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Audi A4
Read my lips, sport lovers
We don’t always recognise it, but cars have faces too. Not in the overt way that Thomas the Tank engine does, but there is a kind of physiognomy to a car’s front.
The grille doubles as mouth and nose, the headlamps are eyes and the whole ensemble of sheet metal, plastic, meshed apertures and lighting can make a car look meek and mild, muscular and macho or cute and cuddly. As with humans, the face can reveal the character inside and indeed, the confidence of the company creating it.
And right now, Audi is feeling very confident. That’s why it introduced the bold, trapezoidal grille and has added another assertive flourish in the shape of a strip of LED lights in the headlamps. The dramatic Audi R8 supercar got them first, and now Audi’s most popular model, the mid-size A4, also flaunts them.
Not all new-generation A4s have this eyeliner-type come-on, but even without it the newcomer fills your rear-view mirror with a look-at-me presence that will quietly thrill many owners.
This bolder A4 complements Audi’s success on many fronts, from repeated wins at Le Mans to rising sales and profitability and the introduction of models in previously untapped markets. Audi is fast becoming a hot brand. But the A4’s ring of confidence is also the result of a complete rework of this long-established challenger to the bestselling BMW 3-series, and its arch rival, the Mercedes C-class.
It may sound obvious, but the new A4 really is new, not only riding on a redesigned chassis but also offering a lot of new hardware. Audi’s top of the range dashboard architecture, in which all controls and gauges are angled towards the driver, now appears in the A4, and a small barrage of fresh technologies has been deployed, ranging from a lane-departure warning system to a power steering system that improves manoeuvrability.
But the A4 is still stuck with a legacy that has prevented it being considered as ultimately sporty as the BMW. Its cars are front-wheel drive (or front-drive adapted to all-wheel drive). This, and a mechanical layout that places the engine forward of the front axle, has given many Audis the balance of a hammer, and a similar willingness to travel dead ahead if thrown. That’s actually an exaggeration – they’re entirely willing to change direction at sensible-to-brisk speeds – but the underlying physics of an arrangement that crams most of the mechanicals up front has created cars that are undeniably less athletic than BMWs.
But now the A4’s mechanicals have been reconfigured to shift weight rearwards, though without giving up the loved front-wheel drive and this has brought stability benefits in slippery conditions. The result is better weight distribution and potentially improved handling and ride.
Which is why it’s a bit of a disappointment to find that the first A4 we sampled, a somewhat slothful 2.7 TDI V6 diesel automatic, didn’t feel particularly deft.
There’s no shortage of go in the pricier 3.2 V6 petrol, whose quattro drivetrain provides reassuring purchase over a hard-charged, twisty road, yet it feels slightly lifeless. Corners are negotiated effortlessly with Audi’s dynamic steering. This reduces the wheel turning needed to round a bend – a feature that’s as useful in town as it is on a country road, although the adjustable shock absorbers confer little benefit.
It took a drive in a cheaper version, the one likely to become the UK bestseller, to make me believe that this really is a better A4.
The 2.0 TDI has a new common-rail diesel engine that is both brisk and civilised, and this allows the rest of the car’s considerable qualities to emerge. Its interior now yields usefully more room in the rear, and an unusually long boot. And the dashboard, strangely reminiscent of classier 1970s cars, is impeccably put together. Most of the controls are relatively easy to use, even if it takes time to understand the daunting clusters of buttons around the gearlever that form the optional infotainment and air-conditioning systems.
But the seats are comfortable and highly adjustable, the Bang & Olufsen stereo is superb, and, bar some wind noise, the aura of quality is reassuring.
In 2.0 TDI guise, or with the excellent new 1.8 turbo petrol, this A4 is slightly more sporting, and a usefully improved, four-star car. But with most of the bigger engines, 3.0 TDI excepted, it’s a three-star machine only.
Vital statistics Audi A4 2.0 TDI S
Engine type 1968cc, four cylinders, turbodiesel
Power/Torque 143bhp @ 4000rpm / 236 lb ft @ 1750rpm
Transmission Six-speed manual
Fuel/CO2 51.4mpg (combined cycle) /144g/km
Performance 0-62mph: 9.4sec / Top speed: 134mph
Price £23,940
Verdict Better made, quiet, comfortable, but bland
Rating 
Date of release February 2008
The opposition
Model BMW 320d ES 4dr £24,235
For Subtly sporting, capable all-rounder
Against Cabin less stylish, less roomy
Model Mercedes C 200 CDI Elegance £25,302
For Civilised and accomplished
Against Slightly austere interior, wind noise
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