Road Test - Audi A4

Our first drive of the new Audi A4 at its Australian launch shows it to be more of the same, but bigger and better all round.

Value for money

Pricing

The A4 front-wheel drive sedan range opens with the 118kW 1.8 litre direct injection, turbocharged petrol/six speed manual TFSi, at $50,990. A continuously variable transmission - Multitronic in Audi-speak - version is $53,500.

The 105kW 2.0 litre direct injection turbodiesel, with Multitronic only, is $54,900.

We'll look in detail at these two base models here.

A 140kW 2.7 litre V6 direct injection turbodiesel arrives in June, priced at $67,900.

At present the only quattro all-wheel-drive model is the 195kW 3.2 litre petrol V6/six speed sequential automatic, at $88,500.

So if you're looking to trade in your current 1.8 or 2.0 litre A4 quattro for a new circa $60,000-$65,000 equivalent, you might have to wait a while. A 155kW, 2.0 litre TFSi petrol quattro, with a six speed manual or the new seven speed automated manual gearbox, will shortly be launched in Germany. This might well be worth the wait, because turbocharged four cylinder quattro variants have always been the best drive, and certainly the best value, in the A4 range. Expect to see it at the Sydney Motorshow later in the year, and on sale in late 2008-early 2009.

Avant (wagon) versions of the 1.8TFSi and 2.0TDi arrived in August, priced from $57,100 and $58,500 respectively. October adds a 176kW 3.0 litre V6 turbodiesel sedan as well.

              

Warranty

Three years/unlimited kilometres.

Standard equipment

The base model 1.8TFSi and 2.0TDi include eight airbags, stability control, leather upholstery, an electric parking brake, 16 inch alloy wheels, automatic airconditioning, cruise control, rain sensing wipers and a single CD player.

Options

There are lots of expensive options, some of which should be standard. Audi has also trumpeted some new technical advances in the A4, but nearly all of these are optional as well. Metallic paint is $1600. Front and rear parking sensors, the latter supplemented by a rear camera, add $2750, but you first have to pay $4900 for the navigation system package. Don´t waste $2600 on radar cruise control unless you´re incapable of keeping a safe distance from the car in front. A power adjustable driver´s seat is packaged with three zone air and Bluetooth pre-installation for $2600. A six stack CD player is $600. There´s much more. Go to Audi if you want to work out just how much an A4 can cost with all the options. You can almost double the price of the base models.

Retained value

Audi is very sensitive to suggestions that its cars have weaker resale values than BMW, Mercedes and Lexus. It now claims class leading three year resales for the A4 of 64.74 per cent.

Of course the validity of such claims can depend upon who commissions the numbers.

Independent valuer Redbook has a 2005 1.8 Turbo quattro at 61.5 per cent after three years, which is still pretty good. A base 2.0 litre multitronic front drive sedan retains 59 per cent.

A 2005 BMW 320i automatic retains 67.9 per cent. A 2005 Lexus IS250 retains 63.9 per cent. A 2005 Mercedes C200K Classic returns just 54.5 per cent.

Design & function

Ergonomics

Current A4 owners will immediately feel at home in the new model. Audi's cockpit style dash layout is retained, along with the familiar and efficient white on dark grey switchgear, less cluttered than previously, and legible instrument graphics.

So everything is close at hand and easy to find. Audi's chunky switchgear works with a precise, tactile touch, apart from the wands which are made from low rent plastic.

The optional MMI (multi media interface) cursor/screen system for finding your way around the audio, navigation and other functions is now available across the range.

Storage includes wide door bins with bottle holders, a big glovebox and a small centre console bin.

There's plenty of front seat travel for long legged drivers and height/reach adjustment for the wheel. Vision is clear around the car, but surely rear parking sensors should be included at the price rather than being optional - at a ridiculous $850.

Technical details

• This is the eighth generation A4. The original Audi 80 was released in 1972. It became the A4 in 1994.
• It's built in Germany.
• A completely new platform has been developed to provide more interior space and to improve handling, which has in previous models been characterised by a heavy, unresponsive character when turning into corners, excessive understeer, rack shake and kickback and imprecise steering, especially in the front drive models.
• Audi has tried to redistribute the new model's weight, to get it closer to a balanced 50/50 front rear split. It has moved the front axle forward by 154mm, lengthened the wheelbase by 167mm (it's now the longest in the class), widened the tracks, reduced the front overhang, and relocated the battery under the boot floor. The steering gear has also been moved lower to an attachment point on the suspension subframe.
• In quattro variants, drive is now split 40 per cent front/60 per cent rear, rather than the previous A4's 50/50. This too is designed to improve steering responsiveness and precision.
• New suspension has also been developed. The front is a five link arrangement, all in forged aluminium and largely located behind the wheel centres. Travel has also been increased to deliver a much needed improvement in ride comfort. Trapezoidal link rear suspension is carried over, but with more aluminium components.
• Although the new car is bigger and stronger, weight is down by an average 10 per cent. The 1.8TFSi now weighs just 1410 kg, which is very light for its size. The 2.0TDi adds 50kg, due to the iron block diesel engine.
• The 1.8 litre TFSi engine, introduced here in sister brand Skoda's Octavia, produces 118kW of power at 4500rpm and 250Nm of torque from 1500-4500rpm.
• The 2.0 litre TDI engine, carried over, produces 105kW of power at 4200rpm and 320Nm of torque from 1750-2500rpm. It now has common rail injection and piezo injectors for improvements in efficiency, smoothness and quietness.
• The new Multitronic transmission has a wider spread of ratios and eight simulated ratios, accessible in Sport or manual modes.
• Audi has also introduced Drive Select, which includes adaptive dampers (in the six cylinder models only) and allows the driver to choose from three maps - Automatic, Comfort and Dynamic - which adjust the engine/transmission, steering response and suspension accordingly. The steering is supplemented by variable ratio assistance, and a self correcting function if the stability control detects excessive understeer. Drive Select adds $3200 or $5500 with adaptive dampers on the 3.2V6 quattro.
• A blind spot warning system, which actuates a light in the relevant mirror if a car moves into the blind spot zone, adds $1250. A lane change warning system sends a slight tremor through the steering wheel if you veer onto your lane marking lines, or try to change lanes, without first indicating. It adds $2400.
• 16 inch alloy wheels are standard, fitted with 225/55 tyres.

Comfort

The cars we drove at the launch were all fitted with the Comfort seat package, described above. And that's exactly what you get. There's a long, well padded cushion and a supportive backrest, good for a long day's drive.

Space and practicality

Tight rear seat leg room was one of the failings of the previous model. It's now more generous than a Mercedes C Class or a Lexus IS250, but still tighter than a BMW 3 Series. Bear in mind that none of these cars is really comfortable for four tall adults.

You sit slightly knees up, on a low cushion. There's a supportive backrest shaped for two and sufficient head room for those to 185cm. Storage is limited to door bins that will hold large bottles.

As usual from Audi the boot is huge and has a 60/40 split fold rear seat extension, for which BMW and Mercedes charge extra.

However the previous model's full size spare has been replaced by a space saver.

Build and finish quality

Outstanding. The new A4 is hewn from solid, and its interior fit and finish quality is a step up in execution and ambience on the base Mercedes C Class and BMW 3 Series. Even the fake alloy trim looks convincing. It's also worth noting that leather is standard in the base models, whereas BMW and Mercedes charge extra for it in the 320i and C200K.

On the road

Fuel efficiency

Both four cylinder engines offer outstanding fuel efficiency.

European standard test averages for the 1.8TFSi petrol manual (auto) are 5.5L/100km highway (5.7L/100km); 9.9L/100km city (10.4L/100km). 95 octane premium is recommended.

The 2.0TDi Multitronic's equivalent averages are 4.7L/100km and 7.8L/100km.

CO2 emissions are 169g/km (174gkm); and 154g/km for the TDi.

Performance

Audi claims 0-100km/h times of 8.6 seconds for the 1.8TFSi manual and the same for the Multitronic. The TDi Multitronic takes 9.4 seconds.

We drove both engines with Multitronic, and it's a surprise that the petrol engine is nearly one second quicker. The turbo diesel is certainly stronger off the bottom end at low revs. It cruises nonchalantly through the traffic, often ticking over at only 1500rpm or so, and when you get busy with the accelerator its seamless integration with the Multitronic means you always have instant, strong drive available.

However the 1.8 TFSi petrol engine is also a good thing. It too cruises quietly and easily through traffic, or on the highway. The Multitronic quickly spins it up into a punchy midrange when you want acceleration, and its enthusiasm for the task here and at the top end is much greater than BMW's 2.0 litre four in the 320i. The Multitronic's soundtrack suggests slippage, but that's the way it's supposed to work. In terms of maximising the efficiency and performance of four cylinder engines, it's superior to conventional automatics. 

Handling, steering and braking

Our first drive in the 1.8 TFSi showed that in this variant at least Audi's engineers have succeeded in curing the previous model's ills.

The steering no longer feels like there's a bag of cement sitting on the rack, understeer at sane speeds has been banished and there's no rack shake or kickback.

The TFSi feels much better balanced overall, and more agile than its predecessor.

However when we jumped into the 2.0TDi for a drive over the same piece of road, it felt like there was an extra 150kg up front rather than the actual 50kg difference. It just goes to show how sensitive a car can be to weight distribution, because the TDi is much more nose heavy and unwieldy than the TFSi, which in turn detracts from steering feel, responsiveness and precision.

While these front drive A4s are enjoyable to drive, we'd suggest that if you want an Audi that really handles, then the quattro badge is still worth paying extra for.

Ride

On the previous A4 the ride was lumpy and bumpy, more so if you chose optional big wheels and fat tyres, doubly so if you added sports suspension.

Our cars were fitted with optional 17 inch alloys shod with 225/50 tyres, rather than the standard 16s. Both had the standard suspension setup.

Ride comfort is much improved. It's not quite in the Mercedes C Class league for suppleness, but it's certainly more comfortable on rough roads than the BMW 320i, which struggles for compliance with its standard runflat tyres, and the Lexus IS250, which can be too harsh and sharp.

The extra weight of the TDi added a slight measure of smoothness and absorbency over the TFSi.

Braking

Overall power is fine, but Audi persists with an excessively high, overly touchy pedal, which is annoying in traffic.

Smoothness and quietness

No problems here. Both engines are very smooth, and there is no shift shock in the Multitronic transmission because it doesn't actually change gears. Road and wind noise are also low.

Summary

There is a lot to like about the new Audi A4, especially its TFSi/TDi/Multitronic drivetrains, best in class quality and more spacious interior. However steering and handling in these base models, while much more capable and enjoyable, has in reality only now caught up with A grade, but much less expensive, front-wheel drive cars of similar size, like the Mazda6, Honda Accord Euro, Ford Focus and Volvo S40/V50.

A rear drive BMW 3 Series, Mercedes C Class or Lexus IS250 will still slice through a set of bends in a more surgical, balanced fashion than the front drive A4s. We await the 2.0TFSi quattro with great interest, because it may well change the pecking order.

Review by Bill McKinnon, April 2008.

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