Audi intended the new, bigger A4 to take sales in the hard-fought compact executive market from arch rivals BMW. It also aimed to offer improved handling boosted by an increased range of engines, gearboxes, and driver aids.
Audi's new generation A4 saloon turned out more handsome than the A5 Coupe.
The two cars are virtually the same mechanically, but the saloon has better attention to detail and benefits from subtle nuances that the coupe lacks. Launching the Coupe first, and not badging it the A4 Coupe,let Audi's marketing experts charge more for that car's greater prestige.
Saloon Audi A4s reached UK showrooms in 2005 with Avant estate versions following later on the same year.
First impressions are that it feels big, despite the power of the top-of-the-range 240ps 3-litre V6 TDI diesel, and Audi's thinking on its Quattro four-wheel drive system. It used the same 3-litre diesel engine as in the A4, but was tuned to give an extra six bhp (now 238bhp) and more torque, up 37lb ft to 369lb ft. The quattro system splits the power 40:60 front to rear - only 20 years or so after others kept moaning how the cars wanted to plough straight on (a condition known as understeer) at corners with the original 50:50 split Audi insisted was best.
The Audi A4's controls fall to hand and the system's MMI (Multi Media Interface) which consists of two rotary dials and a lot of buttons (passed down from the flagship A8.). The MMI is not simple in operation, but then there is a lot to control. Is it better to use than BMW's i-Drive? On the road, the car does feel a little bulkier but it also takes on the tarmac better. The 2.0-litre engine is all new with a common rail system and Piezo injectors, which will replace the current Pumpe Duse system found on the old A4 with 138bhp. The new 2.0 TDI engine develops an extra 5bhp and develops the same 236lb ft of torque as the last A4, but the whole set up is far sharper in terms of steering and handling. It's no secret that Audi has a few of BMW's former engineers working on the project and some moves in chassis and pushing the battery to the rear of the car now mean that the A4 has a 50/50 weight distribution. With a lighter nose and a bit of electronic gadgetry between the driver and the wheels, the whole caboodle now turns in smartly and has a cleaner edge to it. So it's better than it was, and many will find that a standard A4's handling is now beginning to edge closer to the BMW.
Audi has developed what it calls its 'Driver Select System' which lets you change the accelerator-pedal response, power-steering assistance, shock-absorber stiffness and automatic-transmission gear-shift points. This lets you decide how you want the car to perform, but without doubt the best use of it is with the ride, steering and handling.
By also moving the engine rearwards and the front axle forwards, which is more difficult than it sounds, Audi has reduced the nose-heavy feeling, and the car turns into bends with more enthusiasm.
The car seems to shrink around you. Being able to dive into corners squeezing on the power sooner and sooner, weight transfer and the quattro power split keep everything together. With an effortless forward thrust from just 1,500 to 3,500rpm, then you seem to be able to make almost anything quickly turn into a small dot in the rear view mirror. To top it all was that all of this happened to the accompaniment of a deep, satisfying growl,and that was from the engine! The six-speed manual gearbox didn't have the slickest change, though most high-end buyers will choose the six-speed automatic or the DSG which arrived in 2008. The Audi A4 is so similar to the BMW 3-Series. Good news for Audi, because it's obvious to anyone just who Audi is gunning for when you look at various other changes that have been made to the new car. Engineers have relocated the car's battery to the boot to achieve the more neutral 50:50 front-to-rear weight distribution that rival BMW is always banging on about. Even with all of these changes, the steering feedback remains better from a 3-Series, and the vastly improved new Mercedes-Benz C-Class, but that's often the case when you add 4WD on to a car.
Alloy Wheels, Radio/CD, Cruise Control, ABS, Passenger Airbag, Side Airbags, Alarm, Body Coloured Bumpers, Cloth Seat Trim, Drivers Airbag, Front Electric Windows, Full Size Spare Wheel, Height Adjustable Drivers Seat, Power Assisted Steering, Remote Central Locking.