Audi A4 Avant tech and infotainment on demand

If there is one thing our long term Audi A4 Avant spruiks it is a nifty technology boast.

Yes, our long-term German wagon is optioned with the now famous – and oft copied – Virtual Cockpit, upgraded sound system and a single rear Audi Tablet. Even so, there is plenty of standard tech that impresses in this vehicle.

Whilst some motoring.com.au reviewers are irked by the fact Audi avoids touch screens, some of us actually prefer a separation of the visual from the physical.

Using the steering wheel controls, the excellent voice control, or, more often, the Audi Controller -with its touch sensitive pad for quickly entering data - is preferable to smudging the stretched aspect central infotainment screen. It’s also, in our mind, a safer way to deal with your entertainment and information needs when driving.

The refinement Audi has put into the MMI system over recent iterations is showcased in the A4.That crisp central MMI (Multi Media Interface) 8.3 inch 1024 X 480 screen is in a fixed position, (not, as in some other Audi models, lowering into the console when switched off) and goes about its business of imparting information in a typically Germanic efficient fashion.

Audi has landed on a user interface which combines with the Virtual Cockpit, and “hard” buttons both around the Controller and below the air-con controls, to deliver simple access to the most used functions. There are plenty of logical ways to get to the information or desired entertainment using this user interface.

Give the kids a tablet
Just doing the sums, you would consider the rear seat entertainment system, a relatively chunky android powered tablet, a tough call.

At $2,850 for one or just over five grand for two, the 25Gb 10.1-inch multi-touch Audi Smart Tablet doesn’t compare favourably with some offered by electronics retailers. However, thes fully functional and portable tablet easily integrates into the Audi in-car systems via the rear seat dock or MMI-managed WIFI hotspot.

The driver remains in control, but now those in the back can offer suggestions on what to play by selecting a radio station, other audio mode or input. Someone using the rear seat tablet can also access Google Maps to select a destination and automatically send it to the satellite navigation system.

And those in the rear can study travel and performance information about the car itself. So all things considered, the Audi Smart Tablet is a good, standard Google Android powered device that can easily be undocked and used at home.

You clever thing
The Audi A4 Avant has some neat, little technological features that may initially go unnoticed. Touch sensitive interior lights mean no more fumbling around for the switch, just turn the light off or on by touching it.

These interior lights are also aware of what is going on, illuminating only the door which is open.

When reversing, the left-side exterior mirror automatically lowers its angle giving the driver vision of the ground on the blind side of the car. Although not unique to Audi, the value in coupling the visual information with parking sensor audio cues does provide greater confidence when parking.

Then there are the autonomous drive features.

Lane assist kicks in at speeds over 65 km/h, and, while obviously well suited to highway and freeway situations (gently steering the Audi A4 Avant back to the centre of a lane), in urban environments the camera system is a little less adapt at detecting ill-defined lanes.

Audi’s adaptive cruise control is a competent system that does a great job of tracking vehicles ahead and includes the handy Traffic Jam Assist to add a little relief during peak hour. Part of the Driver Assistance System, Traffic Jam Assist is a heightened adaptive cruise control up to 65km/h that will also sense lanes and can assist the A4 to negotiate slow moving traffic.

For more open cruising, having the ability to set a time gap between the A4 and the car in front is a definite advance for adaptive cruise control and one many would like to see become more common.

Traffic information (heavy or light) and delay warnings are available on the colourful satellite navigation map screen, displayed either on the central screen or Virtual Console.

With all this traffic around, it is comforting to know this Audi A4 Avant is equipped with the Audi Pre Sense system broken into three parts; Front, Rear and City, some of which we have tested.

Even in its most extreme setting, the front collision warning is not overly intrusive and only provides its warnings and assisted braking when circumstances are dire. We still experience systems from other brands which are calibrated too conservatively and remain infuriating.

City and Rear Pre Sense are harder to test, with the former reported to detect pedestrians in front of the car, braking as necessary.

Meanwhile, the Rear Pre Sense will start flashing the rear lights and pre-tensioning the seat belts when the radar detects a vehicle approaching too fast from behind.

You also receive escalating blind spot warnings (more intense when another vehicle or cyclist gets closer) and the warning lights are neatly embedded in the side mirrors.

The Audi A4 Avant’s audio system includes AM, FM and DAB radio, a CD/DVD player as well as a 10 Gb “Juke Box” for storing your own music transferred from SD Card.

Can this A4 CarPlay?
With the homogenisation of infotainment creeping into all levels of the industry, Audi - like some other upmarket brands - prefers to not highlight those large Apple and Google icons so CarPlay and Android Auto are somewhat hidden in the A4 Avant.

And to be honest, as we speak, it is true that many, including less premium brands such as Ford’s Sync 3 and Holden’s MyLink systems are providing features hard to match by the app-generation approach.

As is the case here, the fact that the Audi MMI system is not utilising a touch-screen system also means that CarPlay will either need to be utilised by voice or the Audi Controller.

It feels clunkier than intended - at least by Apple - particularly when you need to connect the phone by cable and ensure Bluetooth is not paired.

Hey Audi!, Australia needs some connected love.

It remains somewhat disappointing that some newer connected vehicle features have not found their way to Australia.

The Audi A4 Avant allows a SIM card to be inserted for mobile data to enable Google Maps satellite and street view imagery as well as other Google Local Search and Wikipedia information.

Commonly used data will be cached in the car’s memory, which makes the data hit a little more palatable.

These are handy services, but there are plenty of other “connected” services enjoyed in other parts of the globe such as remote heating/cooling, pre-setting of a satellite navigation destination as well as car statistics and possible car theft tracking.

Most of these services are via a smart-phone application, the Audi MMI Connect, which is currently not available on local app stores.

Also limited are the number of smartphone apps which can be integrated with the infotainment system. Currently you will need to search them out, utilising UPnP apps such as MyAudioStream or other DLNA Media player applications.

It is not really a big problem, many of these features are simply icing on quite a rich and well-designed cake. Naturally, as Audi Australia adds extra features, they can be quickly added - even the likes of Audi MMI Connect will not require a complete system overhaul.

By any measure, the current Audi MMI infotainment system is a cracker, providing the still impressive Virtual Console layout (which others are racing to copy) and is largely easy to operate both safely and intuitively.

Related reading:
>> Audi A4 Avant 2017 Long-Term Introduction
>> Audi A4 Avant 2017 review Long-Term Update #1
>> Audi A4 Avant 2017 review Long-Term Update #2
>> Audi new car handover experience