Audi hits the refresh button
WHEN a manufacturer takes a scalpel to one of its cars to perform a mid-life facelift, the surgery is usually pretty simple. Hacking around with substantial parts of bodywork is very expensive as it requires new tooling so the usual cosmetic work is limited to new front and rear bumpers, a bit of fiddling with the radiator grille and some headlamps and tail lights. Job done, a couple of years added to the life of the car before it’s time to carry out a major body change.
That’s what I was expecting to see on this refreshed for 2019Audia4.a face and bum job with perhaps a new design of wheel or two. But no,audi has gone much further. Only the bonnet, roof and bootlid are carry over parts from the currenta4 saloon.the front and rear bumpers are new, so are the front and rear wings as are the doors.
Why has Audi gone to such expensive lengths in refreshing its BMW 3-Series and Mercedes-benz C-class rival? I suspect because simply looking like a smaller version of the larger A6 saloon and an even wee-er version of the luxury A8 is no longer good enough when cars like the BMW look so dynamic. Not to forget Jaguar’s excellent XE andvolvo’s equally impressive S60.
And sure enough, the spruced up A4 does look more dynamic and appealing than the last one. It’s not as aggressively sporty looking as the BMW and that’s probably no bad thing as it allows Audi to pitch to a different type of punter rather than fight BMW’S super sporty image.
A wide range of engines are available but thanks to Audi’s ridiculous numbering system it’s very difficult to see which car is fitted with which engine from looking at its bootlid badge.
O£33,050 Petrol – 2.0 150bhp 0 to 62mph in 8.9 seconds, 130mph top speed 50.4mpg 127g/km BMW 3-Series, Mercedes-benz C-class, Jaguar XE, Volvo S60
8/10
UR TEST car, for example, is a 35TFSI Sport.the 35 bit refers to the power output which, by using an Enigma decoding machine, is revealed to be a power output between 146bhp and 159bhp. In the case of our car it’s 150bhp.at least THETFSI in the name gives away the fact that it consumes petrol. It’s turbocharged as are all the A4’s engine and also like all A4s now the powertrain includes mild hybrid technology or to be exact a starter generator.this device helps to give smoother starting in stop/start mode and feeds in useful torque when required.
Just as Audi has decided to not try and out-sporty BMW in styling, it has taken the same approach to the way its compact saloon drives. I was pleased to see one of the options added to our £33,050 test car is ‘Comfort suspension with damping control’. An emphasis on something that really matters to the majority of drivers and not to the tiny minority who fantasize about their car’s race track potential. A sensible approach that’s entirely in keeping with the A4’s new impressive interior. The quality is outstanding and so is the equipment level.audi’s virtual cockpit digital instrument panel is standard on all A4s and is as crisp and easy to read as always.audi pioneered this technology and nobody who has followed has really improved upon it.also now standard is a big infotainment screen.this used to be controlled by a rotary knob but this version is a touchscreen.
Audi hasn’t played with the A4’s platform because that’s really expensive, but this generation of the car started with generous interior space that BMW has only just matched with its new-a-year-ago 3-Series. There’s plenty of rear legroom. Sport trim level (one up from the entry-level Technik) comes with bigger seat bolsters, LED ambient lighting and a reversing camera.
It’s the most logical trim level to choose.
The petrol engine is smooth, quiet and more than powerful enough. In our test car it’s connected to Audi’s S-tronic automatic gearbox which also works well. If you don’t rack up huge mileages each year or do much motorway driving I’d recommend this petrol engine or the more powerful 2.0-litre petrol over the diesels. If you do then the TDI motors will make more financial sense.
This comprehensive rework of the A4 keeps the car firmly in the top ranks of compact luxury saloons. If you want sporty I’d go for the BMW or Jaguar’s XE. Or Alfa Romeo’s lovely Giulia.theaudi’s closest rival is thevolvo S60 which is where my money would probably go.