxima/Cressida/some Mitsubishis come to mind). Speaking of the Quantum, not sure if they had the same engines but they were an even more baffling mix of luxury - basically a decontented Audi 4000, and yet this was the premier VW branded car. It has to be said that this Audi 4000 would have looked pretty boxy next to the rounded 5000 hitting showroom floors around that time.
We take 0-60 mph times of 8 seconds or less to be pretty standard these days, so 12.5 seconds may seem very slow. But JD is right, this was probably slightly better than average for its day - especially for a 4-cylinder - and returning that kind of performance and handling with over 30 mpg is actually quite good. For anybody that doesn't think cars have improved much in 30 or 40 years, just watch the performance of some of the cars tested on retro MotorWeeks! Nevermind all of the safety equipment and the level of connectivity and tech we expect from all modern cars...yet there is something innocent and exciting about all of the cars tested in the 1980s. Perhaps it was the era of success, perhaps it was because cars (and carmakers) had such different, unique personalities.
My father in law had a 1986 4000 Quattro, black on black leather, 5 speed, 5 cylinders and fully optioned - LOVED THAT CAR! Fast, comfortable and unstoppable in all weather conditions and very reliable - like an Armani suit on four wheels!
Imported dish rags! That had me laughing out loud. I like blanking plugs, does that make me weird?
I friggin' love the 4000/5000 and following 10/200. I wish there was a Canadian version of this program. We had some cars the US didn't get!
Like Ladas.
They where the same just with different names
Thank you so much for uploading more of the retro reviews - especially at those lock down times!
Live streaming coming next week. Stay tuned for more details
🤔Thank you Motor Week for posting these retro videos. With everything going on, this helps.👍🏻
"Zero to 60 of 12.5 seconds rates it the better end of average for all cars" Sadly the slowest they rated didn't make it to 60 by the end of the test track as I recall.
Most enjoyable car to drive but with lots of problems after only one year of ownership...So Audis have been like that for years?
Ha yup... literally in my head I said to myself "tell me something I don't know!"
I've had an S3 for almost five years now without a problem.
2006 Audi A6 here, no problems
In the case cited here, one could say that a couple of erratically working courtesy lamps or an upshift light hardly constitute "car trouble". Oil leaks on a new car, however, are quite another matter.
German cars have ALWAYS been a mixed bag, similar to American cars. Some, usually the more pedestrian German-market spec examples, were quite reliable and trouble-free, while vehicles for US export, where anything German is most often marketed and priced as luxury, came with a boatload of potential quality glitches, mostly due to increased complexity of added power options and electronic features demanded by luxury segment buyers on top of all the added stuff required for US emission controls.
Add to that the very different car-maintenance culture in the US vs. Germany, and you get vehicles which have become synonymous with trouble to US buyers, while they were considered reliable in their home market.
Back in the early 90s a friend let me drive his Audi 100 on the way back from an interstate trip to FL. I fell in love with the car. We had never really talked about it before, and I kept talking about it after driving it and asked my friend how I could get one.
He was a successful real estate agent and let's just say I wasn't. He told me unless I was able to save thousands for repairs at any given unexpected time, I couldn't. I longed for an Audi ever since but have had the good sense to not own one, mainly thanks to my friend being so honest with me. That was decades ago and nothing has changed.
I had this car until 1992. It was a great car. The alternator was a bit close to the hot engine, which reduced its life span due to heat.
4:53 John: (The dash) Efficient looking all right but dreary! LOL
The dash looks Volvo inspired.
My Toyota Corolla has a beam axle w/ coils rear axle. So, basically it’s an Audi. Sweet!
One of the best cars I have ever owned. In fact have owned 2. Loved the interior.
I've been waiting for this one to be posted. I was 12 years old when I recorded this road test on VHS. The 1983 Volvo 760 GLE might have been part of the same episode - maybe Ben Davis can confirm this. (Hoping to see the Volvo road test uploaded soon BTW.) I loved the Audis of this era, even the bright and plush velour upholstery. Super comfortable!
When he said "the 4000 isn't exactly light 2400lbs" boy have things changed dramatically, good luck finding a new audi under 4000lbs today 😂
4:15. A gold star for serviceability. I wish car reviewers had that criterion for today's new cars! They unfortunately do not.
I'm loving these time capsule retro reviews. Please keep them coming!
On a side note, I wonder if BBC will ever do something similar for the pre-2002 Top Gear...
Pat is describing current Audi ownership 😂. Jokes aside the 4000 was ground breaking back then.
I very much enjoy these trips down memory lane. Growing up in Maryland, Motorweek was a home grown favorite on Maryland Public TV. The shows debut in 1982 was just at the beginning of my formative automotive years, and I have watched the show since episode 1! It's funny to look back and see how the show was able to commandeer the, (at the time), still under construction Interstate 795 for their test track, LOL.
One of the comments on this Audi 4000 that made me chuckle was pointed out below, concerning the "not exactly lightweight 2400 pounds!" LOL. How times have changed. My 2019 Jetta is nearly 3000 pounds! Keep up the good work guys!
I always wondered where this "test track" was at! So it was just an unopened freeway?!?!
@@jacktorse2145 Yes. Their main testing facility was the the former 75-80 Dragway just outside of Frederick, Maryland. The strip closed in 2005 however. I do believe MW still used the facility even after it closed, but by now I'm sure it's deteriorated to the point that its unusable.
I asked for this review a few years ago. Thank you MotorWeek! I've been a loyal viewer since the beginning and my mom had this car new. I'm going to watch this with my son!
This car was sold with many other engines, petrol and diesel, fwd or awd, as Audi 80 in Europe.
Thank you guys for making it public again. Cheers
I rode bitch in my buddies moms 83...it shook and rattled us all the way to water slide parks and ski hills throughout the early to mid 90’s .But by the end of the decade it was becoming part of nature as it rotted out in the back lane....where it still remains.2020
MotorWeek !! Please a retro review of the Jeep Grand Cherokee ZJ 5.2 V8 ?! (You have one for the 4.0 L6 and the rare 5.9 V8) in quarantine time is a pleasure to see this retro reviews !!
Same shit lol
My parents had one of these back in the day, what a disaster of a car. Was fine for about a year then anything that could've went wrong did, and parts were hard to come by.
I think my dad just left it at the repair shop.
I AM!!!!!!!!!!! BRING IT ON, BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!! I knew Pat owned MANY 'Vettes, but I never knew what his DD was!!!!!! HOW COOL IS THAT?!!!!!! And I LOVE seeing Pat as a tester here!!!!
Are you kidding?! You guys are the best! 4k love here!
The year I was born. 😁👍
Minnesota Prepper DIY me too I was born in 1983
Me too
My first car was a 1981 Audi 4000s 5+5, champagne gold with velour interior. I bought it when I was 17 with my dad, not being too happy about the fact that this was the car I wanted. It was used I bought it from the original owner with 76,××× miles in 1991. It was the 2dr version of this car - minus 2 years older. Not the coupe gt. I think it was imported only 1 year. It had the 5000s five - cylinder engine with a 5 speed manual. Hence the 5+5. I loved it but.. Wow everything broke on it! Manual windows and crank sunroof worked. But the master cylinder went out within 2 months, then the front driveshaft went. Then finally the clutch... And that was it! As I was pushing it off to the side of the road with the flashers on - some chick rear-ended me while I was in front pushing it! The car was totalled. The trunk was so smashed, the passenger door wouldn't open. After the crash it then looked like a coupe gt!! Luckily I wasn't hurt too bad, several scraps and a busted tooth. I got paid well more than the $1350 I purchased it for then bought a 1981 BMW 528i.. But I did miss it! rarely ever see one.. There was one recently on eBay.. I thought about buying it.. But remembering all those problems.. I passed!
It's just so interesting to see how cars have improved. I paid not much more than the 13K price quoted in this video for a 2 year old Hyundai Sonata Sport with fuel injection, a six speed transmission (that shifts itself!!) and 184 HP. Really though, our expections in 1984 were low, weren't they? This thing, with the 100" wheelbase is tiny! A new Jetta, by comparison, rides on a 105" wheelbase. And 12.5 seconds to 60, wow. Where's the quarter mile time? Oh yeah, it still hasn't hit it. Don't get me wrong, these retro reviews are great, keep em coming!
Had an Audi 4000 1983 model, silver with blue interior, crank sunroof & 5 speed. Was a nice car, held up quite well.
Either John couldn't decide on a persona for this one or his coffee was cutting in and out. Love that guy.
kgbeezr75 prolly coke 😀😀😀
I have a 1984 Audi 4000S with the 1.8 FWD, and it’s amazing. The seats don’t actually look that bad after constant use, the extra hole where the gages are is used for an optional air pressure gage, measures how much PSI of air is moving through the engine, the boot is extremely large but slightly taller than it needs to be, and the engine is sluggish to be expected. It’s still stock keep in mind and those are the only major complaints I have from it. Other than that, it’s amazing and I wouldn’t trade it for anything other than a 5 cylinder Quattro version of it 😂
MotorWeek - please upload the facelifted 85-86 4000S tests if you have them. Thanks!
Season 5 will be live streamed in it entirety soon. Live streaming starts next Thursday with season 4...with an encore streaming on Sunday. A different season each week for the month of may
@@bendavis9733 live streamed ? what channel?
I love how they praised the shifter even though it's painfully obvious that it's a sloppy hot mess with throws as long as an 18 speed in a Peterbilt.
“Aww-Dee from West Germany” 😂😂😂. The center blank cutout in the center stack is where an oil pressure guage would have been. The similar Coupe GT has the guage there.
That handcrank sunroof killed me. Lol. You're paying $13k for an audi, with a 4 cylinder, and they couldn't even be bothered to make the sunroof electronically operated. What a pile. I dont think ive ever seen a single one of these. Not even in junk yards.
Motor Week and Lift-over height.
Name a more iconic duo.
Love this show.
I owned the 1980 example of the 4000S, but it only had the 4-speed stick shift. It was an endless fount of repairs, and Audi dealers are not known for thrifty service. I eventually had to teach myself to do repairs. Problem was, the VW-Audi corporation had problems with stems/seals on their 4-cylinders, a problem for years only fixed by new hydraulic controls.
Yep, I can confirm that a lot of these are still around in my country, especially ones running on diesel! They're built like tanks!
Interesting, it is pretty rare to see an older Audi here in the USA. It seems like when I do it is parked in someone's yard covered in weeds.
@@danielreigada1542 Audi didn't do nearly as well as Mercedes and BMW did in the 80s and 90s in the U.S. so yes, very rare to see an older Audi around here.
Ray - so true. Bought new 83 4000 Diesel, put 275,000 miles on the car and had zero issues. Finally gave it up when injector pump went out and decided it was time to move up to “baby” Benz 190-6, both, fantastically engineered cars.
@Frankie Basile Greece! You can still find many of them here!
@@danielreigada1542 Just imagine if that Audi is a 5-cylinder Quattro or the short Quattro imported for Show and Display purposes!
I had a 1983 5000S and a 1983 5000T. (Turbo) Fantastic Cars that lasted for more than 20 years.
Nice. My dad had one of these and never really had major issues with his 1985 1.6 petrol sedan.
Oil leaks after 20k miles and they still liked it. No way a car could get away with that now.
I can vouch for tons of minor problems but my $250 beater in high school still got me where I needed to go even with major problems. Those were the days driving around billow smoke out of the hood. Kind of wish I’d kept longer
I can see where Toyota got their inspiration for the 85 Cressida.
Ha! I thought i was only one! I own an 82 4000 and I’m in college, people ask me if that’s a Cressida/Maxima
Love these retro reviews. I hope to see a Mercedes 300E some time.
The maintenance book looks exactly like my 944s. Looks like used the same maintenance book for all lines.
12.5 seconds to 60 ! And look at those tiny tires. We’ve come a long way!
Includes such features such as *air conditioning and cruise control*
0-60 in 12.5 seconds "the better end of average"....how did we ever survive those days?
I miss my 1990 Audi 100 wish I had kept it
Retro review marathon!!
Traded mine for a 1000cc Honda Hurricane , but kept I my first 4000 quattro. Since my first Audi Fox I’ve had 8 more, my latest addition is a C5 Allroad, and recovered a ur quattro in there at one point around 2005.
5:06 I see a voltmeter! Maybe the cutout was for the optional oil pressure gauge? 🤔😁
I think the oil pressure gauge is the one on the right lol 😂
@@jriley1992 It's an coolant temperature gauge from other countries beside the U.S. that reads temperature in Celsius.. Maybe this was an early import test car that had it instead of °F reading? Oh yes, LOL! 🤣😂🤣
@@albear972 apparently it was the boost gauge
The Fuzzy Pickle For the diesel variant, perhaps?
no, the middle blanking in the console was for the clock.
lol at the upshift light not working....you tend to ignore that light after the first week of ownership.
It was the MK1 VW Jetta with more electronics. Although the Jetta had fully independent suspension all around. The 1.7 could be pretty reliable when it's looked after. And these were smart-looking cars, not a bad price considering the junk coming from Chrysler, Fiat and Datsun in those years for only s little less.
I liked that from the drivers seat segment. Ever thought of bringing it back?
Ooh, I wish you had a retro 1983 '5'000 S review. That was my first car!
The typewriter at 0:28!! Amazing!!👍
The early 1980s 4000 and 5000 were, in my opinion, two of the most beautiful cars every produced.
I like Audi's... but Pat Goss was right about a few minor quality issues, ie oil leaks ...I have an old A4 I know. Good design and handling though and my O2 feels solid ...so Audi is ok if you are careful and maintain them
Back in the mid '80s, my Saab dealer would "bless" me with a 4000S as a loaner. Seemed nice enough, but the throttle would stick...
interesting how tiny it looks next to that thunderbird!
That car got 3 wheel motion. Only gangsta's lift the inside front wheel.
interesting that Pat had one for a year before they did a full review on the car. But Motorweek does seem to always have reviews later than other sources.
I remember this car from the movie E.T.
I want an hr long video of just pat talking
Look mom, no urban sprawl here back in 1984.
Pat Goss reviewed cars in the early days? Who knew!
I love my 2002 Pt Cruiser!
The dipping and rolling ONLY "looks" severe? The front bumber nearly slam into the pavement. LOL great gas mileage thought!!
The 1984 Dodge Daytona Turbo Z put the hurting on this car back in the day.
Cloth seats, in a luxury car? Come on... The exterior, however, has aged very well, it's a nice looking car. Also I've never seen a hand cranked sunroof, that's pretty interesting. Amazing how all the 'luxury' options on this car are basically standard options on peasant cars a few years later. Remember that poor people, the reason you have anything at all is because people like me are paying your way.
Those are not cloth seats they are velor the same as in the Mercedes it was the same price as the leather
@@cherkas009 oh, I did not know that. Velour is quite nice - but they just said cloth seats and they look like cloth seats. But if what you're saying is true, that is certainly way better than cloth seats. With that said, personally I'd rather have leather, in particular back then when it would likely be real leather, not the synth crap we get today, but Velour is a fine option.
That awkward moment when you realize my Civic Type R does 0-60 in the same amount of time it took this Audi to do 40-55 mph LoL. Oh how things have changed.
Cool car. New audis/bmws are whales
they all are...except maybe the miata
try driving my old 1981 Audi 5000s. that was a whale and underpowered at the same time. oh and the inline 5 non turbo, so sluggish
That was the most 80's intro. :-)
I really wish they could have done a review on the 1981 Audi 4000s 5 + 5. My first car. Unfortunately the clutch went out and I was rear ended which totaled it.. I broke my leg.. teeth.. but I did end up getting a 1981 BMW 528i.. Only that one year the made that Audi model..
This thing handles good.
I like the Thunderbird and the big GM wagon too!
Oil leaks on a 1 year old car? My dad's 1977 Mitsubishi Galant Sigma didn't start leaking oil until it's 8th or 9th year.
So basically VAG products, barring the tried and true air cooled stuff, were garbage from way back when, and nothing has changed today.
Is this a front wheel or rear wheel drive?