Audi A4 1.6 RANGE
Entry-Level
Audi A4 1.6 Or Feature Packed But Less Prestigious Rival? Its Your Call. Andy Enright Reports
Its a classic quandary. Do you fork out £18,905 for the entry-level Audi A4 and accept that youre not going to be saddled with a whole heap of equipment, performance or driving charisma. Or do you instead opt for a specced-to-the-gunwales
SEAT Leon Cupra or a
Saab 9-3 2.0t? Other rivals such as the
Alfa Romeo 156 and even the
Ford Mondeo all seem to offer more for less.
How can the Audi A4 1.6 possibly justify its existence?
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Audi would claim that none of these rivals is a truly prestigious upper medium class car. With opening prices for the
BMW 3 Series saloon and Mercedes C-class pitched at around £20,000, the Ingolstadt company may have a point, but anybody whod just climbed out of a luxuriously specced
Rover 75 may beg to differ. As regards a German upper medium class car, the Audi still isnt in the clear, with the VW Passat 1.8T SE priced under £17,500 itself offering demonstrably similar quality levels to the Audi.
What the Audi brings to the party are four rings on the bonnet. Whilst this argument may sound as shallow as a puddle, it bears closer scrutiny. That Audi badge guarantees a number of things. It means access to a huge research and development budget at affordable prices, it represents class-leading resale value, and it also buys you a surprising amount of metal.
Break out the tape measure and youll find the A4 1.6 to be significantly bigger than rivals from BMW, Mercedes,
Volvo and
Lexus. It would be remiss of us to fail to note that it also endows the car with enough Kings Road kudos points to last a lifetime, especially if you whip the 1.6 badge off its pert rump.
"If impeccable build quality, pride of ownership, elegant engineering and class-leading residual values mean most, then the A4 1.6 makes some kind of sense"
Unfortunately, your money isnt buying you a class-leading engine, but what Audi give with one hand, they take back with the other. Its certainly no match for the creamy 2.3-litre 170bhp V5 you could buy in a
SEAT Toledo or the charismatic Twin Spark 2.0-litre powerplant found under the Alfa 156s sleek bonnet.
What you do get is the same 101bhp unit familiar to those on the first rung of the Audi A3 ladder, only in a body thats a good few kilos heavier. As a result, you wouldnt expect acceleration to be scorching and the A4 meets and possibly exceeds expectations in this regard. Rest to 60mph in 12.8 seconds isnt going to make any headlines, nor is a 119mph top speed but an average fuel consumption of nearly 37mpg goes some way to making amends.
The A4 1.6 feels sportier than it possibly is. The suspension is all Audis own, a light alloy system which is 8.5kg lighter at the front than the old-shape models set-up.
At the rear, theres a self-tracking trapezoidal-link system based on that previously reserved for quattro models. As a result, most feel the latest A4 to be more controlled and agile than its group cousin. This revised version adopts the latest Audi corporate grille, offering a good deal more overtaking presence than original versions of the second generation A4 were able to boast. In facelifted form, theres also a whole series of improvements to this car that include a more sophisticated 5-speed manual gearbox.
On the road, a revised four-link front suspension borrowed from the roadburning S4 model should make the driving experience more involving. The brakes are upgraded across the range and the ESP Electronic Stability Programme is even more likely to keep you out of the ditch during emergency manoeuvres. Inside, youll notice Audis new steering wheel design and active locking head restraints that automatically minimise the distance between the restraint and the head in a rear crash situation. New two-stage intelligent airbags are now fitted for the driver and front passenger and theres a much cleverer DVD-based satellite navigation system for those who want it.
As ever, the fascia ergonomics are predictably perfect, the quality breathtaking. As usual, theres an Avant estate version as well as a saloon, costing from £20,055. The interior corresponds to what weve come to expect of Audi beautifully damped fitments, impeccable materials quality and an almost frightening logic to all of the major controls. As with many modern cars, the fitment of windscreen-pillar airbags makes all-round visibility less than optimal, the chunky pillars restricting views around sweeping bends.
Should you fail to spot an oncoming tree however, the latest generation of electronic sensors fitted to the A4 can detect how hard your impact is and tailor the deployment of the airbags accordingly. In some areas, however, the A4 is not the advance some may have expected. With many manufacturers incorporating many of the storage tricks theyve learned from their MPV ranges into more mainstream cars, the Audi seem to have missed a trick with its meagre array of oddment spaces. If youre after driving thrills or plenty of toys to play with the A4 1.
6 will come as something of a disappointment. If impeccable build quality, pride of ownership, elegant engineering and class-leading residual values mean more to you, then go right ahead. Frame it as a concessions ticket to the hottest show in town and it more than justifies its existence.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Audi A4 1.6 range
PRICES: £18,905-£20,055 on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 10E
CO2 EMISSIONS: 187g/km
PERFORMANCE: 0-60mph 12.8s / Max Speed 119mph
FUEL CONSUMPTION: (urban) 26.3mpg / (extra urban) 47.3mpg / (combined) 36.8mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin airbags, side and curtain airbags, ABS
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: (length/width/height) 181/70/61"
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