Often the style leader in the compact premium sedan segment, Audi's A4 has usually had to take a backseat to the BMW 3-Series in terms of driving enjoyment. Eager to top the segment on both fronts, Audi has again redesigned the A4 for 2009. Does the redesign help? I took a 2009 Audi A4 2.0T quattro for a test drive to find out.
StylingAt first glance, the exterior styling of the eighth-generation Audi A4 is much the same as the seventh-generation A4, which was much the same as the sixth-generation A4 except for the addition of an oversized grille.
Look more closely, though, and there are a number of notable differences. The huge grille--since adopted by many other manufacturers--works much better in a car that was designed for it from the ground-up. More square corners and flanking the grille with smaller openings that hang a bit lower help.
Another change: lower bodysides with a bit of what BMW calls "flame surfacing." This effect is hard to see on a black car, but really adds to the car in a medium metallic shade like silver. Unfortunately, this is the only hint that the A4 sedan shares nearly everything aside from sheetmetal with the super sexy A5 coupe. Even with this flourish the sedan is downright boring compared to the coupe.
Perhaps most notably, the proportions of the car have improved. Like previous A4s, this one is designed around a longitudinal engine driving the front wheels. In the past, this has meant that the engine and transmission were located ahead of the front axle, resulting in a nose-heavy weight distribution that compromised handling. With the new car, the engine remains ahead of the axle, but the transmission is now behind the axle. This improves the weight distribution (though it's still not nearly the 50-50 you get in a BMW). As a by-product, the front axle moves forward a few inches relative to the front door. Visually, this gives the new A4 the more pleasing proportions of a rear-wheel-drive car.
The standard six-spoke seventeen-inch wheels don't look bad on the car. But the optional five-spoke eighteens and nineteens look much better.
Inside, the new interior retains the elegant, restrained styling for which Audis have long been known. On the upside, the new design--which resembles the current A6 midsize sedan's--is more driver-oriented. On the other, buttons have proliferated and the new interior looks and feels more plasticky. My least favorite bit: to close the doors passengers must wrap their hand around a hard plastic door pull that could hardly feel more cheap.
AccommodationsThe new Audi A4 is 4.6 inches longer and 2.1 inches wider than the old one. This larger exterior largely translates to a larger interior. In the front seat, you sit a bit lower behind a more imposing instrument panel than before and the cabin feels noticeably wider. Both changes lend the car an almost midsize feel, which can be good or bad depending on what you're buying a compact sedan because it costs less than a larger one or because you like the more agile, more intimate feel of a smaller car.
The front seats are standard Audi, so firm with a moderate amount of lateral support and four-way lumbar support. Oddly, while the seating surfaces are leather they don't seem to breathe even as well as the average leather seat. I found myself sweating against the seat on a day that was merely warm.
The most notable change is in the back seat. Knees have about an inch more space, which is significant since many adults couldn't quite fit into the back seat of the old A4. The rear seat remains too low to the floor to provide adults with thigh support, though.
Partly because the full-size spare has been ditched in favor of a compact one, trunk space jumps by over three cubic feet, making it about the best in the class. As before, the rear seat folds in two parts to enlarge the trunk.
On the RoadAs before, the Audi A4 is available with two engines, a turbocharged 2.0-liter four and a 3.2-liter V6. The four receives an 11 horsepower bump this year, to 211. Not bad, but more significant is a much larger bump in midrange power, evidenced by an increase in peak torque from 207 foot-pounds to 251 and the fact that peak power is attained as low as 4,300 rpm. The revised V6 also gets a bump in power, to 265 horsepower, but is actually less powerful than the four below 4,500 rpm.
Get the V6 into its powerband and keep it there, and it'll get to sixty a few tenths of a second quicker than the turbo four. In typical driving around town, though, the turbo four feels more powerful. There's virtually no turbo lag, and a big punch of torque hits not far above idle. So why spend the extra money for the V6? Well, it's bound to sound better. The turbo four doesn't sound bad for a four, but the sounds of even a good four aren't really fitting for a car with a $35,000 price tag.
So far, only the six-speed automatic is available, with a manual transmission to follow. No shift paddles were on the car I drove, but the transmission can be manually shifted via the lever. Responses are okay for a conventional automatic, but aren't nearly as snappy as with the A3's DSG automated manual. Left to its own devices, the transmission performed decently in one car I drove, but couldn't seem to make up its mind in another. A manufacturer's rep would blame a learning function that can become confused when a car has many different drivers with many different driving styles.
Like all 2009 Audi A4s available so far, the car I drove also had the quattro all-wheel-drive system. This system transfered the turbo four's plentiful torque to the pavement without the torque steer and tire squeal you'd experience in a torquey front-driver.
Unlike earlier A4 quattro systems, the one in the 2009 Audi A4 biases torque 60 percent towards the rear wheels rather than splitting it 50-50. Supposedly this lends the car much of the feel of a rear-drive car. At the speeds I was able to drive--about as hard as you can expect to drive in a populated area--I couldn't detect much of a difference. It might make more of a difference on an isolated country road, where there would be more opportunity to push the car near its limits.
At parking lot speeds, the variable assist steering is disconcertingly light. Is this really necessary? Leave the parking lot, and the effort can shift about a bit much up to 25 miles-per-hour. Above this speed it finally settles down and provides a reassuringly firm, precise feel. Not intuitive to the degree the steering in a BMW 3-Series is, but better than in the average premium compact sedan. Handling isn't quite agile, but feels stable and well-controlled, with a bit more balance than in the old car (likely thanks to the more even weight distribution) and little lean.
As in previous Audi A4s, ride quality is on the firm side, but isn't punishing. More of a problem for many buyers in this segment: noise levels are higher than in most competitors. In general, the new Audi A4 simply does not sound or feel like a premium car. It's a bit too close in character to a VW. This was most evident in the first 2009 A4 I drove, since I had earlier driven the new Hyundai Genesis--which is quiet inside and does possess a premium feel.
Audi A4 Price Comparisons and PricingThe 2008 Audi A4 quattro starts at $33,525, about the same price as a similarly equipped 2008. But the price climbs rapidly from there. Load up a 3.2, and the sticker gets into the high 40s.
Still, the new A4 quattro does run over $5,000 less than a similarly equipped BMW 328xi. Even the Infiniti G35x, usually the cheapest premium compact with all-wheel-drive, is a touch more expensive. Then again, the Infiniti has another 100 horsepower, making the A4 in $3,000-more-expensive 3.2 form a more valid comparison.
Prices change frequently, and differences will vary based on feature level. To quickly generate these and other comparisons with the specific features you want, visit my Web site, TrueDelta.com. (It's the only site that provides true "apples-to-apples" price comparisons.)
TrueDelta's page for the Audi A4:
http://www.truedelta.com/models/A4.php
Last WordsThe first time I drove the 2009 Audi A4, I nearly hated it. The transmission and steering couldn't seem to make up their minds, and in general the car didn't seem worthy of a premium label. I enjoyed driving the second car more, partly because I was able to push it harder that time around.
Yet, while I came away from that second test drive respecting the car, I still didn't lust after it. The styling lacks the passion of the related A5 coupe, and even with the changes to the drivetrain the handling still isn't that of a rear-drive car.
I suppose it's a good car, but so are competitors.
A Note on Audi A4 ReliabilityI cannot practically cover reliability within the context of this review. However, many people are interested in such information, so I've been collecting my own data. Results are posted to TrueDelta.com, with updates every three months. Unlike other sources, TrueDelta clearly identifies what difference it will make if you buy an Audi A4 rather than another vehicle by providing "times in the shop" stats.
To report results, TrueDelta needs reliability data on all cars--not just the A4--from people like you. To encourage participation, those who help provide the data will receive free access to the site's reliability information. Non-participants will have to pay an access fee.
Details here:
http://www.truedelta.com/reliability.php
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