Luxurious Appointments and Pleasant Performance by Chris Jackson - www.car-data.com
It’s tempting to think that Audi just slapped the new, big grille from the A6 onto the smaller A4 and called it "all-new." From a mission-statement standpoint, it would seem that way, because the A4 has never wanted anything other than to be a smooth, well-built sporting sedan, and that’s still the case. What looks like a minor facelift for 2005 is actually a ground-up redesign, however. The Audi A4 hasn’t changed in spirit, but the mechanical bits have undergone some serious reworking.
Audi has good reason to ensure that the A4 can keep up with the Joneses of the entry-level luxury market - by name, the Acura TL, Infiniti G35 and BMW 3-Series, not to mention the soon-to-come Lincoln Zephyr. The A4 makes up about half of Audi’s sales volume in the U.S., and a lot of its buyers eventually graduate to the larger A6 and A8 models as well. The A4 is a crucial part of the lineup.
With that in mind, Audi updated the design, but didn’t mess too much with success. At a glance, it hasn’t changed much. The redesign is subtle; the large grille that dips into the bumper is echoed in the contours of the hood, and a soft character line runs from front to rear. The taillights are wide and arched, emphasizing the A4’s wheels-out stance. It’s got slightly more personality than the previous car’s ingot-smooth flanks, and of course it keeps the family look that the A6 and A8 have already debuted. Opt for the stiffer sport suspension and you’ll get a cool set of five-spoke wheels. Under the skin, high-strength steel has been used around the B-pillars to improve side-impact protection. Sedan and Avant (station wagon) models are available.
A4 buyers have a choice of three powerplants in those two bodies. Believe it or not, we preferred the base 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder to the larger 3.2-liter V6. Both engines feature direct-injection technology, which bypasses the intake manifold to spray the fuel directly into the combustion chamber, allowing for higher compression ratios and more efficient combustion. The sixteen-valve 2.0T makes 200 horsepower, up 30 from last year’s 1.8T. Turbo lag is nonexistent, and the smooth, torquey engine is a delight on the freeway or when pounding along back roads. The 255-horse 3.2 V6 is more sedate on the highway of course, but we found it to be somewhat less responsive at the low end, in spite of the higher horsepower and torque figures. Of course, we didn’t drive the pavement-wrinkling 340-horsepower 4.2 liter V8 that comes with the hot-rod S4, but that’s a different animal entirely. Three transmissions are offered; a six-speed manual is standard across the board and naturally our favorite, but the six-speed Tiptronic automatic transmission isn’t too bad a choice, either. Audi also offers the Multitronic continuously variable transmission (CVT) in the A4.
All 3.2-liter engines and S4 models are quattros. Front-wheel drive is available on the four-cylinder models. To improve the sporting quotient, the Torsen differential on quattro models has a slight rearward bias. The goal was to make the A4 sportier and more "talkative," and the quattros mimic the feel of a rear-drive car toward this end.
Audi went through the suspension hunting down vibrations, so the 2005 A4’s entire suspension has been stiffened for better feel and responsiveness. The double-wishbone front suspension has four links instead of two, for a "virtual steering axis" close to the center of the wheel. This helps to reduce torque steer, especially in the more powerful models. At the rear, another set of double wishbones features trapezoidal links for reduced vibration. Wider-diameter rear shocks are borrowed from the A6 and offer improved smoothness and comfort. The Servotronic power steering has reduced effort and improved feedback as well. The new A4 definitely has no problem putting its additional power to the road, even on uneven surfaces. Even with the sport suspension, the A4’s still a bit squashy in hard driving compared to BMW and Acura, but the body roll doesn’t slow it down. As a freeway car, it’s superb.
The Electronic Stability Program (ESP) has been worked on as well. To reduce understeer, ESP will apply the brakes on the inside wheels during a too-fast turn. If that’s not enough, it’ll brake down all four. To reduce brake fade after repeated hard stops, the A4 can actually increase the hydraulic pressure of the braking system. It’ll also do this during panic braking, to maximize braking power. When it’s wet, ESP will periodically engage the brakes lightly, allowing the pads to clear water from the rotors and keep brake response immediate even in a downpour.
Inside, the A4 is almost as elegant as the full-luxury A6. Belt-line trim running all the way around the cabin can be had in textured aluminum or wood finishes, and available lighter interior colors brighten the typically somber A4 interior significantly. The front passengers are treated to comfortable seats and plenty of legroom; rear-seat passengers will find that the A4 is not a particularly large car, and competitors like the G35 and Volvo S60 offer much more in the way of knee-room. The newly available navigation system is DVD-based and its 6.5 inch screen is easy to read, although the controls require a bit of work to master. The navigation system does offer the cool option of a pair of SD card inserts for MP3 players, enough to hold a pair of one-gigabyte cards. Who needs an iPod?
The Avant adds cargo-friendly features like an adjustable floor with a plastic tray underneath for icky items, grocery bag hooks and standard cargo nets. A nice subtle touch is the tailgate latch that’s recessed into the floor to prevent snagging or leaving grease on clothes while loading.
Standard equipment on all A4s includes dual-zone climate control and a sound system that’s fully prepped for either Sirius or XM satellite radio, including the antenna. Want to make it more like its big brother the A6? Check the option boxes for rain-sensing wipers, headlight washers, bi-xenon headlamps with an adaptive function that allows them to turn with the front wheels, and a tire-pressure monitoring system.
Pricing for the 2005 A4 starts at $27,300 for the 2.0T with a manual transmission. Add $2000 for the quattro model, which was our favorite package, and it’s a decent deal. Be careful with the options list, however. Our test car was a quattro-equipped 2.0T with a leather interior, XM satellite radio and heated seats, and once the Tiptronic transmission was added, the price was nudging $36,000. The 3.2 V6 sends the base price up to $35,400, and it’s easy to end up with a heavily-equipped A4 in the $40,000 range. At that price point, it’s competing with some much nicer (and much larger) cars and even sporty SUVs like the Infiniti FX35 in the case of the Avant, and has a harder time justifying itself. We like the entry-level A4 best for its combination of luxurious appointments and pleasant performance.
The Fact Box:
All specs are for the 2005 Audi A4 2.0T, which we tested.
Length: 180.6 in. Width: 69.8 in. Height: 56.2 in. Wheelbase: 104.3 in. Curb weight: 3362 lb. Cargo space: 13.4 cu.ft. Base price: $27,300 Price as tested: $35,870 Engine: 2.0 liter DOHC direct-injection turbocharged four-cylinder Drivetrain: six-speed manual, all-wheel drive Horsepower: 200 @ 5100-6000 Torque: 207 @ 1800-5000 Fuel capacity: 18.5 gal. Est. mileage: 23/34
