Like its exterior, the A4's interior design suggests a little less preoccupation with
sportiness and more with comfort. It doesn't convey that fighter plane cockpit feeling
that's common to BMWs, even though the instruments and secondary controls glow a lurid
red at night.
Similarly, the seats don't have quite as much of the race-ready side-bolstering you
find in BMWs.
But the other side of this is outstanding comfort, short hauls or long. The A4 seats
are among the best, and during a recent cold snap the nether regions of our anatomies
told us the optional seat heaters are indispensable.
They're part of a $450 all-weather package that also includes heaters for the
windshield washer nozzles and driver's door lock--well worth the money, in our opinion.
Elegant as it is, with its tasteful strip of walnut across the lower dash, the Audi's
interior does have its weak points.
Tops on this list is wind noise, which seems to emanate from the outside mirrors. It
gets distinctly audible at about 50 mph or so, and it's a surprising flaw from a
company that's put so much work into aerodynamics.
The cupholders, consisting of two abbreviated vertical supports with elliptical inner
edges, are another source of irritation. They fold down into the housing that
surrounds the gearshift, and from a cosmetic point of view it's a slick piece of
design work.Unfortunately, they don't hold cups very well--too close together, no
lateral support for the cups.
Another element that's sure to draw gripes is rear seat legroom. Although the A4's
extra width provides extra elbow room fore and aft, the rear seat is otherwise
cramped.
However, the same can be said, in varying degrees, for most cars in this size class,
including the 328i.
Small irritations notwithstanding, the A4 is a very appealing sport sedan with a high
level of fit and finish quality. It's not inexpensive, but it's competitive for this class and there's plenty of
comfort-convenience equipment baked into the base price, including power windows with
a one-touch feature both down and up. One-touch up is a nice little extra we wish
American manufacturers would add.
At $31,760, our test car may seem a trifle dear. But trimming the option list--the
leather seats ($1280), sunroof ($990) and premium Bose sound system ($640), for
example--gets the bottom line under $30,000 and still includes the Quattro system.
And that adds up to a better-than-average buy in a small luxury sport sedan.
On the road, you can still feel the underlying Teutonic firmness, but there's enough
resilience to iron out most of the nasty little lumps and bumps that can make routine
driving unpleasant. The plus that goes with firm suspension is reduced body roll and
weight transfer in quick maneuvers, which adds up to good control.
Precise steering enhances a driver's sense of control in any car, and the A4's power
rack and pinion steering gear is better than most.
Like so many power steering units offered today, it has variable assist--the amount of
power assist decreases as speed increases, enhancing the driver's sense of road feel.
Unlike most variable assist setups, however, the A4's level of steering assist at low
speed doesn't overpower feel. The driver still gets tactile information from the
steering wheel even at parking lot speeds, and it's devoid of on-center numbness.
The action of the 5-speed manual transmission doesn't get the same kind of marks.
Engagements are generally crisp and positive, but getting the car into reverse
requires the driver to squash down on the top of the lever before making the throw,
and the whole mechanism feels stiff on winter mornings.
Audi offers an optional 5-speed automatic in the A4, and it's a dandy. Although a
manual transmission will always make the most of available engine power, the tradeoff
with this automatic is minimal. It even delivers an extra mile per gallon in highway
cruising.
Which brings us to the subject of available engine power.
The A4's 172-hp 2.8-liter single overhead cam V6 engine, which is also used in the
bigger A6 sedan, is long on manners with its smooth, quiet operating traits.
But as suggested at the top, it's not the kind of engine that sends a driver's pulse
rate soaring when he or she wants to make a quick exit. Real urgency doesn't seem to
occur until the tachometer needle hits 4500 rpm.
Audi will add a neat little 20-valve 4-cyl. turbo--that's right, five valves per
cylinder--to the A4's North American powertrain inventory late this year, but its main
impact will be to lower the car's base price rather than its zero-to-60 times.
Even with a turbocharger, the 4-cyl. engine makes only 150 horsepower, so the V6 will
continue to be the hottest setup, and zero-to-60 will continue to take about eight
seconds, which is not exactly sluggish.