Category: Convertibles 
Price Range: £25,995 to £42,645
Solid, classic design; high-quality materials and build; quiet for a soft-top; two diesels to choose from; large range of options.
Not as sports-focused as Audi would like to think, even the S4; boot not that large.
Desirable to own, to cruise around and be seen in.
Absolutely solid and superbly engineered for the optimum protection. It hasn't gone through the Euro NCAP crash tests yet, but Audi does consistently score well in surveys of "real-life" accidents and their outcomes, which many see as being more indicative of protection than impacts under laboratory conditions.
Behind the rear seats are two retracted bars that deploy if sensors detect an imminent rollover and the windscreen and frame are claimed to be exceptionally strong. A canvas hood can't offer the same sort of protection as a metal roof, but all elements of its structure are designed to form a "survival zone" that will remain intact.
All passenger seats have Isofix child seat mounting points (there's an airbag cut-off switch for the front passenger seat); standard equipment also includes ESP stability control with brake disc-cleaning, front and side airbags, seatbelt pre-tensioners and belt-force limiters.
As for security, the hood is reasonably thick and difficult to penetrate - though this may not be a car to leave out on the street regularly, as Audis, like most premium-brand cars, are said to be targeted by criminal gangs, especially in London.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Audi A4 Cabriolet
wrote on 12 09 2007
wrote on 12 09 2007
wrote on 01 07 2006