JHF
Driving Dynamics Pro
2017 Audi A4: The Early Returns Are Positive
Beneath familiar styling lies a highly evolved driving experience.
PROTOTYPE DRIVE
When the latest Audi Q7 broke cover last winter, the SUV’s styling proved to be a very hot topic for discussion, and that’s happened again with another new Audi. This time, it’s the A4’s turn, as the all-new 2017 iteration that debuted last month has plenty of folks wondering why it looks so similar to the outgoing car.
Indeed, it must take some kind of perverted effort to throw away everything from a car and give it a new platform, new engines, new transmissions, a new chassis, and a new interior . . . and still make the sheetmetal look almost exactly the same as the previous model’s. Or, to be brutally honest, the same but 10 percent more boring.
Well aware of the general indifference that greeted the debut of the 2017 A4, Audi’s technical boss Ulrich Hackenberg decided to bring us along on a final validation drive. Think of it as Audi trying to recapture the momentum lost by the styling and redirect the focus on the car’s engineering, equipment, and general goodness.
So Far, So Good
It was an excellent call. At least at this juncture, the A4 is very good, and it’s poised to be a real threat to BMW’s just-facelifted 3-series, Jaguar’s new XE, and the Mercedes-Benz C-class when you consider the A4 as a whole in terms of lineup, technology, and more. The prototypes we drove suggest the 2017 A4 no longer feels like a small front-wheel-drive car masquerading as a biggish one, and it clearly follows the example set bythe new Q7, which is to say it combines control, finesse, and precision into a versatile, distinctly Audi sort of driving character. In addition, the A4’s lower center of gravity and reduced mass mean it responds more quickly to inputs than the Q7, darting for apexes and feeling altogether more athletic.
The comparison between SUV and sedan is odd, but it’s apt, as the new A4 shares its modular MLB Evo architecture with its larger cousin. The A4 is 186.1 inches long overall, 72.5 inches wide, and 56.2 inches high. (For comparison, the new A4 is 1.6 inches longer, 1.3 inches wider, and 0.6 inch lower than the C-class.) And there are more mores. There’s 0.9 inch of additional rear legroom, and front headroom and shoulder room also have increased.
Hackenberg’s determination to introduce a familial feel to the ride-and-handling package leaves the car feeling a bit more like a discreet athlete of Jaguar mythology than anything of Audi’s. There’s a bit of mix-and-match here as well, with Audi offering the car with dampers in your choice of standard or Sport tune, in addition to two different adaptive systems. The sedan is also said to be some 260 pounds lighter than its predecessor, despite being stiffer.
Fours for the U.S.-bound A4
The powertrains we’ll see here in America include a pair of 2.0-liter turbocharged gasoline engines in 190- and 252-hp strengths; the former is engineered to operate on the Miller cycle, which is intended to imbue it with diesel-like efficiency. (More info here.) To that end, on the extremely optimistic European cycle, the Miller engine is said to achieve 49 mpg combined. You can expect the mileage numbers to be far more realistic once the EPA has its say, but feel free to examine it in relation to the closest comparative BMW and Mercedes models, the 320i and the C300; they manage 44 and 37 mpg on the same Euro fuel-economy test. There won’t be a V-6 available in the A4 range in the U.S., with Audi instead waiting for the 2018 S4 to deliver more cylinders in the form of that car’s updated supercharged V-6 engine.
Europe will see additional diesel engines, including powerful V-6 models that were thick on the ground during our validation drive. We started our experience with the base V-6 TDI, which displaces 3.0 liters and makes 218 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque, and it’s quiet enough at idle that you’d struggle to peg it as a diesel from inside the car—a good sign for the four-cylinder TDI coming our way. We lit the engine via a console-mounted start button, a location that carries over from the current car and one which Hackenberg demands for visibility purposes. He ordered the column-mounted indicator and wiper stalks to be raised higher for the same reason.
A4ce To Be Reckoned With?
Once underway, the more accurate steering is obvious from the moment we pull out of the garage, and there’s also more weight than before—even in the Comfort and Auto settings of the Audi Drive Select system—without ever feeling too heavy. And once you start swinging the car into corners, you find that the steering has decent feedback without being intrusively busy, and it also offers intuitive progression as you increase lock. It’s even better in its Sport mode, where it has slightly more heft but also slightly more road feel, as Hackenberg insisted that it not get heavier simply for the sake of reminding you it’s sporty. There also is an optional adaptive-steering system, but the car feels better without it.
The understeer that dogged the outgoing car at its limits seems to have disappeared. That reluctance to turn has been replaced with a balance that belies the A4’s traditional handling characteristics, a trait aided by having 60 percent of the torque going to the rear in Quattro all-wheel-drive models. The suspension is softer at every corner, with thicker anti-roll bars contributing to superb control of body motions. The A4 also rides beautifully even in Sport mode, with a nuanced suppleness absent in the previous car, which occasionally confused “sportiness” for outright firmness. The new A4 also is easy to place on the road, regardless of your driving commitment levels.
It’s Miller Time
We also sampled the 272-hp, 443-lb-ft diesel V-6 and it’s as quick as you’d expect—Audi claims 5.3 seconds to 62 mph, quick enough to make us regret that it’s not coming here—but by far the most interesting car we drove had the Miller-cycle 2.0-liter gasoline turbo four. That engine makes the aforementioned 190 horsepower, as well as 236 lb-ft of torque. It isn’t quite ready for production, however, if our drive is any indication. Its sound is unique, and that’s not necessarily a good thing.
At some revs and throttle openings it sounds a bit like roofing nails rattling inside a big metal can. That acoustic signature has a bit of charm to it at wide-open throttle, but the noise never changes in timbre as revs rise, just volume. Hackenberg apologizes, saying he already has Audi’s acoustics lab working on it and that there’s not a chance it will go into production sounding like it does now. Outside of that, it’s smooth and strong and it always gives the impression that it’s eager to work. It runs through a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, and while this gearbox isn’t as smooth or predictable as, say, the conventional eight-speed automatic available in other Audis, it’s closer than it has ever been.
The Place You’ll Be
The interior is something special. It doesn’t have the overtly sumptuous flash of the C-class’s cabin, but everything fits precisely and looks expensive, right down to the fully digital Virtual Cockpit instrument cluster and the high-resolution infotainment screen plopped atop the dash. Audi’s designers incorporated some gesture-control support, whereby you can activate or extinguish the reading lights simply by waving your hands near them, and the HVAC menu is activated as your hands near the controls. The glovebox is small, though, and the door pockets aren’t as expansive as they once were, although they still accommodate a large water bottle.
Hackenberg encourages us to bash the dashboard, the door skins, the visors, and just about anything we can see. It’s the best way, he says, to make sure everything fits as it should and to determine if something lacks solidity. To our knuckles and fingertips, everything fits and feels perfectly solid. The interior sound levels contribute to the impression of supreme refinement; it’s quiet enough inside to feel at least a class above, maybe two, and road and wind noise at freeway speeds have been conquered with North Korean levels of suppression. Available tech goodies, at least in Europe, include every one of the Q7’s 27 sensor-based safety features, as well as matrix-LED headlamps. We won’t get the latter, but all models will be fitted with bixenon headlights as standard and offer LED units as options.
Now we wait to see if this experience with prototypes will translate intact to the final production A4, which goes on sale here next year as a 2017 model. But based on what we’ve seen so far, we can say this: If you’re looking to purchase a new mid-size premium car anytime in the next year, it probably behooves you to wait until you get a chance to test-drive this one.
Specifications
VEHICLE TYPE:front-engine, front- or 4-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan
ESTIMATED BASE PRICE:$35,000
ENGINE TYPES:turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve 2.0-liter Miller-cycle inline-4, 190 hp, 236 lb-ft; turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve 2.0-liter inline-4, 252 hp, 273 lb-ft; turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve 2.0-liter diesel inline-4, 190 hp, 295 lb-ft
TRANSMISSION:7-speed dual-clutch automatic with manual shifting mode
DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 111.0 in
Length: 186.1 in
Width: 72.5 in Height:56.2 in
Curb weight (C/D est):3450-3700 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/DEST):
Zero to 60 mph: 5.5-7.6 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 15.9-23.2 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 14.3-16.1 sec
Top speed: 145-155 mph
FUEL ECONOMY (C/DEST):
EPA city/highway: 22-30/31-42 mpg
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews...-drive-review-a4ce-to-be-reckoned-with-page-2
Beneath familiar styling lies a highly evolved driving experience.
PROTOTYPE DRIVE
When the latest Audi Q7 broke cover last winter, the SUV’s styling proved to be a very hot topic for discussion, and that’s happened again with another new Audi. This time, it’s the A4’s turn, as the all-new 2017 iteration that debuted last month has plenty of folks wondering why it looks so similar to the outgoing car.
Indeed, it must take some kind of perverted effort to throw away everything from a car and give it a new platform, new engines, new transmissions, a new chassis, and a new interior . . . and still make the sheetmetal look almost exactly the same as the previous model’s. Or, to be brutally honest, the same but 10 percent more boring.
Well aware of the general indifference that greeted the debut of the 2017 A4, Audi’s technical boss Ulrich Hackenberg decided to bring us along on a final validation drive. Think of it as Audi trying to recapture the momentum lost by the styling and redirect the focus on the car’s engineering, equipment, and general goodness.
So Far, So Good
It was an excellent call. At least at this juncture, the A4 is very good, and it’s poised to be a real threat to BMW’s just-facelifted 3-series, Jaguar’s new XE, and the Mercedes-Benz C-class when you consider the A4 as a whole in terms of lineup, technology, and more. The prototypes we drove suggest the 2017 A4 no longer feels like a small front-wheel-drive car masquerading as a biggish one, and it clearly follows the example set bythe new Q7, which is to say it combines control, finesse, and precision into a versatile, distinctly Audi sort of driving character. In addition, the A4’s lower center of gravity and reduced mass mean it responds more quickly to inputs than the Q7, darting for apexes and feeling altogether more athletic.
The comparison between SUV and sedan is odd, but it’s apt, as the new A4 shares its modular MLB Evo architecture with its larger cousin. The A4 is 186.1 inches long overall, 72.5 inches wide, and 56.2 inches high. (For comparison, the new A4 is 1.6 inches longer, 1.3 inches wider, and 0.6 inch lower than the C-class.) And there are more mores. There’s 0.9 inch of additional rear legroom, and front headroom and shoulder room also have increased.
Hackenberg’s determination to introduce a familial feel to the ride-and-handling package leaves the car feeling a bit more like a discreet athlete of Jaguar mythology than anything of Audi’s. There’s a bit of mix-and-match here as well, with Audi offering the car with dampers in your choice of standard or Sport tune, in addition to two different adaptive systems. The sedan is also said to be some 260 pounds lighter than its predecessor, despite being stiffer.
Fours for the U.S.-bound A4
The powertrains we’ll see here in America include a pair of 2.0-liter turbocharged gasoline engines in 190- and 252-hp strengths; the former is engineered to operate on the Miller cycle, which is intended to imbue it with diesel-like efficiency. (More info here.) To that end, on the extremely optimistic European cycle, the Miller engine is said to achieve 49 mpg combined. You can expect the mileage numbers to be far more realistic once the EPA has its say, but feel free to examine it in relation to the closest comparative BMW and Mercedes models, the 320i and the C300; they manage 44 and 37 mpg on the same Euro fuel-economy test. There won’t be a V-6 available in the A4 range in the U.S., with Audi instead waiting for the 2018 S4 to deliver more cylinders in the form of that car’s updated supercharged V-6 engine.
Europe will see additional diesel engines, including powerful V-6 models that were thick on the ground during our validation drive. We started our experience with the base V-6 TDI, which displaces 3.0 liters and makes 218 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque, and it’s quiet enough at idle that you’d struggle to peg it as a diesel from inside the car—a good sign for the four-cylinder TDI coming our way. We lit the engine via a console-mounted start button, a location that carries over from the current car and one which Hackenberg demands for visibility purposes. He ordered the column-mounted indicator and wiper stalks to be raised higher for the same reason.
A4ce To Be Reckoned With?
Once underway, the more accurate steering is obvious from the moment we pull out of the garage, and there’s also more weight than before—even in the Comfort and Auto settings of the Audi Drive Select system—without ever feeling too heavy. And once you start swinging the car into corners, you find that the steering has decent feedback without being intrusively busy, and it also offers intuitive progression as you increase lock. It’s even better in its Sport mode, where it has slightly more heft but also slightly more road feel, as Hackenberg insisted that it not get heavier simply for the sake of reminding you it’s sporty. There also is an optional adaptive-steering system, but the car feels better without it.
The understeer that dogged the outgoing car at its limits seems to have disappeared. That reluctance to turn has been replaced with a balance that belies the A4’s traditional handling characteristics, a trait aided by having 60 percent of the torque going to the rear in Quattro all-wheel-drive models. The suspension is softer at every corner, with thicker anti-roll bars contributing to superb control of body motions. The A4 also rides beautifully even in Sport mode, with a nuanced suppleness absent in the previous car, which occasionally confused “sportiness” for outright firmness. The new A4 also is easy to place on the road, regardless of your driving commitment levels.
It’s Miller Time
We also sampled the 272-hp, 443-lb-ft diesel V-6 and it’s as quick as you’d expect—Audi claims 5.3 seconds to 62 mph, quick enough to make us regret that it’s not coming here—but by far the most interesting car we drove had the Miller-cycle 2.0-liter gasoline turbo four. That engine makes the aforementioned 190 horsepower, as well as 236 lb-ft of torque. It isn’t quite ready for production, however, if our drive is any indication. Its sound is unique, and that’s not necessarily a good thing.
At some revs and throttle openings it sounds a bit like roofing nails rattling inside a big metal can. That acoustic signature has a bit of charm to it at wide-open throttle, but the noise never changes in timbre as revs rise, just volume. Hackenberg apologizes, saying he already has Audi’s acoustics lab working on it and that there’s not a chance it will go into production sounding like it does now. Outside of that, it’s smooth and strong and it always gives the impression that it’s eager to work. It runs through a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, and while this gearbox isn’t as smooth or predictable as, say, the conventional eight-speed automatic available in other Audis, it’s closer than it has ever been.
The Place You’ll Be
The interior is something special. It doesn’t have the overtly sumptuous flash of the C-class’s cabin, but everything fits precisely and looks expensive, right down to the fully digital Virtual Cockpit instrument cluster and the high-resolution infotainment screen plopped atop the dash. Audi’s designers incorporated some gesture-control support, whereby you can activate or extinguish the reading lights simply by waving your hands near them, and the HVAC menu is activated as your hands near the controls. The glovebox is small, though, and the door pockets aren’t as expansive as they once were, although they still accommodate a large water bottle.
Hackenberg encourages us to bash the dashboard, the door skins, the visors, and just about anything we can see. It’s the best way, he says, to make sure everything fits as it should and to determine if something lacks solidity. To our knuckles and fingertips, everything fits and feels perfectly solid. The interior sound levels contribute to the impression of supreme refinement; it’s quiet enough inside to feel at least a class above, maybe two, and road and wind noise at freeway speeds have been conquered with North Korean levels of suppression. Available tech goodies, at least in Europe, include every one of the Q7’s 27 sensor-based safety features, as well as matrix-LED headlamps. We won’t get the latter, but all models will be fitted with bixenon headlights as standard and offer LED units as options.
Now we wait to see if this experience with prototypes will translate intact to the final production A4, which goes on sale here next year as a 2017 model. But based on what we’ve seen so far, we can say this: If you’re looking to purchase a new mid-size premium car anytime in the next year, it probably behooves you to wait until you get a chance to test-drive this one.
Specifications
VEHICLE TYPE:front-engine, front- or 4-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan
ESTIMATED BASE PRICE:$35,000
ENGINE TYPES:turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve 2.0-liter Miller-cycle inline-4, 190 hp, 236 lb-ft; turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve 2.0-liter inline-4, 252 hp, 273 lb-ft; turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve 2.0-liter diesel inline-4, 190 hp, 295 lb-ft
TRANSMISSION:7-speed dual-clutch automatic with manual shifting mode
DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 111.0 in
Length: 186.1 in
Width: 72.5 in Height:56.2 in
Curb weight (C/D est):3450-3700 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/DEST):
Zero to 60 mph: 5.5-7.6 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 15.9-23.2 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 14.3-16.1 sec
Top speed: 145-155 mph
FUEL ECONOMY (C/DEST):
EPA city/highway: 22-30/31-42 mpg
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews...-drive-review-a4ce-to-be-reckoned-with-page-2
I don't like the door handles, I don't like the screen, the middle console, the wheel, the 'diffuser'... I don't know, I just cannot comprehend any of it.
