the two main points addressed:
- Webasto has lots of complexity. Fuel lines, power, coolant. A PTC element is way simpler and faster to heat. Why would you not replace and reduce the cost?
- Pressed steel wishbones are not by definition "inferior". They have one intended advantage; the ball joint can be replaced. I am 100% sure that someone thought this was a good enough reason to switch them out, never mind weight or production cost. That those ball joints rarely fail on these cars is a moot point; A4s and A6s of this vintage seem to have serious problems with them so I suspect someone wanted to avoid a roasting from the German press for failing to allow them to be replace, knowing the other model issues.
Soft touch was put in place to improve the feel of the interior, which it does. Its longevity was obviously tested before introduction, but it's not robust enough to really work... well, that's not quite true. Mine looks good, and it's a 2002. There's something which attacks the finish in either hand product or specific people's skin oil. It's not as clear cut as "hard touch good, soft touch bad".
The hinge issues affected a very small number of cars and was corrected by Audi under warranty. The leakage from the inner door skins I can believe, though I'm not aware of any revisions. Though again, I've not heard of this one before and the German club is about three times the size of the UK one.
2002 is the year to go for, if you ask me; Aero wiper, CAN, not K-Bus, and soft touch. Late 2002 gets you a BBY with the more unreliable coil packs.
2003 got BHC so Euro 4 for Diesel and bigger fuel tanks. The grill and color.storm are another set of changes, but the final major change to ESP MK60 didn't happen until really late. Actual sport suspension was also available as of 2003 or so IIRC.
I don't agree the early cars are better built.