PanterroR
Lap Time Luminary
Let's be frank. In product planning terms, the U.S. is no market for the car we just drove. Sure, Audi's all-new A4 with a 3.0-liter turbo diesel V-6 and 6-speed manual is a fantastic package. But it's all your fault it won't be coming. Well, not you perhaps, but the general public and its anti-manual ways mean we won't be seeing a stick-shift A4 diesel in America. Really, a manual transmission on a German diesel luxury sedan? That's like a gun rack on a Tesla.
Under the hood of the all-new A4, which bears a strong resemblance to the sultry A5 coupe, beats an engine that will be the core of the brand's diesel rebirth in North America. The 3.0 V-6 TDI produces a conservative 237 hp and, as is typical with a diesel, torque that eclipses that figure — its healthy 369 lb-ft is on tap from the lowly engine speed of 1500 rpm. As a result, a manual-transmission version like our tester is capable of 0-60 runs in just 6.1 seconds — a mere 0.2 seconds slower than the twin-turbo S4 of less than a decade ago.
Making its debut on the new A4 is the Audi Drive Select (ADS) option. With ADS, the driver can choose their own settings for suspension dampening, steering feel, and throttle response. There are four settings: Comfort, Auto, and Dynamic are pre-set programs, while Individual allows fine-tuning of specific parameters via the MMI setup screen. Go with Individual, and you can apply any setting to each of the factors — say, Dynamic steering and throttle, but a Comfort or Auto suspension. Changing from the most comfortable to the most dynamic settings for throttle and steering makes for a subtle alterations in response. Adjusting the suspension nets more obvious results, though — firming the car's ride and adding a slight degree of harshness. Audi tells us the ADS system will be introduced in higher models (think S4 and S5 at first for America), perhaps eventually trickling down into higher-spec A4s as well.
On the snowy roads around Niagara-on-the-Lake, the A4 felt poised and controllable. No doubt, the more rearward engine placement of Audi's new modular longitudinal architecture helps the car's balance. With so much torque on tap, the A4 was more than willing to send up rooster tails of snow from all four corners once ASR was deactivated. Even before ESP is off, the programming is lenient enough to let you hang the car out a bit, but you still need white-washed roads in order to really play Formula D champ.
More interestingly, this larger, more luxurious and more powerful A4 is said to net over 40 mpg. The diesel A4 could help establish a new paradigm for socially conscious performance enthusiasts. Unfortunately for those enthusiasts, U.S. market conditions (witness the high price of drivetrain federalization and low take rate for manual gearboxes) mean an A4 3.0 TDI will likely only come with two pedals when it reaches our shores sometime in 2009.
Source: MotiveMagazine - Motive Quickie: 2008 Audi A4 3.0 V6 TDI
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