Audi's treble whammy
9:51am Wednesday 6th February 2008
WHEN Audi's new A4 saloon was revealed to the world at the Frankfurt Motor Show in autumn, hundreds of customers in the UK did not even test drive the car before placing their order.
They confidently invested between £22,590 to £30,290 knowing they would not be disappointed.
Now, their wait is over and I can confirm they will be happy with their purchase.
Suspension and steering configurations have enabled the front axle to be located 154mm further forward than in the previous model, reducing overhang and optimising weight distribution for outstanding handling balance.
What you get, therefore, is the kind of larger car that Mondeo has become with a poise that seeks to match that achieved by the rear wheel drive BMWs - it adds up to a double whammy rather than a compromise.
Actually it is a treble: What Audi can offer in addition, of course, is four-wheel drive.
The Quattro technology supports the performance of the engines enabling the car to take the tightest of bends at high speed and it also provides a special degree of grip and safety.
Initially, there is a choice of two FSI petrol and three turbocharged common rail diesel engines. The turbocharged 1.8 FSI direct petrol injection unit develops 158 horsepower while 3.0 litre V6 has 260 at its disposal.
The piezo diesels are the 140hp 2.0 litre, the 186 hp 2.7 litre and the 235hp 3.0 litre.
Depending which engine you choose you have the option of the latest six-speed manual gearbox, an extensively revised and faster-shifting six-speed Tiptronic automatic transmission or an updated and silky smooth version of the Multitronic continuously variable automatic autoshift.
The 3.2 petrol and 3.0 diesel engines are each governed to a top speed of 155mph and the petrol car can reach 60mph in six and a half seconds.
The 2.7 diesel unit, hardly a slouch at 144mph, has an official consumption figure of 42.2mpg, only this one is mated to the CVT transmission.
All of these engines were introduced in the A5 coupe which entered the showrooms last summer and to which A4 has a strong resemblance.
The comparison is borne out by the drag coefficient figure of only 0.27.
In addition, you can specify A5's eye-catching LED strip daytime running lights, which flank the Xenon headlamp units. The effect is that the car looks as if it is smiling at you.
That wheelbase of 2,808mm means that no-one can ever again criticise A4 for its rear seat kneeroom - nor the space available in the boot.
Ordinarily, the capacity is 480 litres but this can be doubled by lowering one or both of the split-folding rear seats.
Use of new technology provides an intelligent' key which communicates electronically with the electrical system.
SE models, the first to become available, have 17-inch alloy wheels, sophisticated three-zone climate control, rear acoustic parking, automatic screenwipers and headlights with range adjustment and aluminium brushed inlays to complement the cloth seats.
The central armrest up front contains two 12-volt power sockets.
From the A6 executive saloon comes the space-saving electromechanical parking brake and the multimedia interface operating system boasting a 180-watt audio unit with 10 speakers, a CD player and MP3 compatibility.