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"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'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.

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

I love the Retro Reviews. Thanks

Wow!!! Good to see Pat Goss in your reviews from way back. Also nice to see, both of you are still in the business.

I always chuckle at a young Pat Goss with his corduroy bell bottoms and 70's swagger!

The good ol' boxy 80s Audi 4000 S, love it.😍

The Audi 4000S was basically the same car as the Volkswagen Quantum.

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.

I can't get enough of these retro reviews, particularly since they started getting uploaded in 60fps!

How they were mentioning “the upcoming W124” Very unusual to hear

I love boxy cars.. they look handsome

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.

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 a 1982 4000S. Fantastic. Superb quality, 35-40 mpg, comfortable, excellent sound, gorgeous cocoa velour interior.

It's amazing how fuel efficient cars can be when they don't have to worry about things like emissions or safety standards!

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.

Thank you so much for uploading more of the retro reviews - especially at those lock down times!

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!

I still see these around! Perfect boxy shape.

🤔Thank you Motor Week for posting these retro videos. With everything going on, this helps.👍🏻

4:53 John: (The dash) Efficient looking all right but dreary! LOL

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!

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!

My Toyota Corolla has a beam axle w/ coils rear axle. So, basically it’s an Audi. Sweet!

This car was sold with many other engines, petrol and diesel, fwd or awd, as Audi 80 in Europe.

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!

Thank you guys for making it public again. Cheers

"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.

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.

Most enjoyable car to drive but with lots of problems after only one year of ownership...So Audis have been like that for years?

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...

Are you kidding?! You guys are the best! 4k love here!

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!

One of the best cars I have ever owned. In fact have owned 2. Loved the interior.

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 !!

4:15. A gold star for serviceability. I wish car reviewers had that criterion for today's new cars! They unfortunately do not.

MotorWeek - please upload the facelifted 85-86 4000S tests if you have them. Thanks!

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

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!!!!

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.

When he said "the 4000 isn't exactly light 2400lbs" boy have things changed dramatically, good luck finding a new audi under 4000lbs today 😂

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!

Nice. My dad had one of these and never really had major issues with his 1985 1.6 petrol sedan.

The year I was born. 😁👍

Had an Audi 4000 1983 model, silver with blue interior, crank sunroof & 5 speed. Was a nice car, held up quite well.

Love this show.

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!

I liked that from the drivers seat segment. Ever thought of bringing it back?

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.

Retro review marathon!!

Includes such features such as *air conditioning and cruise control*

Motor Week and Lift-over height. Name a more iconic duo.

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!

The typewriter at 0:28!! Amazing!!👍

I had a 1983 5000S and a 1983 5000T. (Turbo) Fantastic Cars that lasted for more than 20 years.

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 😂

Ooh, I wish you had a retro 1983 '5'000 S review. That was my first car!

12.5 seconds to 60 ! And look at those tiny tires. We’ve come a long way!

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.

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

“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 was the most 80's intro. :-)

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.

I can see where Toyota got their inspiration for the 85 Cressida.

Either John couldn't decide on a persona for this one or his coffee was cutting in and out. Love that guy.

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.

interesting how tiny it looks next to that thunderbird!

I like the Thunderbird and the big GM wagon too!

I miss my 1990 Audi 100 wish I had kept it

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.

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.

Would love to see the 124 review from you guys

Oil leaks after 20k miles and they still liked it. No way a car could get away with that now.

Cool car. New audis/bmws are whales

0-60 in 12.5 seconds "the better end of average"....how did we ever survive those days?

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.

5:06 I see a voltmeter! Maybe the cutout was for the optional oil pressure gauge? 🤔😁

I want an hr long video of just pat talking

The 1984 Dodge Daytona Turbo Z put the hurting on this car back in the day.

Pat Goss reviewed cars in the early days? Who knew!

Ah yes the early 80's, when a 12.6 0-60 time was considered 'fireball acceleration'

I remember this car from the movie E.T.

lol at the upshift light not working....you tend to ignore that light after the first week of ownership.

:-) love this car!

Classic good looks.

Lol the upshift light never works on my 84 Coupe Gt too xD

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

That car got 3 wheel motion. Only gangsta's lift the inside front wheel.

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...

Look mom, no urban sprawl here back in 1984.

The early 1980s 4000 and 5000 were, in my opinion, two of the most beautiful cars every produced.

This thing handles good.

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..

Please upload your early Audi TT MK1 test

The dipping and rolling ONLY "looks" severe? The front bumber nearly slam into the pavement. LOL great gas mileage thought!!