The A4 in racing trim has proven to be a remarkably able car on various European racetracks over the years, and the new car is still muscularly gratifying to look at, from the front, the side, or from the rear.
In profile, the continuous shoulder line culminates in a very long bonnet, and the rear window blends beautifully into the short boot. This actually belies the fact that the boot is enormous, about as large as a single bedroom, and that's without the rear seats (divided 33 per cent: 66 per cent) down.
The overhang is short at the front as well as the back, allowing, in old-fashioned parlance, a minimum of 'unsprung weight', and the roofline evokes memories of splendid GT cars of yore.
Underneath this elegant sports saloon lurks a brand new chassis. It allows the front axle to be moved something over 15 centimetres forward and makes the car even more agile and directionally stable. The steering has been lowered so that it sits closer to the wheels, which allows steering movements to be transferred much more quickly. This results in far more precise steering with more direct feedback from the road, and a sportier ride,
The front sub-frame is rigidly mounted on a new five-link layout and work was done to optimise the body structure along with the use of aluminium in the chassis which helps explain why the car is so easy to manoeuvre and exciting to drive.
On board, the ergonomics of the dash, switches and computer guarantee a 'happy' drive and obviously the pilot can establish the ideal driving position most easily; and with a longer chassis the rear seat passengers have even more legroom than in the earlier car.
All mirrors give a splendid rear-view nearside and offside,which is important when going backwards as the wedge shape would otherwise make reversing more difficult.
Sensors front and rear give more than adequate warning of approaching obstacles, and as they can be adjusted for bleep, front and rear can be individually adjusted to suit the driver.
The choice of engines is more than adequate ranging from a 1,798cc petrol mill taking 10.5
seconds to reach 100km/h to a 2,967cc turbo diesel matched to four-wheel-drive, which will reach the magic 'ton' in only 6.1 seconds.
I was more than happy with the 143 bhp 1,968cc, 4-cylinder turbo diesel I was testing which reaches the magic 'ton' in a brisk 9.4 seconds.
I found the automatic transmission particularly pleasing to use and in-town left it in the basic 'Drive' function. This seems to allow a somewhat leisurely gear change, as befits urban motoring.
Once away from the urban and residential environment, 'S' was selected and the drive changed dramatically, providing a far livelier gear change, absolutely in line with the sports image associated with Audi. As a variation, gear changes can be manually engaged by nudging the lever forwards or backwards. All great fun, and on our Ta' Qali test area the usual high 'G' turns were done, to the point where a rear wheel was just lifting, but without the front-end breaking away at all.
Hands off the wheel at over 80km/h, the car kept rock steady, and stopped with ABS working at full pressure without even a judder in the steering.
The car is comfortable, and easy to enjoy and Audi drivers really must watch their speedometers (primarily graded in mph) otherwise they might just possibly incur the wrath of any wandering mobile police.
Obviously the car has all the hoped-for safety features included. I've mentioned the anti-lock brakes but the A4 also has traction control (ASR) which prevents the drive wheels from spinning. The electronic stabilisation programme (ESP) reads what's happening in the ABS, EBD and ASR systems and provides a better level of stability at all speeds by targeted braking on individual wheels and intervention in the engine management system.
Audi backguard increases the level of protection if the car is thumped from the rear because the design of the seats restrains the upper body and supports the head, helping to reduce the chance of whiplash, at an early stage of the crash.
Up front, the seat belts are augmented by full-size adaptive airbags for both the driver and passenger along with a sideguard head airbag system and side airbags to protect the thorax/pelvis. Side airbags are on option at the rear. Prices for this model start from €53,480 (Lm22,959).
At a glance
• Engine: 2.0 TDI, 4-cylinder common rail injection with exhaust turbocharger.
• Displacement: 1,968cc
• Max power: 105kw (143bhp) at 4,200 rpm
• Max pulling power (torque): 320Nm from between 1,750-2,500 rpm
• Multitronic automatic gear change with eight different gears in manual mode Tyres: 205/60 R16
• Top speed: 215km/h
• Acceleration; 0-100km/h: 9.4 secs
• Fuel consumption: Urban: 7.8 litres/100kms. Extra-urban: 4.7 litres/100kms Combined: 5.8 litres/100kms
• Emissions standard: Euro 4
• Dimensions: Length: 4,703mm long; width: 2,006mm; height: 1,427 mm
In profile, the continuous shoulder line culminates in a very long bonnet, and the rear window blends beautifully into the short boot. This actually belies the fact that the boot is enormous, about as large as a single bedroom, and that's without the rear seats (divided 33 per cent: 66 per cent) down.
The overhang is short at the front as well as the back, allowing, in old-fashioned parlance, a minimum of 'unsprung weight', and the roofline evokes memories of splendid GT cars of yore.
Underneath this elegant sports saloon lurks a brand new chassis. It allows the front axle to be moved something over 15 centimetres forward and makes the car even more agile and directionally stable. The steering has been lowered so that it sits closer to the wheels, which allows steering movements to be transferred much more quickly. This results in far more precise steering with more direct feedback from the road, and a sportier ride,
The front sub-frame is rigidly mounted on a new five-link layout and work was done to optimise the body structure along with the use of aluminium in the chassis which helps explain why the car is so easy to manoeuvre and exciting to drive.
On board, the ergonomics of the dash, switches and computer guarantee a 'happy' drive and obviously the pilot can establish the ideal driving position most easily; and with a longer chassis the rear seat passengers have even more legroom than in the earlier car.
All mirrors give a splendid rear-view nearside and offside,which is important when going backwards as the wedge shape would otherwise make reversing more difficult.
Sensors front and rear give more than adequate warning of approaching obstacles, and as they can be adjusted for bleep, front and rear can be individually adjusted to suit the driver.
The choice of engines is more than adequate ranging from a 1,798cc petrol mill taking 10.5
seconds to reach 100km/h to a 2,967cc turbo diesel matched to four-wheel-drive, which will reach the magic 'ton' in only 6.1 seconds.
I was more than happy with the 143 bhp 1,968cc, 4-cylinder turbo diesel I was testing which reaches the magic 'ton' in a brisk 9.4 seconds.
I found the automatic transmission particularly pleasing to use and in-town left it in the basic 'Drive' function. This seems to allow a somewhat leisurely gear change, as befits urban motoring.
Once away from the urban and residential environment, 'S' was selected and the drive changed dramatically, providing a far livelier gear change, absolutely in line with the sports image associated with Audi. As a variation, gear changes can be manually engaged by nudging the lever forwards or backwards. All great fun, and on our Ta' Qali test area the usual high 'G' turns were done, to the point where a rear wheel was just lifting, but without the front-end breaking away at all.
Hands off the wheel at over 80km/h, the car kept rock steady, and stopped with ABS working at full pressure without even a judder in the steering.
The car is comfortable, and easy to enjoy and Audi drivers really must watch their speedometers (primarily graded in mph) otherwise they might just possibly incur the wrath of any wandering mobile police.
Obviously the car has all the hoped-for safety features included. I've mentioned the anti-lock brakes but the A4 also has traction control (ASR) which prevents the drive wheels from spinning. The electronic stabilisation programme (ESP) reads what's happening in the ABS, EBD and ASR systems and provides a better level of stability at all speeds by targeted braking on individual wheels and intervention in the engine management system.
Audi backguard increases the level of protection if the car is thumped from the rear because the design of the seats restrains the upper body and supports the head, helping to reduce the chance of whiplash, at an early stage of the crash.
Up front, the seat belts are augmented by full-size adaptive airbags for both the driver and passenger along with a sideguard head airbag system and side airbags to protect the thorax/pelvis. Side airbags are on option at the rear. Prices for this model start from €53,480 (Lm22,959).
At a glance
• Engine: 2.0 TDI, 4-cylinder common rail injection with exhaust turbocharger.
• Displacement: 1,968cc
• Max power: 105kw (143bhp) at 4,200 rpm
• Max pulling power (torque): 320Nm from between 1,750-2,500 rpm
• Multitronic automatic gear change with eight different gears in manual mode Tyres: 205/60 R16
• Top speed: 215km/h
• Acceleration; 0-100km/h: 9.4 secs
• Fuel consumption: Urban: 7.8 litres/100kms. Extra-urban: 4.7 litres/100kms Combined: 5.8 litres/100kms
• Emissions standard: Euro 4
• Dimensions: Length: 4,703mm long; width: 2,006mm; height: 1,427 mm