Since
its debut a decade and a half ago, the Audi A4 has built a reputation
as a versatile entry-level luxury car. It’s strong on design,
with superb handling and personality.
The
Audi 4 offers a lot to different car buyers. Not many vehicles in the
same class are offered as a sedan, convertible and wagon, and
that’s another strong trait for the vehicle often credited
with jettisoning Audi out of its sales slump and image problems in the
late 1980s and early 1990s.
The
’08 Audi remains largely unchanged from 2007. The minor
alterations include new bumpers and a new lower side door trim.
The
A4 is available with one of two engines. A 2.0-liter turbocharged
inline-4 cylinder produces 200 horsepower and the 3.1-liter V6 has 255
horsepower. My weekly test drive is the 2.0-liter, turbocharged
Quattro, Audi’s all-wheel drive system.
Audi
A4 sedans have either front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive and a
six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission. I’m
testing the six-speed automatic transmission.
The
A4 is Audi's top-selling line and there are plenty of reasons. It's a
fine choice for drivers seeking a sporty sedan that smoothly finds its
way in any driving scenario via its stellar steering and handling and
sophisticated design.
But
not everything is quite right with the A4. My test vehicle’s
base price is $2,000 above the $30,000 average price of a new car in
the United States — at that’s fine. But with its
various options, including Convenience ($2,100) Sport ($2,000) and
Audio ($1,000) packages, navigation system ($2,000) as well as taxes
and delivery charges, the out-the-door price approaches $42,000.
That’s one good reason for a financial purchasing pause.
The
A4
217;s handsome interior design, attractive body style,
exterior color (light silver metallic) and interior color (black) all
work well together.
But
how the Audi shines is not via its color patterns. It’s with
its aforementioned superior steering and handling. Every time I drive
the car, I’m impressed with Audi's engineering and the
all-wheel drive system. The A4 grips the road, the steering seems
ideally weighted and the vehicle gets above-average quietness marks.
Combined
with the clean interior lines and intuitive attractive instrumentation
panel and the Audi is a a near front-runner in a class led by the BMW 3
series.
But
there is one major issue. The A4 is that it's classified as a
four-passenger sedan. The Audi has a rather deep and extended trunk,
and as a result, even regular-sized rear seat passengers are pressed
into tight quarters. There's minimal head and leg room, the rear cabin
is cramped and the entry/exit areas are tight.
In
National Highway Transportation Safety Administration frontal crash
tests, the A4 rated four stars out of five; In side impact testing, the
car earned a perfect five stars for front occupants and four stars for
those seated in rear.
The
2008 Audi A4 attained a "Good" rating (the highest possible) for the
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's frontal offset, side-impact
and head restraint effectiveness tests.
Safety Features — Driver and front passenger front and side airbags.
