Introduction: In 1994 Audi has decided to redo their name nomenclature starting with the A6 and shortly after the A4. The Audi A4 is the successor to the entry level Audi 80 also known as the Audi 4000. The original A4 was developed using the Passat platform of the time. Unlike most of its competitors the A4 starts out as a front wheel drive car with an optional AWD system dubbed Quattro after the original Audi Quattro known for its WRC wins. The current A4 was in production in 2008 known as the B8, it also happens to the be largest A4 Audi has ever made. Some of this was due to Audi further adding entry level cars like the Audi A3 and the A1. This current generation of Audi is most known for its LED headlights and with Audi seeing major success in China, the current Audi A4 and A6 are enjoying record sales.
As with any new model of car I get to try, I am always eager. Some can end up as a pleasant surprise like the Mazda 2, others can end up a major disappointment like the Buick LaCrosse. With Audi, you often hear everyone saying they're good and they look nice. Good unfortunately is a pretty vague statement to the point where a car with suffer frequent minor and secondary failures but no major failures by some people is still enough to warrant it being good. As I do in these reviews, my intention is to break it all down and to see whether its truly a lovely car to drive or whether its competently good.
Performance: The standard A4 is given what Audi badges as the 2.0T. This is basically a 2.0L turbocharged 4-cylinder engine. This engine produces 211 hp and 258 lb.ft of torque. Now if you're wondering what TSFI means, T is for the turbo, while the FSI is Audi's way of saying direct injection. The performance claim by Audi is that this engine gets from 0-100 km/h in about 6.5 seconds with the Quattro system and the automatic known as Multitronic. The automatic is a 8-speed unit and this did put them ahead of all its German and Japanese rivals on fuel economy, only lately being challenged by BMW. The engine itself is reasonably powerful and reasonably smooth, the automatic doesn't typically get in the way most of the time, however despite Audi claiming its 6.5 seconds...it never feels that fast. I'm often thinking its acceleration feels like its in the 7 second range, its possible that its not brutal in feel...but sometimes you do want that sensation of feeling like you made progress. This may be an issue of where the engine is really refined...that it doesn't even seem like its even there.
My Score: 8/10 - All in all its a modern power plant, I'm still doubtful about how fast it is, however its also not very memorable.
Handling: Given the Quattro system, not only does the Quattro move a bit quicker but its also shouldn't exhibit any of the FWD nastiness you get when pushing it through a corner. Well, after doing a decent drive in the A4...I actually wasn't impressed. The steering in the Audi is pretty quick, move the wheel quickly and the car will interestingly enough respond nearly as quickly. Having the AWD makes the car actually less dramatic than it probably should. Steering feel however is not something I felt, its pretty bland on this end as if they borrowed this from Camrys and Sonatas. The ride comfort...its a bit more harsh compared to the BMW E90 3-series or the Mercedes C-class. For an Audi I was hoping to get some sort of premium feel from the driving experience...instead I got a mostly uninteresting one. Its not bad...but for its price tag its also hugely disappointing.
My Score: 6/10 - Not terrible but also nothing special.
Interior: Now, when it comes to interior quality usually the Germans should do better than their Japanese or American counterparts. In the A4 there are some elements of quality that indeed show there are indeed differences. However its also a German car interior and they're usually devoid of any colours. The A4 is no exception, its a mostly black interior. What isn't black is some silver plastic accents...which I'm afraid should never be seen in cars costing this much. Its very strange when I feel an previous generation Passat had higher quality materials than this Audi. Then there's the control interface, its pretty frustrating to use the radio or the climate controls. The BMW wasn't easy to get used to, this Audi is even worse. You'll need some time getting used to this interface if you're used to normal cars because they're less intuitive. Lastly there's the build quality and here's an area the Audi should do well, and it does. I found no noticeable gaps, no squeaks or rattles, no missing pieces and no oddities that would suggest the assembly workers were sleeping. All North America Audi A4s are assembled in Inglostadt, Germany.
My Score: 6/10 - Well made, but frustrating interface, cheap looking accents and mediocre material choice make it average at best.
Styling: While the A4 has a corporate look to it, one has to be honest and it definitely has more presence than the Mercedes, BMW or the Lexus. I'm sure most people are sick of seeing black Audis but regardless of how common they're becoming they still look rather nice. The only minus for me is the LED day time running lights, they're definitely flash rather than functional. Overall despite its mostly standard sedan shape, standard looking rear, the front does kind of say its an Audi.
My Score: 7/10 - Mostly a standard design, but the front was mostly done well apart from its DRLs.
Value for money: When it comes to a A4 Quattro, it starts at $41K and that's a pretty high price. There are quite a few cars that can directly challenge it. A Hyundai Genesis, Volvo S60, Infiniti G37X, Cadillac CTS are among the few that fit that price point that aren't its usual German competition. Until the new BMW 3-series, the A4 was the only one offering a turbo 4-cylinder, the rest of the cars start out with a V6. When it comes to speed, the standard Quattro isn't fast enough. Interior quality is also challenged where Audi in my mind hasn't put out a particularly strong interior that will wow anybody, as a matter of fact this is actually a more frustrating interior. As a luxury experience, I'm afraid it doesn't do that well either. I can't say the Audi A4 is a car with good value. Its has areas of weaknesses but no true areas of strength.
My Score: 3/10 - Its competition is fierce and competitive, and the Audi doesn't offer much to justify its price.
Overall: 30/50 - This car is simply average and nothing special.
Conclusion: I wanted to like the Audi, I truly did. I wanted this car to feel at least like a German version of a Subaru with some notion of luxury. Instead it actually feels like a mainstream car that simply tacked on some moderately expensive items to justify its higher price tag and badge. I simply don't see much reason why this car should be considered when its just too average. If this had a price tag equivalent to a typical midsize sedan then my score would be changed to reflect that, but its going up against some seriously capable cars without offering anything unique or interesting. In the end after driving this car I'm left with disappointment that it feels as if Audi's simply cashing in on its badge prestige recently gained in China. I want to reiterate that its not a bad car, but why settle for average when for nearly the same amount of money you could simply get a much better car?
