Is the Audi A4 a good car ?
The Audi A4 is to modern-day business transport what the Ford Cortina was back in the 1970s. Basically, if your daily attire involves a shirt and tie, the Audi A4 is likely to be quite high on your shopping list, doubtless alongside rivals such as the BMW 3 Series, Jaguar XE and Mercedes C-Class. This is thanks – in part – to its sharp style, classy interior and economical petrol and diesel engines.
The Audi A4 has a few sporty styling tweaks to help it stand out from these cars, however, so has plenty of aggressive intakes, sharply creased lines and – depending on which model you pick – some seriously bright Matrix LED headlights. If the old A4 was frowning, this new one is clenching its teeth and staring right through you.
Inside, the changes aren’t quite so in-your-face, but you do get a whopping-great 10-inch infotainment display as standard with all the navigation and smartphone-mirroring mod-cons you could ask for.
It isn’t just the Audi’s touchscreen that you’ll find yourself pawing at regularly – almost all of the A4’s materials feel lovely and plush, too. It’s just a shame that electric seat adjustment is reserved for top-spec cars.
Despite this, you won’t have any trouble getting comfy in the Audi A4’s spacious cabin and there’s very nearly as much room in the back for passengers as in the BMW 3 Series. The boot’s a doddle to load too, and there’s plenty of space in the boot for a few large suitcases.
All of the Audi A4’s seven – yes, seven – engines will happily cart you and a fair amount of heavy luggage around, but for long motorway slogs you’ll want to pick a 2.0-litre diesel engine. There’s also a faster Audi S4 diesel model that’ll lap up cross-continental road trips without breaking a sweat and a selection of petrol engines that’ll be better if you do plenty of town driving.
Whichever engine you go for, you’ll find the Audi A4 is comfortable to drive – even over fairly broken road surfaces – and cruises along quietly at speed. Its automatic gearbox is easy to use (if a little jerky when parking) and you can get plenty of driver-assistance features to take the edge off long stints behind the wheel.
What the Audi A4 doesn’t do so well, however, is put a great big grin on your face on a twisting ribbon of country road. Sure, there’s plenty of grip – especially in quattro four-wheel-drive models – but it doesn’t feel as agile or as keen to dive from one corner to the next as an Alfa Romeo Giulia or BMW 3 Series.
This is only a small niggle, however, and certainly shouldn’t put you off considering the Audi A4 as your next new car. Read on for more information in our detailed interior, practicality and driving review sections or head over to our Audi A4 deals page to see how much you can save on a new car.
Audi A4 exterior design
The Audi A4 is a handsome saloon car featuring sharp-looking headlights, a large grille and attractive bodywork details such as the creased bonnet. The Audi S4 and RS4 are more dramatic, but there’s still a huge variety when it comes to the different trim levels you can choose with the standard A4, from Technik to Vorsprung.
Audi A4 Technik
The entry-level Audi A4 Technik features 17-inch alloy wheels in a 10-spoke design. It also has LED headlights and chrome trim around the grille and windows. Even as a base model it’s sharp-looking.
Audi A4 Sport Edition
Sport Edition adds 18-inch alloy wheels with a 10-spoke design that’s a bit different to the one on the lesser Technik. There are also tinted windows, black trim around the windows and grille and body-coloured door handles and mirrors.
Audi A4 S Line
The Audi A4 S Line has distinctive exterior styling over the Sport Edition thanks to some large vents on the front bumper emphasised with silver surrounds. It has chrome trim around the windows and grille like the Technik but has larger 19-inch alloys in the five-spoke style. LED rear lights and indicators feature here, too.
Audi A4 Black Edition
The Black Edition builds on the S Line model but it has black trim instead of chrome around the bumper vents, grille and windows. This gives it a more imposing look, along with the dark grey five-spoke 19-inch alloy wheels.Audi A4 Vorsprung
The A4 Vorsprung is the top-spec model that isn’t a sporty S4 or RS4 (these come with their own look as well as specific engines and suspension set-ups). It comes with 19-inch alloys with a five-V-spoke star design and a tilting and sliding sunroof.
