1996 Audi A4 Offers Good Looks and Surprising Value

From the November 1995 issue of Car and Driver.

Audi is on the move.

Last year, the German automaker slashed its prices dramatically across the board. This year, it has introduced the new A4 sedan, and will follow next year with importation of the A8, its high-tech all­-aluminum flagship already on sale in Europe.

So despite the continuing unfavorable exchange rate between the strong deutsche mark and the slipping dollar, not to men­tion the fierce competition in this bucks-up market segment, Audi is working hard to secure its slice of the luxury sales pie.

This year’s newsmaker, the new A4, is built in Audi’s main plant at its Ingolstadt, Germany headquarters. The versions coming to the U.S. will all be four-door sedans powered by the company’s familiar 172-hp SOHC 2.8-liter V-6. A turbo 150-hp 20-valve 1.8-liter four, already avail­able in Europe, is promised for 1997, and coupe and cabriolet A4s are possibilities.

Audi insists the new A4 is a value breakthrough, but compared with last year’s 90, it’s more like a wash. The $26,995 base price is $880 more than that of last year’s reduced-price 90, but it includes a power driver’s seat and auto­matic climate control, both options last year. No skimping on the base car now: the A4 comes with power mirrors, locks, and windows, cruise control, tilt and telescoping steering (try to find that for $27 grand), anti-lock brakes, and an AM/FM/cassette. Stuffed to the gills with leather, a sunroof, an automatic transmission, and a Bose sound system, our A4 added up to $31,595. A ’96 Maxima SE automatic with ABS, a Bose sound system, a sunroof, a power driver’s seat, and leather is $28,829. A similarly loaded ’95 Saab 900SE bows at $30,145.

It certainly looks pricey. The A4’s slip­pery shape has all the handsome Audi cues (four-ringed grille and corner headlamps, bustle-back rump) while surpassing the 90 model’s shortcomings (awkward propor­tions, slab-o-taillights in back). Inside is a creatively sculpted cabin in tuxedo black, ivory, and genuine walnut that extends back to the rear seat. Not so cool is the ivory-colored fabric that stretches over the A4’s armrests, which already showed smudges on our 1500-mile test car. (Euro­peans may shower less, but perhaps they have cleaner elbows.) Four six-footers can fit comfortably in an A4 for long distances, a new concept for a small Audi.

The A4 comes standard with front-wheel drive, while $1500 buys you Quattro four-wheel drive. Those who have come to appreciate the calming composure of the Quattro might be surprised at the feel of this front-driver. For the A4, Audi borrowed a novel four-link front suspen­sion from its wundertech A8 sedan that it claims drastically reduces torque steer. Our test car’s fluid, evenly weighted steering was simply abnormal for a front-wheel-driver, and could have been swiped from a Mercedes E-class. Some staffers actually thought that they were driving a Quattro A4.

Forgive them, because the A4 felt about as speedy as the heavier Quattro. Our A4’s sprints to 60 mph of 9.6 seconds are not impressive for a V-6 sports sedan. Audi’s 100S of a few years ago, equipped with an automatic, the same engine, and 75 more pounds of girth, achieved the same speed in 8.8 seconds.

For this acceleration deficit, we point our collective finger at Audi’s new five-speed automatic. Mr. Science says that the more gears an automatic has, the more flexible it becomes, allowing both better fuel economy and acceleration. Indeed, the A4 automatic’s 18/28 EPA city/highway mileage is neck-and-neck with the manual’s promised 19/27 mileage. Its upshifts are always faultlessly smooth. We wish it would shift more deliberately, though, when we’re in a hurry. The auto­matic sometimes trips over its many gears, downshifting not once but twice during a low-speed pass, with a pregnant pause in the intermediate gear.

The Quattro A4 is blessed with an unequal-length control-arm rear suspen­sion on its own subframe, while the front-­drive car makes do with a more humble trailing-arm with twist-beam setup. The body feels impressively stout, with a Porsche-like stiffness accentuated by a rel­atively firm ride. Like a puppy tied to a stake, the A4 rounds the skidpad nose out all the way, generating a modest 0.76 g of grip. (The last 90CS Quattro we tested managed 0.80 g.) The brakes can rub out 70 mph in 189 feet, beating the Mazda Millenia’s 203 feet, but are unable to equal the BMW 325i at 182 feet, or the Infiniti G20t at 176 feet.

So if we had to choose, we’d label this A4 more slick than sporty. The V-6 hums quietly, and the automatic feathers upshifts deftly. The controls, switches, and handles work with precise weighting and crisp detents. The optional sunroof is controlled by a rotary switch that needs only a brief flick of the wrist. And the headlamp wash­ers, two jack-in-the-box-like spray heads that spring out of little doors on the front bumpers, can only be described as cool.

Audi’s been studying hard: ultra-refine­ment is the bare minimum required to compete with the top-notch Maxima, 325i, and ES300. The A4’s sluggish driveline may matter less than whether it looks and feels expensive, a test this Audi passes handily. In short, a very good clean break. We’ll save our stamp of approval, though, until we’ve driven an A4 with five manual gears.