Audi A4 1.8 TFSI 2008 Review

The mid-sized executive is traditionally Audi's best seller, carrying the onerous responsibility of attracting and wooing more than 40 percent of annual Audi buyers. The company can't afford to get the A4 wrong.

Yet the bold, trapezoidal grille face on Audi's sculpted, more masculine A4 doesn't look remotely worried. And is it any wonder? Audi is a hot brand on the move. Sales are booming here (9000 is targeted this year in Oz) and strong in both Europe and North America.

In brief, the new A4 sedan is bigger, safer, slipperier, roomier, dynamically sharper, more powerful, more economical, more rigid, and has a lighter body.

Comparing old with spanking new, the proportions of the latest-generation A4 have been massaged to create a larger, sportier, more distinctive machine with a longer bonnet and reduced overhang. The new car, at 4703mm, has grown by 117mm. Width is up by 50mm to 1826mm, while the front and rear tracks are now 45mm and 36mm wider respectively. The wheelbase is 167mm longer and the oft-criticised front overhang is 68mm shorter.

The interior exudes quality and class, with nice touches for which Audi stylists are renowned. And there's more room.

The cabin is 20mm longer at 1758mm, and 10mm wider at 1410mm. The rear-seat width at shoulder height is 1380mm, an increase of 23mm.

So the cabin is bigger than that of the rival BMW 3 Series; more elegant than in the Benz C-Class. The A4's boot is also huge at 480 litres - larger than that of any of its prestige competitors.

Evident, too, is a small yet significant bombardment of fresh engineering and (sometimes optional) features - Audi Drive Select, lane-departure warning, adaptive cruise control, Audi Side Assist blind spot illumination, an intelligent key which stores data, and a power steering system that improves manoeuvrability.

On a platform shared with the A5, the latest sedan is available in Australia with four engine choices - 1.8 TFSI, 2.0 TDI, 2.7 TDI and 3.2 FSI quattro. In plain English: two petrol, two diesel; two turbo fours and two V6s, with power outputs ranging from 105kW to 195kW. Only the base 1.8 TFSI is available with a manual (six-speed) gearbox. And the 3.2 FSI quattro is sold only with a Tiptronic tranny.

Each engine is at the sharper end of the engineering spectrum with the direct fuel-injection principle of FSI or TDI. Importantly, in an era of $1.50-per-litre fuel, the new A4 models use less motion lotion than the corresponding units in the previous model. Consumption is down by an average of 13 percent for the petrol engines and six percent for the TDI units.

Prices start at $50,900 for the six-speed manual A4 1.8 TFSI and top out at an attention-grabbing $88,500 for the range king, the 3.2 FSI quattro with Tiptronic. A seven-speed S-Tronic dual-clutch (DSG) automatic will join the range in the future, as will an Avant wagon.

For our first drive on home ground, we chose the base car, the turbo 1.8 TFSI used in the A4 for the first time (but seen previously in the A3 and near-relative, the Skoda Octavia).

It came hooked to the upgraded continuously variable Multitronic (CVT), a transmission we'd appreciated in previous iterations.

In isolation, the 1.8 TFSI's modest 118kW and 250Nm don't sound like a recipe for overt sportiness. Yet we couldn't have anticipated how much we would appreciate this fresh marriage of the revamped Multitronic (now with eight CVT 'steps' instead of seven) and the latest lag-free, direct-injection turbo petrol engine with its lovely note and responsiveness.

Blend Audi's new Select Drive with adaptive dampers into the technomix and we had, after some experimenting with settings, a driving recipe to enjoy.

Previous A4s, with their engine entirely forward of the front axle line, have always had compromised dynamics. They have attracted criticism for indifferent steering (and rack judder), understeering and pogoing tendencies, and comfort-challenging distaste for our poorer road surfaces. The new car, however, finally answers many of those negatives, despite still being heavily front-engined.

Audi has trimmed and shuffled the mechanicals of the A4 (and A5/S5), moving mass rearwards while retaining the packaging and safety benefits of front drive.

Specifically, the differential has been moved further forward in the driveline by swapping its position with the clutch or torque converter. This allowed the front axle to be repositioned 154mm further forward, helping balance the axle loads.

Also helping the weight balance and overall dynamic behaviour are the new A4's lighter (1.8) engine and the longer wheelbase.

The steering rack is now lower, and bolted directly to the sub-frame, helping give a feel and deftness not previously approached. The result is a significantly stronger connection between the tiller and the front wheels.

Even with the A4's standard Servotronic steering, there is noticeable improvement. The optional Drive Select brings more change, and sporty drivers will appreciate the direct, heavier weighted steering offered in the Dynamic mode in concert with the punchier throttle reaction, the greater enthusiasm and higher shift points from the Multitronic and the firmer, flatter suspension settings.

Hammering into a succession of tight corners, it takes just the slightest lift of the throttle to settle the nose, before cranking the steering wheel in one firm movement. When it's back on the throttle, the A4 changes direction and follows its nose with no fuss and minimal body roll or pitch.

After many kays belting over a twisting, hilly loop, with roads about as smooth as an unmade bed, not once did the A4's steering rack rattle or bang. Understeer was only evident on tight 25km/h-posted hairpins, when the front of almost any car would tend to push.

While power is up and overall weight about the same, fuel efficiency is improved. Overall, the A4 1.8 TFSI returned 10.4L/100km, flaring to 13.1 during a spell of aggressive driving, but dropping to an excellent 7.3 in a quieter lope around the suburbs.

Belting along or cruising, the driving position is excellent, with a perfectly shaped and sized wheel, and easy-read gauges and dials. Except for some wind noise around the exterior mirrors at freeway cruising speeds, there's a pervading aura of quality and refinement. Most of the nicely detailed controls are relatively logical and intuitive. Safety equipment includes eight airbags with side bags for both front and rear rows. Stability control, meanwhile, is not intrusive, unlike older versions which cried wolf at non-threatening speeds.

Overall, the new A4 (at least in this 1.8 TFSI guise) is an appreciable step forward dynamically, functionally, and aesthetically. The fun factor is certainly up, too.

Most importantly, however, the new platform and architecture makes this A4 a vastly more competitive car in its class. Its front-drive chassis might not reward and delight the purists quite like a rear-drive 3 Series and C-Class can, but there is no doubt many Australians will be drawn to other attributes - styling inside and out, safety, German-built quality, new technology, and fuel efficiency.

And while it'll take a full road test to find the new A4's place in the hierarchy of premium mid-size sedans, Audi Australia is betting plenty will buy it regardless.