I had yet another conversation yesterday with a friend who is a German car fan. She said she tried an older Audi and was disappointed. “That’s because any Audi that’s more than about five years old is in a totally different league than new Audis,” I said. And it’s a lesser league. If you last drove an Audi a while ago (like when the A3 first came out, for example) and think that the marque represents stiff and unexciting driving, the later Audis will persuade you otherwise. Some more than others, though.

I have driven all four variants of the Audi A4, starting with the 1.8T through to the 3.2 quattro, but I’m going to focus on the 2.7 TDi because that is the best of the bunch, representing the best price vs. performance. The 3.2 quattro, while entertaining and a proper quattro experience, is a bit on the expensive side at $102,900. The two-wheel drive 2.7TDi is a mere $78,900 in comparison, and besides, I’d negotiate hard at the dealer and go for the excellent A5 if I was spending that kind of money.

Does all this two-wheel drive abundance give a potential branding issue for Audi: it is traditionally associated with quattro, there is only one model in the New Zealand lineup that is quattro, and it’s the best part of $25k more than the next one down. Is this going to bite Audi on its precision-engineered buttocks, or does the purchasing public not care in the slightest whether their traction control-enabled A4 has all four wheels transmitting power to the road?

Glynn Tulloch, Audi’s Managing Director was a bit hamstrung when ordering the cars from Germany (only the one quattro model was available), so was understandably upbeat about his two-wheel drive models. A heated debate raged between six of us scribes at the A4’s launch, and I would have to side with Glynn (unlike most of the others).

People will buy the A4 because they like the look, the colour choice, it’s the right price for them, and it has a four-ringed kudos they can wave in front of the neighbours, most of whom will be automotive philistines. Audi might lose a few sales, but I’d wager a tenner that it will be hardly any, and if they do, it’ll probably be to parent company Volkswagen.

Audi flew over one of their high-ranking engineers from Germany who explained how the whole car had been totally reworked since the previous version (which is good, because I didn’t like the previous one much).

The supplied A4 2.7 TDi came with a couple of the options that you may want to tick (and some absent that I would definitely want). The first one is the navigation. The lady who directs you is so much more alluring than the one offered by Mercedes — its one sounds like a newsreader. The other is the Bluetooth-enabled phone kit, which I don’t find as useful, but road warriors may as they wend their way down the highways and potholed byways of this fair country.

I wended my way all the way to Algies Bay — somewhere I hadn’t been before. Very nice it was to, as a fairly generic beach. The road back to Auckland contained a number of sweeping high speed curves which gave the Audi no trouble at all. In fact, everything was dispatched with a diesel-driven torquiness that quietly and relentlessly assures the driver of significant competence. Fitting, then, that it was the suspension engineer that came over from Germany. He drives a Lotus Elise when not on company time (he told me not to tell anyone, but I think that’s a selling point for the A4!)

What I did wish I had as an option was the brilliant dynamic steering option that I also tried on the launch — it allows you to choose how the steering responds while you’re driving, reducing the number of turns lock to lock for the twisty bits, and increasing them when you’re doing high speeds on comfortable motorways when you need stability.

The A4 had Audi’s drive select which lets you choose between comfort — great for cruising, and gives the best economy; normal, for everyday driving; and dynamic for spirited driving.

Other than that, you might want to visit the options list to get the A4 you really want. Heated seats aren’t standard, and the parking sensors are only at the back unless you spend more money. You’ll probably also want to upgrade the sound system if you’re a music fan.

But back to the range so that you can make a decision. You don’t want the 1.8 turbo — the eight-speed automatic gearbox mated to that engine just doesn’t work like it does with the diesels, and the 16-inch wheels look too small compared to the 17s on the 2.7. The 2-litre diesel is OK, the 3.2 quattro is very good and has lots more kit, but that puts it into A5 territory. Mmmmm. A5. That leaves us with the business-like 2.7TDi — my pick, and only eleven grand more than the 1.8. 7.7 seconds to 100kph is perfectly acceptable from the 140kW and 400Nm on offer, and with a combined fuel consumption of just 6.6l/100km, it’s easy on the wallet at the pump.

It’s the perfect car for those who want a steady, assured, solid-feeling vehicle that gets four rings on your driveway for a sensible price.

Price: from $78,900 (2.7 TDi).

What we like

• Comfortable and business-like A to B experience
• Styling
• Good economy/power ratio

What we don’t like

• Doesn’t feel special like an A5 does — we could be driving any comfortable car, including some that are significantly cheaper.
• Heated front seats aren’t standard
• Therefore you’ll want to spend some money on the options list (and not just for heated seats)

Words and photos Darren Cottingham

(1) depends on driving style and operating conditions
(2) details of dimensions with unladen vehicle weight
(3) provisional figure

DIMENSIONS

Length; 4703mm

Height; 1427mm

Wheelbase; 2808mm

Fr Track; 1564mm

R Track; 1551mm

Car shown is 1.8T as Audi gave us an unusual beige model for the 2.7 and we didn’t get any good photos.

Gallery