It’s all new and it promises to deliver to us on road as it does on paper. The Audi A4 will soon be in showrooms across India. Does it stay between the lines or does it push the boundaries? We’ve been to Bhubaneswar to find out.
Story: Jim Gorde
Photography: Sanjay Raikar
Pushing the limits is not an everyday thing. Not for everyone, anyway. While some view each day as a blessing and, more importantly, as a chance to be better than they were yesterday, not everyone adopts that philosophy. Some are complacent. Some keep calm and carry on doing whatever they were doing, exactly how they have been doing it all the way. Yet, there are some who strive to improve with each passing day, each passing moment even. Those are the doers. They push the boundaries of what was thought possible. They aren’t content with being good enough; they want to be great. And, when the world stands to benefit from your doings, that’s all the more reason to stay committed to being bold with your approach.
Audi haven’t been known to be complacent. Not in the least. While the world is crying hoarse about diesel being bad and petrol efficiency figures not being accurate, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to many that numbers will differ, and with each car. Not everyone gets on the pedal the same way, with the same intensity or timing, and certainly not on the same road and in the same conditions. Of course, those who are indeed aware that an engine produces more exhaust gas at 3,000 RPM than it does at an 850-RPM idle will continue to see cars in the same light as they did before and look forward to more innovative technology.
The Audi A4 is one such new car that hopes to bring a big change to the luxury sedan segment. The BMW 3 Series has ruled the roost in terms of being the driver’s car of choice for a while and, though Mercedes’ new C-Class isn’t half bad and the new Jaguar XE is ever so close to rivalling the kidney-grilled Bavarian, it’s the new Audi that wants to get in the fight and throw a strong punch for Ingolstadt too. Does it do that?
Well, from where I’m sitting, it’s not hard to tell it does throw a strong punch. But is it the knockout they were hoping for? Read on.
The exterior may make the A4 look more like a heavily-reworked facelift to some, but it is indeed an all-new car. The face is definitely new and very well lifted. The eyes are now LED units and have a bolder twin-line daytime-light design. The horizontal chrome slats on the hexagonal grille are joined by a seriously sporty lower air dam. Sharp 17-inch wheels wrapped in 225/50 rubber complement the stance well and show it means business. So far so good.
Move alongside and the A4 now seems curvier and a wee bit larger too. It is, actually, 25 millimetres longer on a 12-mm longer wheelbase, 16 mm wider, and just as tall as the old car at 1,427 mm. Its proportions and lines make it look more like the A6 than before. The wing mirrors are mounted on the shoulder-line and reduce the mass at the base of the A-pillar. The rear gets LED tail-lamp clusters and the turn indicators are now the fill-up kind, first seen on its beautiful Italian cousin, the Lamborghini Gallardo, and then on its sibling, the R8. If there ever were touches to make this a more contemporary sedan, it’s all of these.
Get inside and the cabin pleasantly surprises with its layout and quality of fit-and-finish. Yes, there are very familiar elements; it’s like the best bits of the A6, the TT and even a little bit of the R8 all making their presence felt, albeit on somewhat of a budget. The 12.3-inch Virtual Cockpit that integrates the speedo, odo, tacho and vehicle information, can switch displays to show you exactly what you want, or, rather, need to see. The central portion of the display can show navigation info, in tandem with the screen mounted on the centre console. The MMI Touch now also appears and makes controlling everything from communication to entertainment even easier. There’s even Audi smartphone integration and a special ‘phone box’ to place your smartphone snugly and safely below the centre arm-rest.
The seats are upholstered in a combination of leather and leatherette but, while did they hold me well, I wish they were a little less firm and a bit more plush. The support is great, though. The room is good, and that’s true even for the rear. The A4 actually has considerably more room for back-seat occupants than its competitors. The support and comfort are good at the rear, and there’s really nothing to complain about.
