Audi A4 Avant
In my opinion one of the great motoring questions is that of BMW vs Mercedes. Well at least it is one that comes up often among my group of friends. And there are two clear camps in this regard – with very few on the fence. Funny how of the German power-houses Audi doesn’t really come into the equation. However I think that’s slowly starting to change.
One of my friends is a recently converted Audi man. When posed with the BMW / Mercedes question his immediate answer is Audi. He loves the way they look, go and feel and to be honest there are two of those aspects which I cannot dispute.
Of the latest generation BMW, Mercedes and Audi designs, BMW falls far behind the others with Audi edging a nose in front of Merc. The A4 Avant is no exception. At the front, those trademark Audi running lights are a definite winner followed by flowing lines and a sleek profile – all of which add up to a stirringly beautiful car. The addition of the wagon to the back end doesn’t wreck the appearance as many might think. The Avant has a distinctive sporty appeal, more a stretched hot-hatch than a boxy station wagon.
Audi interiors are quickly becoming revered by competition and display superior quality and feel. Personally I love feeling cocooned in the cockpit of a car, and the Avant achieves this just perfectly. Driving position is adequate, if not quite right, (I still think BMW are unmatched in this department) but in all other regards the Audi is a notch above the rest in terms of interior quality and appearance.
Opening the tailgate reveals a 490 litre boot that is the largest in the class. If you drop the rear seats this increases to 1430 litres, just a pity the seats don’t fold quite flat, and will swallow items of around 1.7m in length. Talking of things of 1.7m in length, anyone taller than this may have some problem with rear leg room – however this is not an Audi-specific issue.
My test vehicle must have had every option available on the list. There were so many toys I wasn’t quite sure what to do with myself and had I bothered going into detail of their use, I would never have got round to driving the car – which goes to say their use while driving is near impossible. A fact I learnt quickly after nearly rear-ending a Polo while fiddling with the in-car-entertainment.
Which brings me to safety. Along with the more obvious features like airbags, ABS and traction control, the Avant has radar guided cruise control which doubles into an early imminent danger warning system that alerts the driver of the danger while beginning the braking procedure. (Which helped me avoid the back of that Polo)
The final aspect of why my friend likes Audi is the way they go and here is where I lay my dispute. The Avant was fine to drive in town, fine to drive on the highway, but show it some twisty back roads (as I do with all my test vehicles) and suddenly the dynamic driving experience I’d been told about became anything but. The front end just doesn’t play ball when giving it some welly, as I fought understeer through the corners. This wasn’t because I forgot to hit the “dynamic” drive button on the centre consol either; even with the firmer suspension, more responsive throttle and quicker steering the Avant just wasn’t fun to drive. Give me any BMW and I guarantee it’ll provide a driving experience that leaves the Audi for dead and puts a smile on my face in the process.
When it came to power delivery, the 2-litre turbodiesel – linked to a seven speed auto ‘box – in my test car was terrific. With 105kW and 320Nm all delivered reasonably low down the Avant propels itself to 100km/h in 9.7 seconds and on to 208km/h top speed. The option of changing gear with flappy paddles was a neat extra, although grew old quickly, as the auto function was one of the best I’ve come across.
The Avant comes in at R342 900 which is slightly cheaper than the equivalent models from rivals, which is impressive when you look at what you get in comparison. So have I become a convert like my friend? Unfortunately not. In all aspects the Audi surpasses it rivals but falls at the final hurdle. The A4 just isn’t fun to drive – which leaves it languishing in the background of the main event: BMW vs Mercedes.
Miles Downard
Photo credit: Motorpics