Real Road Test: Audi 100 C3 diesel non-turbo Avant! 

Here's a message from the owner. The bridge Mr Hubnut went over is indeed the one from the movie a bridge too far. The car was converted and sold as a van back in 1986. I have the car now for nearly 6 years. Funny Ian says he didn't like it when he was younger. I've bought it when I was in my twenties and didn't like it first. Thought it was way too big and slow, but now I actually do like it. Maybe I got used to it I don't know.. It's indeed very easy and nice to drive. Very few things have gone wrong with it all this time so I'm planning to keep it for now. Btw the red tape under the bonnet is a warning to other machanics because of the sharp edges, dispite the looks the unit works fine though. I still have the brown seats but they aren't too comfortable. Cheers everybody, thanks for testing it Ian!

" '82 was the year of aerodynamics. Not everyone was a fan"....unintentional pun

Had one of these. A 2 litre petrol model. Was a great car, very roomy, fast, comfortable, handled very well. Left it outside a pub one night, had my coat nicked with the keys in it, and stupidly, an Audi keyfob attached to the keys. Car was nicked, never saw it again.

80's Audi's were the best. 5 cylinder engines, quattro and innovative aero. The 80's definitely stood for "Vorsprung Durch Technik".

You know you're a true car enthusiast when you enjoy cars like this. That 5 cylinder engine sounds very appealing and I love the 80's styling...and the brown interior.

My brother bought a 1988 C3 Audi 100 2.2E saloon in 1991. It drove superbly and he when he emigrated to Italy in 1999 he drove it to Italy and still has it today. He adores it and they are also very rare cars in Italy. He got it re-registered on Italian number plates and due to it's age it's now considered a historical vehicle.

My father in law always had Audi's in the 80's and 90's. Just really good quality, understated cars with a fantastic engine noise.

Diesels have never been on that Popular in the US, but those who love them LOVE THEM! A friend had a early 80’s Escort with a Diesel, we drove it 110 miles to see KISS in Roanoke Virginia, going to the bathroom I could hear the lil diesel still singing in my ear even over KISS! The diesel Audi is a ship, a manual transmission ship!

Love 80's and 90's Audi's. So much better than their Q series SUV turds being produced now. That Audi 100 is an absolute gem!

I worked in a dealership when the C3 was new. they were mostly bought by solicitors, dentists and surgeons. The types that would drive somewhat different to the current Audi owners.

Love the sound of that engine. Terrific car, great review, many thanks HubNut

Ian, you were so engrossed in the lovely Audi that you failed to notice the even lovelier silver Daewoo Matiz passing you by at 15:25!

the 5 cylinder engines were absolutely beautiful, we had a 1987 2.2 petrol non-turbo, it was a wonderful car indeed, .29 coefficient with a galvanised body, made for a great package, it was very good at the time, in 1984 it was a very good luxury car, we had a SAAB 900 Turbo which was faster and thirstier! The engine in the Audi was brilliant and it felt lighter.

Loved my Dads 1984 1.9 petrol 5 cyl C3. Great sounding engine. 2.2E even better

Still have one of those, not avant, only 2wd, but 2,3 CD package. I do not drive it much, but will restore it one day and keep it for the life.

When executive cars became lighter and more aerodynamic so they could do more with less. Perhaps we need that approach again.

Review on an Audi 100 avant? So this is what it feels like to soar weightlessly to heaven.

Now your talking! I had 3 of these, all petrol 2.2, one 2wd, two quattro avant's, early and a late, absolutely brilliant cars, quattro's were great in bad weather, you could watch a jag bat past and leave him on the wet roundabouts , last one was bought as salvage, one owner car, only needed a wing, later cars have the nicer dash and flush exterior door handles. Engine cam covers always rust and make engine look a mess.

I think I speak for all of us viewers when I say that I fully expect to see either this exact car, or one extremely similar in the Hubnut garage very soon. I for one would be very pleased to see you add such a capable car to the fleet.

First thing I thought on seeing this car was what a pity they've become so rare in the UK. Big, comfortable, beautifully built, what's not to love?

The audi 100s are undoubtedly on the peak of modern passenger car engineering, the best in performance, quality and consumption.. a must in favorite model series

Had a red one for a couple of months, between two Astras. Huge car with a fluid leak into the passenger footwell, paid £100 for it with few months of T&T. Drove it to Dartford to look at a new Astra, got lost so stopped at a garage and asked for directions. Young lad working on cars was really helpful so when we bought the Astra. we stopped and gave him the car (and V5).

I absolutely loved this car when I was young and still do!

Sounds good and nice styling! I loved the comment from the owner that you drove over "A Bridge Too Far"! Some wonderful World War Two history there!

5 cylinder engines > all other engines, imho. I remember when this model was released. I was, and still am, a HUGE fan of the C2/Type 43 Audi 100 and 200, and i would have one of those over any other Audi 100 now a days too. BUT: The C3 IS a better car. I did get to spent time in a sedan version of the car seen here, lived in a small town and one of the cab drivers rolled a non-turbo C3. Absolutely lovely car. Best car until some years later another cab driver bought a Citroen XM 3,0 V6. Now that is a cool taxi! :) ..the fact that the first one he bought died in a flood is another matter. Dude went out and bought another one, a station wagon this time, and kept rolling the V6 loveliness. Anyways: Much love for bringing us some five cylinder goodness

This vehicle in the United States was called the Audi 5000s wagon until 1989 when they adopted the European nomenclature of the Audi 100/200. I always loved the Audi's of the 1980's and early 1990's. I owned a 4000s(80/90) from 1985 and it was my first and favorite car. Audi won many international awards for this car and their Quattro option was their crowning achievement. This is when Audi built quality cars and great innovative concepts. Not like nowadays where they seem to be all about panache. Great video.

The scenery is gorgeous and the car wonderful. I feel like I missed out by being born in the USA and decades too late to buy one of these new. Thanks for the serene ride along.

I had two of these in the past, one a 2.0 litre and one a 2.3, both 5 cylinder engines. Loved them both to bits and in my opinion they represented the very pinnacle of Audi development. Economical, unfussy and robust. Quality control was such that you could predict component failures down to the nearest 1000 miles! You may recognise the hydraulics as Citroen as you say including the hydraulic assisted brake servo. The pumps were a bit leaky but did the job. God forbid that the owner of this one ever needs a front end, then I have one in the garage! Soooo envious. Rear wiper toggles between off and intermittent.

Saab owner here - YVW! I went Saab because I like variety. Your channel exposes me to much more variety.

What a nostalgia trip to hear that engine again. I had two 5-cyl 100''s in the early 90's, even better my friend had a 2.0 Passat (old old style) which also had that crazy engine in it. That thing was a complete beast, and I warbled down the M1 to London in it once at a fearsome speed :-)

The VW Golf V5 (2.3l petrol, 170bhp) was the best sounding car I've ever owned. (came with stainless steel exhaust from the factory apparently)

Hub nut is fast becoming my favourite channel. I love the content and this Audi 100 is fabulous. Can't wait for the next installment

You're right Mr. HubNut. As we get older we tend to value quality and comfort over speed and performance.

I didn’t think I’d like that car as much as I do now! I can’t believe how well it has fared over the years. They don’t build em like that any more! Great road test!😄

Mine was a 2.3 5 cylinder, I lay in the boot once just to enjoy the glorious sound even more whilst my friend drove! Terrible understeer in the wet though!!!😱

Wow this has brought childhood memories back to me. Back in the late 90's, my dad used to own a red 1986 100 Avant with a 2.0l or 2.2l petrol (Cant remember) with an auto gearbox. He used it to travel to work and to take his fishing kit in. (Perfect car for the job) Used to think it was a really cool car, and I remember it being a huge! The interior brought back memories especially the steering wheel with that big Audi logo on it. Wouldn't say no to owning one of these, but haven't seen one around around in years now.

What killed a lot of these in the UK was the fact that the body was galvanised but the structure wasn't and could go rather horribly rotten. And, like a lot of big but not prestige brand cars, they went through a period where they were so cheap that it wasn't worth repairing even minor issues. I remember buying a very early petrol CC saloon in very nice condition indeed, with low mileage and more service history than you could shake a stick at, all from the original supplying dealer, for £50 because it had a clicking CV joint. I put a used driveshaft in it, put it through an MoT, which it sailed through, and then sold it as I didn't need that big a car, and promptly regretted it as it was just superb to drive and very comfortable despite being pretty much the poverty model. The Avant is a lot easier to park than the saloon as you can see where the back of the car is through the neat little window under the spoiler so, although bigger, it is a relative doddle to park. Although this engine doesn't have a lot of horsepower it has bags of torque which makes keeping the speed up very easy, something that the petrol engines in these also shared, which is exactly what made them so ideal for use in the vans. I find it interesting that this car has the 5-cylinder diesel as I thought the UK market turbo-diesels had 4-cylinders. I guess I could be wrong as diesels were incredibly rare in a car like the 100 in the UK at the time and I've never actually seen one and they barely even got mentioned in the motoring press as, well, nobody bought them. This really does make you wonder how and why it all went so wrong for Audi, going from making beautifully engineered and pleasingly different cars like this to the modern, unreliable, bloated twatmobiles they make now...

A 69hp, non-turbo, diesel engine... with that sound?! Only in an I5.

I had an Audi 100 for ten years, best car I had ever own, it was a 1986, I just recall it as a type 44 when I had to get parts for it now and then, original parts were now and then cheaper than non-original parts for some strange reason. 952000 km when I sadly had to say goodbye to it, it was born as a turbo diesel but it had a strange sound from the engine, after some 200000 km this sound turned out to be coming from a piston rod that left the engine thru the engine block, not good, but a fully renovated engine, just without turbo, and it was dirt cheap to drive, 17km/l and at one trip from south in Sweden to Finland I manage 21.7km/l, it was at only 80km/h in speed as I had plenty of time. The designer of the door-handles is not my friend, I had to change then about 5 times, the light switch (high/low beam) one time, front brakes for every 150000 km, rear brakes one time, radiator one time too, head lamps + fog light one time, the most difficult part to get hold of was a brake/servo pressure tank thing, it took more than a year to get one and during this time the cars front brakes had their own separate life with automatic braking when not needed, I still remember I had to cool down the front wheel with water, 10 litre pr time with a can forth and back many times at a petrol station before the wheels was cooled down that much that they were just warm, the most strange failure I had ever had with a car.

From the isle of wight there is a gentleman over here who still uses one of these Audi estates for a taxi he got a bar going across the roof with the taxi sign in the middle not from the isle of wight ordinary I am always surprised to see what comes around the corner great vlog

My mate's dad had one of these .............not quick, bloody hell the boot space was HUGE. A very smart car in it's day, and this one's in great condition.

Engine sounds AMAZING

You don't see many on the roads in the UK now, I do recall in the 1980s when they sent all the ladas back to Russia .Rivas, nivas etc they couldn't buy enough of them back. and when I used to look at them all parked up on the docks in great yarmouth there was loads of these audis, estate and saloons amongst them ready to board the ships /ferrys I think they were rugged and reliable and not over complex.

If they're Quattro seats, shouldn't there be four of them? :-)

What a car my dad had one, learned to drive in one of these 2.2 five pot petrol back in 1993.. the good old days 😜

Oh I do like that dash, clean, simple, very pleasing. There is just some magic about a huge estate. My dad and grandfather had a few, Peugeot 505, Citroen CX, Nissan 300C, Triumph 2500 S, etc.... They moaned about every estate car they had. But once they were sold they regretted it and ended up buying another estate. The estate car is a special breed for a special person. Possibly not as popular now due to the cheap multipurpose vehicles like the Citroen Berlingo. Keep seeing Berlingo's going for about £600 round here, not bad for the money.

I had a 2.0 CC Avant and a face-lifted 2.3SE Avant in my 20s back in the 90s. Exceptionally well made cars, bought one from an accountant and the other from a surgeon. Comfortable with a vast boot, oh and they would average 34mpg. They don't rust and are quite easy to work on too.

A mate of mine bought one of these used in Germany when I lived over there. It was a great drive, but it had a serious oil leak and the steering linkage felt like it had been in a shunt/prang somewhere. I've lived in Norway for ages now and you still see the odd 100 knocking about, normally driven by a 95 year old farmer with the eyes of a 3000 year old owl.

Great video on the Audi Ian. Owned the Avant 100 2.2 CDI I think it was,in my 20s in the 90s lol.Brillient tourer,and family car,punchy engine and ultra comfort for my 6ft3ins frame.Excellent excellent Chanel. I'm a Brit living in the Philippines 55 years old now and get alot of entertainment from your RU-vid channel.Hoping you get 100k milestone by Xmas. I think an affair with the Audi 100 Avant may be on the cards...... Keep up the good work Hubnut.. Cheers.

Wow audis 100 avant are quite rare today especially in such good condition.

The Audi 100 C3 was a big achievement with cd 0.29. I have been a big fan since childhood.

I feel you on this one. I used to own a B3 Passat. I was young and stupid, thinking it's not the car for me, but in reality it was the most comfortable and reliable car I've ever owned. And I miss it dearly.

At 11:32, this is where "Bridge too Far" was filmed. Notice the church, the elevated highway next to the houses...

Lovely . My favourite era of Audi's - premium quality and uncomplicated by unnecessary complexity/electronics and the modern millstone of stupendous cost. I bought a 1983 Avant for literally pennies to help me with a house move about 5 years ago - it was a 130,000 miler but mint. Drove like a new car. After my move I had a complete mindf**k and sold it. What an idiot - every time I see an Audi (any Audi) I kick, and hate, myself.

Always have loved the clean and aerodynamic lines in this generation Audi 100. Haven't owned one though but I have at least the 1/43 scale model of the Audi 100 sedan (facelift version) :D

5 cylinder deliciousness!! I have always loved the sound of these engines. And the petrol version. I have a strange penchant for odd cylinder counts! You seem very comfortable driving on the other side mate. Thanks for sharing.

Nice video. I particularly like the off-beat 5-cylinder engine noise, which nicely detracts from the diesel clatter, as far as it's possible to tell from your video. I remember when these came out, in 1982. They were so far ahead of their time, truly revolutionary in looks & aerodynamics. I think the drag coefficient was something like 0.30 to 0.32 (much lower than anything else at the time), and they had pegs on the windows, which enabled them to open & close whilst being flush-fitted to the outside.

I love the sound of a 5 cylinder since having my Volvo 850 🙂

I tried that car when it was brand new, with a small petrol engine. I didn't like it then. It seems pretty big outside, and inside in shoulder height, and narrow where your head is. Some four years later, after facelift, I drove the Quattro 136 HP version about 400 miles on narrow Scandinavian winter roads. Then I liked it. I had the Sierra XR4x4 on the same trip the year before. The Audi was a much, much better car on those roads condition. But there is something to remember. That Audi model came, when Mercedes 123-series was the model to buy. It came as 200D, 220D, 240D and 300D. Still very agricultural. The diesel to blow your mind then, was the new BMW 524TD. Much better than the 300TD.

Those cars had an absolutely innovative and ahead of time look back in 80's. I remember seeing one when I was kid and all of the other cars parked on the street seemed suddenly old fashioned.

That's actually a really good looking car, the five cylinder petrol engine was quite good. I owned the old Audi 100 CD model with all the bells and whistles

I lived in the NL for a couple of years and its amazing the number of older cars that are about. A work colleague of mine had a 23 year old Volvo 740 estate that he'd had since it was 3 years old. 320000km and still going strong

when i was in my twenties, one of my dads friends had one of these under a sheet on his driveway. when he sold his house, he gave it to me, and actually paid me to take it away. i threw a bucket of water over it, put a battery and some fresh fuel in her, [ mine was a petrol version] and she ran like a dream. i ran her for 12 mths before trading for something newer. lovely car, and like hens teeth theses days.

I love the size of the interior and the sleekness

Wow - back to the Netherlands. Elly's doing well.

The C3 was a revolutionary design at its time, good to hear that the rest of the car doesn't seem to be bad either. I'd love to know how this compares to the C4 which slots right between the 100 here and the C5 A6 I owned (and thoroughly enjoyed) for a short time. I don't think I'd wanna give away my Senator for either though!

Good solid cars in their time and still are now. Neighbour had the saloon petrol turbo one if I am not mistaken back then and remember how great it sounded on start and take off in the mornings lovely warble. Thanks Ian.

i had a few of those Avant and the saloon Diesal and 5 cyl petrol absolute fantastic cars loved them

Oh boy, I ran a 100CD Avant back in the 80s, with a 2.2 petrol injection 5 pot, a fabulous car, self levelling suspension and front wheel drive.

I had an 1983 2,1 petrol automatic in copper colour with factory aircon, I kept it until 140,000km by which time the aircon compressor had died and the steering rack was leaking. It was nice to drive, fast and comfortable, great acceleration but a bit thirsty, I came across it for sale again many years later by which time it had 266,000 km on it, a nasty towbar fitted along with cheap supermarket tires but the body was still totally rust free.

When you are talking about fuel consumption. In 1982 I drove then the brand new Passat B2 Estate Diesel over a distance on 1150 miles. I had then 69 mpg, believe me or not. It had the 1,6 liter diesel from Golf. Maybe 52 hp. It could do 90 mph, but if you did the right thing with the diesel pump, you could reach at least 100 mph.

My Grandfather was a Ford guy...he had three restored Model A's, a Grenada, and a Crown Victoria. While I'm sure the USA Grenada wasn't the same as the European Grenada, it sounds like it was just as bad! It had the horn not in the center of the steering wheel, but on the left hand turn signal stalk! I liked the Crown Vic, very comfortable. I started out as a Ford guy myself...Mustang, Probe, Ranger, and another Mustang which I still have today. I was looking for a Ford F150 when I bought my Toyota Tundra. :) I respect your opinion - at least you drive the cars before you pass judgement. There's a lot of people who hate certain cars but who have never driven them!

Can't wait to see your Louwman video. I'm just back from my holidays in Den Haag and have also been to the Museum. Quite impressive, especially the small car exhibition. Greetings from Germany!

Another car I owned once. I had the later facelift model. Mine was a 1992 Sedan, with the 2.2litre 5 pot petrol engine. It was a very wafty car and the engine had a sewing machine like smoothness about it. The auto gearchange was very smooth too, but to be fair, a lot of Japanese and Australian cars of this era were beginning to have very smooth automatic gear shifts too. It had 320,000km on the clock when I bought it, and was very reliable apart from having to replace all the rubber cooling system hoses under the bonnet. They'd corroded with age! I understand after 1994, this shape continued on as the A6 until 1997. I have a soft spot for Audis, even modern ones, despite their Volkswagen group reliability issues.

The 80s was a good decade for Audi, outside of the automatic transmission problems, Audi was a decent car. Some of my favorite has to be the 90CD (84/85ish), Coupe, 100CD/200 (84/85) and the first generation V8. In the 90s I really lost intrest in Audi and that is because of the design. Great video, cheers

Those seats look more comfortable than the ones in my C6 (A6 Allroad).

My dad had a saloon CD but it was 2.2 lt 5 cyl . He bought it when first available inthe UK but that was 1983 Y. Most aerodynamic production car 125mph top speed which was way ahead of the competition.

I had a 1.8 just like that. Mid 40s mpg on a run. Even the jack was aluminium to save weight and fuel

Great practical reliable work horse

holycrap: an Audi 100 that hasn't burst into flames. RIP my parents 100.

That was superb. Funnily enough, I had a close encounter with an early 90s 100 Avant and my Lord, it's as gorgeous in the metal as you see in this video. Delicious! I certainly hope you get round to getting one so we can see more of its goodness!

In the early 90's I owned a dark metallica green saloon 2.2 E petrol which was basically a VW GTI engine with an extra fifth cylinder. Gorgeous engine noise, I often towed a caravan with it and when going uphill it emitted a wonderful deep bellow - If you are in the market try that engine! Very fond memories of that car.

I like the huge audi badge under the bonnet, just in case you forgot!

Wow - I remember these appearing 1984 ish and immediately loved them the style and the size of the 100 and the 200 (was it later?). Even after 35 years they haven’t dated too badly and much better than other cars of the period. Thanks Ian for another top review.

Audis Galvanized??? cool ... I'm impressed. The clips on the timing cover, brilliant vs bolts , would ease access ...

I remember it was the Audi 100 brought Drag Coefficient into the uk’s collective psyche

I personally love non turbo diesels. My first car was a fabia 1.9SDi and it was plenty fast enough and very economical. Also owned a 1990 Renault Trafic with the Sofim 2.5 8140 non turbo diesel , which also was plenty fast enough in the real world and used less fuel than my sorento rurbo diesel or the transits at work. Could run either on veg oil or bio diesel. We could all live with non turbo diesels. But world wide the powers that be want to encourage consumerism, fossil fuel sales, battery rare earth element and planned obselesence.

I had a petrol Audi 100 like that but with the boot, bloody lovely to drive it was. My mates at the time called it the ‘pimpmobile’ as it was huuge. You could stretch your legs out in the back seat and still not touch the drivers seat in front of you 😁

Not even trying to sound "HubNutty", I must say that I really love how the more angular shapes of the cars from the 80's and early 90's made the cars look bigger and the interiors seem so much more spacious. Also, I really like the elegance of those contoured lines of the dashboards -- never fully warmed up to curves and airplane-inspired, unsymmetrical consoles. And there often was much more colour in the trim materials. Speaking specifically about the Audi, I must say it must be one of the most beautiful, if not the most beautiful, cars of that era. And the steering-wheel design is just without a match -- for me, it's just absolutely perfect aesthetically :D.

4:23 is the headlamp angle/height adjustermabob.

Its a nice car and felt thoroughly modern in the 80s, remember my dad testing one of these over a Volvo 240, Peugeot 505 and that infamous Ford Sierra. The one he drove had headlamp washers and my all time favourite was at the rear seats I could have a light to read my Enid Blytons while on the road. It didn't stay with him for long, 2 or 3 years it was before it was replaced with a Mercedes W124. Back in the days when company cars were all the rage. Pity these days the concept of company cars have become a rarity.

Brings back so many awesome high school memories. I was the only one with an Audi in the parking lot ✊ even if it was a million years old at the time.

Wow, I thought that Volvo engine was homegrown?! And it found itself in the original Focus RS. I wish all 4 pots were 5 cylinder. What a more tuneful world we would live in 😊

Fantastic! You don’t get estates like this anymore.

I had a handful of Audi 100/5000s in the 80s and early 90s. One was a sedan with this drivetrain and one was a 5 cyl gas the same color as this one. (5 speed manuals) The color was called bamboo. Mine had a chocolate brown leather interior. The last one I had was a 200 turbo. I loved them but they were so expensive to repair and needed repairs frequently. (The US versions had climate control, power seats and such that this car doesn't.) I loved the way they drove and sounded. I'm surprised to see one looking so nice still.

Nothing specific about the very nice car. Just wanted to say loving the road trip Ian. A little escape from the usual boring day, so for that thank you. Much appreciated adventures.

My dad had a 70s 100LS - solid, reliable and safe.

I've just bought an 89 100 1.8E. C3.on a cheap trade-in deal after my loyal Merc 240D died of terminal rust over the right front suspension.Galvanised.Cleanest veteran daily driver I've seen in a long time.Fitted with black leather seats from a flashier model.The doors shut with noise several tones higher than the clunk of the Merc.Gearshift linkage sloppy and needs 'feel' to change compared with Merc but 5 gears. Become a bit of a rarity on Sweden's roads.

Thanks for the memory trip. I have owned a couple of these in the past and they're grat cars for sure!

Ahhhh....wonderful memories of a 1983 100 CS I had in the late 80’s. Wonderful 2.2 5 cylinder petrol. A beautiful metallic sage green and one of the nicest cars I’ve ever owned. These pre facelift cars are getting very thin on the ground now....(off to check ebay......)