Category: Compact Executive 
Price Range: £20,490 to £33,705
Style, interior quality, space, huge boot.
V6 cars feel nose-heavy, handling not as entertaining as some of the competition.
Meets expectations in almost all areas - problem is it doesn't exceed them.
For Audi's compact executive to truly succeed in giving BMW a bloody nose, the A4 will have to prove its worth where it counts - on the road. And within minutes it's clear the new car is vastly better than the old one.
The steering is well weighted and accurate and there's a high level of grip. But although the handling is safe and secure, when you push hard you discover that the A4 lacks the finesse and balance that come as standard with the rear-wheel-drive 3-Series. Enter a bend too enthusiastically and the nose pushes wide in a way that no amount of easing off the throttle will cure. The A5 behaves exactly the same.
The range-topping 3.2-litre petrol engine offers more power and the quattro all-wheel drive system provides incredible traction. You can cover a lot of ground very quickly, but overall the BMW and the new C-Class Mercedes offer more driver involvement. Using the optional Audi Drive Select to quicken the steering gives greater agility at low speeds and more stability at high speed, without being quite so dramatic as the comparable BMW option, which tends to feel remote and artificial.
We preferred the 1.8T and 2.0 TDI to the 3.0 TDI and 2.7 TDI; the bigger-engined car may be more rapid, but they also feel more nose-heavy than the small-engined cars, which provide a better handling/ride compromise.
Fighting it out for the performance crown within the A4 range is the 237bhp diesel 3.0 TDI in one corner and the 261bhp petrol 3.2 FSI in the other. At first, the petrol car feels the faster of the two, spinning effortlessly to its red line, but the strengths of the diesel soon shine through. It has so much torque that when exiting corners it feels as though the A4 has been slung from a catapult. The figures confirm the diesel's victory: it sprints to 62mph in 6.1 seconds, a tenth of a second quicker than the petrol.
The new four-cylinder common-rail diesels are equally impressive, if not quite as devastating at the drag strip. The 141bhp 2.0 TDI offers drivers greater flexibility if not quite the top-end shove the old engine provided, but all will appreciate the newer engine's greater refinement.
The 1.8T is a peach. Fractionally noisier than the engine it replaces, it rewards enthusiastic drivers with lag-free acceleration.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Audi A4
wrote on 23 09 2007
wrote on 11 09 2007
wrote on 17 07 2006