Test Drive: Audi A4 - New age all-rounder

Pushing the limits is not an everyday thing. Some are pretty complacent. Some keep calm and carry on. Yet, there are some who strive to improve with each passing day and each passing moment. Audi hasn't been known to be complacent.

Audi virtual cockpit is the best in the segment

The Audi A4 hopes to bring a big change to the luxury sedan segment. The BMW 3 Series has ruled the roost in terms of being the driver's car and, though Mercedes' new C-Class isn't half bad and the new Jaguar XE is ever so close to rivalling the kidney-grilled Bavarian, it's the new Audi that wants to get in the fight.

Full LED headlamps run parallel light signatures and look sharp

While the exterior may make the A4 seem like a heavily reworked facelift, it is indeed an all-new car. The eyes are now Matrix LED units and have a bolder twin-line daytime-light design. The horizontal chrome slats on the hexagonal grille are joined by a sporty lower air dam.

Deceptive door handle needs to be lifted and not tugged

Sharp 17-inch wheels wrapped in 225/50 rubbers complement the stance well.

The A4 seems curvier and a wee bit larger too. It is 25 millimetres longer on a 12-mm longer wheelbase, 16 mm wider, and just as tall as the old car at 1,427 mm. The wing mirrors are mounted on the shoulder-line and reduce the mass at the base of the A-pillar. The rear gets LED tail-lamp clusters and the turn indicators are now the fill-up kind.

Boot volume is a usable 480 litres and load area is wide and low

The cabin pleasantly surprises with its layout and quality of fit-and-finish. The 12.3-inch Virtual Cockpit that integrates the speedo, odo, tacho and vehicle information, can switch displays to show you exactly what you want. The MMI Touch now makes controlling everything from communication to entertainment even easier. There's an Audi smartphone integration and a special ‘phone box' to place your phone snugly below the centre armrest.

The seats are upholstered in a combination of leather and leatherette. The room is good, and that's true even for the rear. The A4 actually has considerably more room for back-seat occupants than its competitors. The support and comfort are good at the rear, and there's nothing to complain about.

On the move, the A4 is extremely refined and boasts of a sublime ride quality. The four drive modes - comfort, auto, dynamic and individual - allow you to play around with its dynamism and response types. As we were starting off on the highway, it was ‘dynamic' to begin with. The first thing that's evident is the setup of the dampers. The A4 feels agile and planted and takes every change of direction in its stride.

The engine is actually the 1.4-litre turbocharged fuel-stratified injection in-line four. It moves away from the old Multitronic CVT and on to a seven-speed S tronic twin-clutch box driving the front wheels. Badged ‘30 TFSI', it does have the performance to match some older, larger-displacement engines. With 150 PS and a more than usable 250 Nm spread between 1,500 and 3,000 RPM, the A4 can pick itself up and sprint in any gear at any time. The engine management is well thought out and depending on drive mode, you can cruise at 100 km/h in seventh gear at 1,600 RPM, or hammer down the power in fourth at 140 km/h. Shift to ‘S' using the chunky gear selector, and the engine snarls in response, letting you know it's ready to dance to an up-tempo beat.

The engine note getting up to 6,000 RPM sounds raucous for what is essentially a new-age fuel-saving engine. The red-line at 6,250 RPM seems a stone's throw away from the needle at that point of time.

Getting off the highway was a sudden snapping back to reality with the appearance of large speed-humps, designed to decimate the underside of low-riding cars.

Thankfully, the A4 was high enough to take these without any belly-scraping. The light steering feel in ‘traffic' was appreciable. We also glanced at the indicated fuel economy hovering at just above 10 km/l. Not too bad at all, considering the range with its 54-litre fuel-tank.

It's a sensible all-rounder and, unlike some of its competitors, there were no annoying rattles or squeaks emanating from the cabin. It feels sturdy and functional, yet appears very elegant and suave. It will face off against the Mercedes C 200, BMW 320i and Jaguar XE, all of which have more power. But, we're told, the A4 30 TFSI is merely the start.

Audi reckon the luxury car market will move from its 90:10 diesel state to 70:30 in favour of petrol in the near future. Refinement, efficiency and acceleration being considered as priorities, turbo-petrols do have a lot going for them. We may not have a diesel A4 or powerful petrol for now, but there's one thing for sure: this A4's to be reckoned with, and not just on paper.