The Audi A4 has always been a safe bet but the new design takes it to a whole new level
AUDI A4 2.0 TDI S LINE
CARS can be safe in at least two ways. First, they can be safe in design, evolving very slowly over the years for fear of alienating those who habitually upgrade to the newest model every time there’s a minor tweak to the design. And, of course, they can be safe in the true sense, packed with features that can mitigate the chance of injury if you encounter any danger on the road.
Over the past few years, we have seen huge strides made by the likes of Google in developing autonomous cars, vehicles that literally drive themselves. I’m pretty wary of them, to be honest, because most of us use computers every day and we know how they sometimes freeze, or act unpredictably, or simply shut down. That is a minor irritant when you’re at your desk in the office or at home, but it’s not going to kill you.
If the computer in an autonomous car ecided to go asleep on the Dunkettle Interchange, well, that might be a very different story.
The Audi A4 offers what I think is a very acceptable compromise. It is safe in both senses – the new design is a subtle reworking of the old and not a radical one, but the real emphasis on safety comes from a host of systems that do an awful lot of the work for you.
My test car came with the optional Business Pack (€2,100) and it combines traffic sign recognition, lane assistance and adaptive cruise control to great effect. I did a lot of driving last week and it really does work. Effectively, I was putting the car in cruise control and it was maintaining a safe distance between me and the car in front; if it slowed, I slowed. If it stopped, the Audi hit the brakes, too. But even when there was nothing in front, the car was reading speed limit signs. If the cruise was set to 120, the car slowed to 100 when it saw the limit was reduced. When I came to villages, it slowed automatically first to 60, then to 50, then took off again when the restriction was lifted. It’s very clever, and it would keep you out of trouble on the penalty points front.
Unlike some Audis I’ve driven recently, this one had a standard instrument panel and not a virtual one, though that also is available on the A4. Instead, I had a centre touchscreen for satnav, radio, phone and the like, and in-car wifi to run other devices when I was stopped.
The overall cabin feel was of quiet luxury - Audi needs tip its cap to no one in that department. In fact, over the course of some 900km, I was comfortable throughout. For convenience, there are decent door pockets, cupholders, two USB chargers and a very large boot, while still maintaining decent legroom for rear- seat passengers. The electromagnetic parking brake also frees up space for a big storage box between driver and front- seat passenger.
The car came with lots of basic kit, including multifunction steering wheel, Start/Stop, ABS and ESP, keyless ignition, LED interior lights, matt aluminium inlays, rear parking sensors, leather/Alcantara seats, and voice control of the infotainment system.
The optional extras totalled €11,346, and included the Business Pack, 19-inch alloys (nice, but they move the car into a higher tax band, though I reckon if you can afford an Audi, an extra tenner a year isn’t going to be a dealbreaker), rain sensor, drive select (with different modes such as Dynamic and Comfort), wireless charging for compatible phones, LED headlights (a step up from the standard Xenon), S-line steering wheel, acoustic glazing and metallic paint.
Even with the 19-inch alloys, official figures say you’ll use four litres of diesel per 100km in mixed motorway, rural and urban driving. In real-world conditions, I was using around 5.6 litres, which still is very impressive.
The engine is lively and urgent, delivering a 0-100km of just 8.9 seconds, and there’s plenty of torque too. The adaptive cruise control would work better with an automatic transmission - sometimes, when the car slowed automatically and I was in a bit of a daydream, a warning to drop down the gears flashed up on screen – but otherwise the manual is smooth and responsive. The handling, needles to say, is impeccable. A4 drivers tend to be very loyal to the brand, and it’s not hard to see why. This is a very comfortable car, ideal for anyone who spends a lot of time behind the wheel and who wants to get a destination quickly, safely and well refreshed.