Audi A4 CABRIOLET 2.4
If ever there was a car that was always going to notch up decent sales, it was the Audi A4 Cabriolet. Think about it. The old 'Princess Di' era Cabriolet lived well beyond its sell by date and yet buyers would excuse the ancient chassis and dated styling for a car with genteel elegance and subtle charm. It would be easy to forgive Audi for a certain amount of complacency when designing the A4 Cabriolet but that would be to underestimate their fanatical attention to detail. With a modern platform to work with, the results are impressive. The A4 Cabriolet 2.
4 proves that Audi haven't been resting on their laurels.
| Build |  |
| Comfort |  |
| Depreciation | |
| Economy | |
| Equipment | |
| Handling |  |
| Insurance | |
| Performance | |
| Styling |  |
| Value | |
4-litre model relies on a laid back, rather decadent appeal. In this respect it cosies up to open-topped cars like the Mercedes CLK and Volvo C70, offering a resolutely relaxed ride. Not that the Audi is slow off the mark. Even without the benefit of four-wheel drive, the A4 still puts down a reasonable 9.
7 second mark in the sprint to 60mph, registering a top speed that nudges 140mph. A 29mpg average fuel economy figure gives lie to the suspicion that this is a V6 engine that'll be costly to run. Having said that, perhaps we should skip over the unimpressive emissions figure. With 170bhp on tap, it's got a fair amount of power and the torque is a similarly impressive 170lb/ft. Most small six-cylinder engines are a compromise, without the agility, performance or economy of their smaller four-cylinder turbo counterparts or the outright power and prestige of the range topping versions. Fortunately, Audi's V6 is agreeably compact and light, avoiding many of these accusations. It's also beautifully smooth.
"As with all A4s, the build quality is brilliant, with every control you touch clicking beautifully into place"
You will have to rev the car to get the benefit of those performance figures, but most will prefer to surf languidly on the torque, ignoring the second half of the rev range. Driven in this fashion, the £26,030 A4 2.4 Cabriolet seems a great idea, although for £750 it's possible to ruin the effect by opting for an altogether out of character Sport pack theres even an S-Line pack if you really want to go the whole hog. If you want your cabriolet to corner as well as cruise, others do it better. Save your money and stick with the car in standard trim. Alternatively, buy an Audi TT.
That said, the A4 Cabriolet body is a massive 112% stiffer and, more importantly, tauter than its two main German rivals. As a result, scuttle shake has been almost banished and general vibrations of all kinds should be virtually impossible to detect. Though the general set-up is soft, roll has been kept in check, enabling you to push on with vigour when the need arises. Instead of providing rear seat accommodation good only for kids or lifts down the pub, German coachbuilder Karmann (who also build the Mercedes CLK Cabriolet) have worked with Audi to create a true four-seater.
They claimed that about the original Audi Cabriolet of course, but as anyone who had to endure a back seat perch on long journeys will know, they lied. This time, thanks to a body that's 207mm longer, 50mm wider and 99mm longer in the wheelbase, the designers have at last delivered. According to the figures, there's 52mm more rear shoulder space and 66mm more rear knee-room. So yes, you and your drinking partners really can go touring. Mind you, don't go carrying too much baggage: though the boot capacity is 26 litres up on the old car, that still only means 246 litres with the roof down (or 315 litres with the top up): enough space for two golf bags in real terms. On to the beautifully-lined three-layer roof which hides beneath an aluminium-trimmed solid tonneau cover when not in use. Electrically operated of course, it opens or closes in 24 seconds and there are no fiddly manual latches to break your nails on before you can press the button. The whole thing can also be done from the outside of the car by using the remote control keyfob.
The rear window is a proper heated glass affair and there is of course an optional hard top, should you want to drive your car day-in, day-out all winter. Despite the 'A4' moniker in the car's title, Audi could quite justifiably simply christened this car 'Cabriolet', since every single exterior panel is new, as is the sharply raked windscreen. Look closely and you can pick up design cues from the TT sportscar, especially around the flush-fitting bumpers and cross-hatched front grille. It's the same inside, where the five circular air vents and the instrument dials are all circled with aluminium. As with all A4s, the build quality is brilliant, with every control you touch clicking beautifully into place. This inbuilt quality partly explains the 1580kg kerb weight. It's 155kg more than the saloon and 150kg more than the old car. Audi has its excuses ready on this one, as you'd expect. It's all apparently necessary to create that class-leading rigidity, incorporate the electro-hydraulically operated roof and meet current safety standards (there's the usual complement of front and side airbags). There are twin roll bars to carry around for example: these automatically pop up in a blink of an eye behind the rear head restraints should the car be in danger of rolling over. The 2.4-litre engine suits the Audi A4 Cabriolet better than any of the other available engines. It's a powerplant that's never gets itself overexerted, preferring instead to just kick back and relax. Talking quietly is all very well, but it always helps to carry a big stick as back up and the V6 engine can do the business when demanded. It's better than expected, better than it needed to be and as a cool cruiser, the Audi A4 Cabriolet 2.4 is better than the rest.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Audi A4 Cabriolet 2.4
PRICE: £26,030 - £27,980 - on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 16
CO2 EMISSIONS: 233g/km
PERFORMANCE: 0-60mph 9.7s / Max Speed 139mph
FUEL CONSUMPTION: (urban) 20.3mpg / (extra urban) 38.2mpg / (combined) 29.1mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front and side airbags, ESP, ABS
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Height 4573/1777/1391mm
