Audi is wasting no time building out its bread-and-butter A4 lineup with the sedan and a new allroad debuting at the North American International Auto Show. Both models use a 2.0-liter turbo with 252 hp and a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission. You can still get an A4 with front-wheel drive but almost no one does, which is probably the same reason the 6-speed manual is no longer available on base cars. The allroad makes Quattro all-wheel drive standard and also raises the ride height 1.3 inches. That makes light offroading somewhat easier and the cladding along the lower body seems to be a hit with customers so it carries over from previous allroad generations. The A4 features just about all the tech and luxury features you can get on the high-end Audi’s, including a 19-speaker Bang & Olufsen 3D stereo, the latest and greatest Virtual Cockpit, full color head up display and the list goes on and on. With prices starting at $38k and heading quickly up from there we should probably be glad that the A3 has entered the lineup where the A4 used to reside and helped make Audi ownership a little more attainable.
Roll the calendar back a handful of years and the Audi S4 used to be a bonafide sport sedan with a boisterous 4.2-liter V8 making 340 hp that put it well above its contemporaries in power and performance. We’re a bit disappointed to report that in 2010 Audi retired the V8 in favor of a mildly tuned 3.0-liter supercharged V6 that achieves only 333 hp. During the same period progress has brought the class average up significantly with today’s competition like the Cadillac ATS offering 321 hp and the Infiniti G37 offering 328 hp from their naturally aspirated V6s. So does the S4 still feel like a special sport sedan? We’d argue that by today’s standards it’d probably take more like 400 hp to achieve that distinction. What it does feel like is a great top trim in the A4 lineup for customers who want a bit more juice than the 2.0-liter turbo four offers. Regardless, we like the S4 because it still offers a pleasing 6-speed manual, supportive sport seats, Audi’s customizable Drive Select system and, of course, all-wheel drive traction for year round fun that makes the S4 a great partner for those of us in the Motor City. And we like the price range of $48k-$54k that keeps the S4 feeling like a bit of a value. What Audi needs to work on is the lifeless steering, bland interior design and getting that supercharger to pay a few more dividends in the power ratings. If they can do that and maintain price the S4 would be back to sport sedan status faster than you can say, “What V8?!”. Read more…
The 2007 Audi S6 had the grace and svelte of a German sports luxury sedan, and the heart of an Italian bull. The team from Ingolstadt shoe-horned a 5.2L FSI V10 from the Lamborghini Gallardo into the engine bay of an A6, threw in some fancy wheels, and lit up the front end with some rather handsome LED running lamps. In S6 duty the hoof-stomping nostril-snorting Gallardo V10 is detuned to 435-hp and 398 lb-ft of torque and routes its power to the ground via a 6-speed automatic and quattro all-wheel drive. A canyon carver the S6 is not, as nearly the entirety of that V10 hangs out ahead of the front axle. It will, however, pull away from a stop with authority! Click through for a more extensive photo gallery. Read more…
Driving the new 2009 Audi A4 helps explain a lot of things. Like, for instance, how Audi actually set a new sales record of 1.03 million vehicles in 2008 while most other automakers’ showrooms looked like ghost towns. It’s not that there’s simply more power (there is) or a new technology (several, in fact) it’s that every single facet of all new Audi’s is an improvement over the replacement. And the latest A4 is no exception. We’re here to tell you the 2009 model is more comfortable, more powerful, more dynamically satisfying, more efficient and more luxurious than ever. Don’t believe us? Read on. Read more…
Normally when you drive a car you truly love, it’s like hot chocolate. It warms your soul, and you want to come back for more.
This car — the Audi R8 — is nothing like that. Read more…
Time and time again Audi/VW has shown us that they can build some pretty sweet cars. As evidenced by the A6 we tested back when the snow was still flying. The S4 is no exception to the rule, placing performance, handling, craftsmanship, and stunning good looks high on the priority list. Before I even twisted the key for the first time I could tell this car was going to be hot. Then that V8 fired and all those German stallions started to whinny; my pulse started to race! Read more…
On your personal list of vehicles most in need of a redesign, the 2004 Audi A6 was probably not in the top five, or even the top ten—actually, it likely wasn’t on the list at all. That’s because despite being introduced for the 1998 model year, the last generation A6 remains as elegant as ever. But Audi is in the process of revising the entire lineup from top to bottom and, as such, the A6 is all new for 2005. Read more…
It’s generally not an ideal practice for any party when a journalist’s first exposure to a new vehicle is a drive in the hot-rodded, top-of-the-line model, because all of the lesser models will appear, well, lesser. Yet, this is exactly the scenario we found ourselves in with regards to Audi’s extensively revised A4 lineup. Our first test car was a fully optioned S4 with a sticker north of $55k. As you might expect, we used adjectives like, “hot” “gorgeous” and “astounding” to describe its V8, 18” rubber, and Recaro seats. So it surprised us as much as it will you, to report that those same praises kept creeping into our conversations during our week with the “base” A4 2.0T. It might have been the slick 6-speed, or the stunning Quartz Gray Metallic sheetmetal. Whatever it was, we liked it. A lot. Read more…
Logically, one would not even consider putting an Audi in a cornfield. But photographers don’t exactly adhere to the same brain patterns when logical thinking is involved. Thus, we tread many a dirt road and cattle path in pursuit of photog satisfaction. Is the allroad (not a typo, Audi is case sensitive) capable of traversing lightly beaten paths while coddling passengers listening to classical music with the A/C purring away? Yeah, something like that, but you will have to read on to find out. Read more…
Automotive perfection is hard to define. Is it the latest technological wizardry, a smooth ride and a quiet cabin? Is it breathtaking performance? Is it a style that makes your friends and neighbors envious every time they see you drive by?
Or, as Audi contends, is it the synthesis of all these things? Read more…
