Audi A4 Avant: What You Need
AUDI A4 AVANT
WHAT YOU NEED
Words: Andrea Balti
Photography: Lomax
It takes a long time to build a name. Audi has faced a long climb up to reach high quality standards peak, alongside the other two German giants BMW and Mercedes. Together they represent the beating heart of an economy made up of large numbers and quality that is tangible, reliability and the ability to satisfy customers who need a car to move and able to grind kilometers but also customers in need of burning some rubber the very moment after turning the engine on. For its part, Audi has been able to innovate in well more than one occasion, starting with the famous Quattro all-wheel drive transmission, through the first turbodiesel V12 (on a Q7) and even in the world of racing with the first diesel car capable to excel in motorsports in a race such as the 24h of Le Mans. That’s why our test drive of the new A4 Avant must keep in mind all that is behind a car which at least apparently is for everyone and in this case very close to being the most basic model that you can take home coming out a dealership of the four rings.
That’s right, do not worry if approaching this A4 there are small alloy wheels, fabric seats, a manual transmission and no virtual cockpit – a lot of people always cry that Audi is not cheap, this time you’d be wrong, but not giving up the exceptional quality and the versatility of one of the most sold wagon in the world. The A4 represents one of the strength point of the brand, which thanks to the 4-door sedan and the five-door Avant, manages to show off sales volumes nothing short of exceptional, to the benefit for research and development of those RS models that we appreciate so much. The choice for the modern family has to satisfy the needs of the most diverse requests, such as load capacity, fuel consumption and endless connectivity that knows how to please even the most hardcore nerds out there. You can answer yes to all these questions, without missing those fine touches like the new soft touch buttons – which works amazingly well – and the compactness and accuracy in which the German knows how to excel without much effort. During the weeks of testing we alternated ourselves at the wheel going to write our first impressions on anonymous sheets of paper; after a few days we answered again to the same questions and when we return it back we gave a further and final point of view. Analyzing the big picture it turned out that the first impact has seen us having to do with a modern station wagon, but too poor in terms of spec, with an engine – a 4-cylinder 2.0cc with only 122hp – that was too often in struggle during overtaking or b-roads, doing almost weigh this lack of cavalry on everything else. In fact, once understood and accepted the fact that not everyone need to shoot an overtaking after the other, we have begun to appreciate the accuracy of the 6-speed manual gearbox, the elasticity of an engine capable of being all you need to get you far in the most economical way. What has remained unchanged is instead the perception of high-quality in the interior, the perfect assembly of each panel and the choice of combinations of hard plastics, soft ones and satin aluminum panels that embellish a cabin about which you can’t really criticize anything.
We did not ripped our heart out when leaving this Audi – okay – but we realized how the new A4 Avant had done an excellent job in that difficult area for which was created by the engineers in Ingolstadt, knowing how to live the classic routine, going to adapt to different uses on a daily basis, how to approach a busy city, travel hundreds of kilometers of boring motorways or being able to bring a large family at destination up in the mountains. Ok, there was no Quattro traction, but grip, also going to force the pace a bit, was always there to reassure us, despite the weight is not that of a classical dancer. No interest in burning rubber at the traffic light, but pure concreteness. With a little ‘military attitude, Audi scores an extremely pragmatic blow that is exactly what we expected and we wanted from the new A4 Avant that definitely has a more young look than the sedan. Spec it the right way, make it useful to your purpose and you will have everything you need to improve your working week, waiting for the arrival of the weekend that gives way to your beloved RS.
AUDI A4 AVANT (2016-)
Layout – front-engined, front wheel drive
Engine – 4 cylinder 1.968cc – turbodiesel
Transmission – 6-speed manual gearbox
Power – 122 hp @ 3.500 rpm
270 Nm @ 1.500 rpm
Weight – 1.550 kg
Acceleration – 10,9 sec.
Top Speed – 200 kph
Price – from € 34.700