Audi reinvented itself with the first-generation A4 back in the mid-1990s. Replacing the forgettable 80, the A4 went down in Audi history as the model that single-handedly kept the boys and girls in Ingolstadt employed. So after two successful generations, where does Audi go with its third-gen model?
What is it?
The A4 is Audi’s entry-level sedan, and it’s totally redesigned for 2009. If you’re a few years out of college and just landed your first “real” job, this is the car Audi wants you to buy. If your last child is a few years out of college, and you can finally think about getting a nicer car without worrying about room for offspring, the A4 also may be for you.
What’s it up against?
The A4’s main competition is a familiar grouping, consisting of the BMW 3-Series and the Mercedes C-Class. Infiniti’s G37 would like some consideration, as would Cadillac’s CTS.
Any breakthroughs?
Much like the 2009 A5 we reviewed in last year, the A4 rides on Audi’s new, super flexible MLP (Modular Longitudinal Platform) chassis architecture. This platform is designed to allow the powertrain to be set farther back behind the front axle, which creates a more even weight distribution and less understeer.
Another feature we liked on the A5, Audi Drive Select, graces the dash of this ’09 A4. The steering, suspension, throttle tip-in and transmission shifts points are all adaptable to your driving style. Press dynamic and your steering and suspension firm up while your throttle and shift response get more aggressive. Hit comfort mode and you’ll receive just the opposite. Select auto mode and you’re at the mercy of the computer to decide what settings you need.
During our one-week affair with the A4, it was more than just a little impressive how comfort mode smoothed out the bumpy roads around Metro Detroit that are in such bad repair that one colleague describes them as “returning to nature.”
Audi Side Assist is Ingolstadt’s version of blind spot monitoring. Orange lights in the side mirror housing will light up to varying degrees depending on how close a car is to your rear. Generally we like the system, but on more than one occasion, Side Assist alerted us to a car in our blind spot that just wasn’t there. Our only guess is that it may have been “seeing” a snow bank two lanes to our right.
How does it look?
Some people like to say the A4 is a four-door A5. Well, no. The schnoz of the A4 is cribbed from the A5. Once past the nose, the A4 just doesn’t have the desperately beautiful, curvaceous body of the A5. That’s not to say the A4 looks dull, just not as exciting as its two-door brother.
A pair of sweeping character lines runs the length of the car, flowing from fender to fender, anchoring the artistically sculpted sheet metal. Once you reach the very rear of the A4, however, you’re again in familiar territory with an almost carbon copy of the A5’s posterior.
We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention Audi’s “angry brows,” aka LED daytime running lights. While the A5’s LEDs are strictly angular, the A4’s lights are curved. It’s still a very unique, mean design element that you won’t see anywhere else on the road. When you order your A4, don’t you dare opt for the base level, “Premium” trim or you will find yourself without the bespoke headlights.
The short and sweet version is this: They look badass.
Too bad they’ll show up on just about everything else in due time, just like the fancy interior digs that defined the A4 from the start.
And on the inside?
Audi has a long-standing tradition of clean, well-executed interiors that use high quality materials. That tradition certainly isn’t broken with the A4, and we’re not sure we need to say a lot more than that.
If you’re tired of drowning in black and aluminum interiors, opt for the lighter Cardamom Beige with Ash wood trim. With the modest aluminum trim around the dash, door panels and shifter, you’ll be breathing a sigh of relief from the status quo.
The one downside inside may be the base level seats. Comfortable? Absolutely, but something a little less flat sure would be nice. You’ll have to opt for one of the “Sport” packages or the “S-Line” package for seats you can really sink into.
But does it go?
To find out, we took the A4 a few clicks outside of Jackson, Michigan, where civilization gets sparse and the roads get curvy. A place where the scenery consists of a deer processing station, trailer parks, cows, and a correctional facility for low-risk prisoners. We’re probably lucky we didn’t end up in the latter.
Don’t let the fact that the 2.0-liter, four-cylinder, turbocharged motor in our test car is the smallest motor in the A4 lineup fool you. It’s no slouch and can still get you into trouble (the good kind.) It can also get you to 60 mph in the mid-six second range with almost no turbo lag to slow your sprint. That’s almost half a second quicker than its BMW 328i xDrive rival.
With about 99 out of every 100 A4s sold in the United States equipped with the 2.0T, it’s no shock that Audi decided to can the V6 option, at least until a direct-injected version arrives.
Another reason you might go for the 2.0T instead of the V6 is the smaller motor’s 258 lb-ft. of torque, a number slightly, and surprisingly, higher than the V6’s 243 lb-ft. rating. Don’t forget that this turbo 2.0 is also a very tunable, mod-friendly platform for those so-inclined.
The smaller engine also means less weight hanging over the front of the car, which, in turn, means more precise handling and less understeer.
That is not to say that understeer has been eliminated completely. It did pop up a few times, though to be fair, on the most offensive occasion, my corner entry speed was a little, let’s say, optimistic. Even then a quick dab of brake brought everything back in line quickly.
While it was nice to have Audi Drive Select onboard this A4, we definitely missed the firmer, sport suspension from the S-Line package we experienced on the A5. Body roll was a little more prevalent than we would have liked. On the brighter side, turn-in still feels sharp and Quattro all-wheel-drive inspires confidence when bolting from the corner exit.
Audi’s six-speed Tiptronic transmission still gets the job done with smooth, fairly quick shifts, though, we feel like it’s getting a little long in the tooth. It’s not that it performs poorly, but it could be faster. A week before driving the A4, a Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart, with its TC-SST transmission, was in this writer’s driveway. If a $27,000 Ralliart can have a far superior dual clutch transmission, why can’t this $46,675 Audi have one?
Why you would buy it:
The LED daytime running lights sucked you in and it’s faster than the BMW 328i xDrive and probably better looking. Opt for the 2.0T, toss in an engine ECU re-map or chip, and you’ll be making power well above spec. We’re not responsible for warranty glitches, of course.
Why you wouldn’t:
To many buyers, the A4 is a lot of coin for a four-banger. Go easy on those options.
Leftlane’s bottom line
Though it has grown in size and price, the third-generation A4 is a worthy successor to the car that helped get Audi back on its feet. Though our tester was equipped more like a luxo-barge than a sports sedan, it’s impossible to ignore the corner-hugging soul that seems built into the A4. You can’t go wrong here.
2009 Audi A4 Sedan 2.0 T quattro Tiptronic base price, $32,700. As tested, $46,675.
Prestige package, $7,300; Audi Drive Select, $2,950; Navigation, $2,500; Ash Almond Beige wood inlays, $400; Destination, $825.
Words and photos by Chris Doane.
04/30, 5:41 PM
posted by:
Nesodian
Great car, but I have owned two Audi’s and I know better than to buy another. I had horrible buying and owning experiences. I ran back to Infiniti and am much happier, even though I prefer Audi’s styling.
04/30, 6:32 PM
posted by:
shane train
I just can’t put the words “entry level” anywhere near a 30,000 dollar car. You can get a car that’s a few years old with leather, a sunroof, a good engine, etc. etc. etc. for under 10 grand and enjoy what is truly entry level luxury: pre owned luxury.
If you just got out of college and Audi wants you to buy this car, they must be forgetting that college is that place you leave swimming in debt.
04/30, 6:55 PM
posted by:
lyndon_h
This car costs more than my 335 3series which has lots more HP and torque. Audi’s prices are too high.
04/30, 7:19 PM
posted by:
Fromes
46 grand? uh…no thank you
04/30, 7:59 PM
posted by:
Other Man
A good car for sure, but it ought to have the 300 hp blown V-6 for that price.
The last few years Audi has been getting quite greedy at the cash register.
04/30, 8:14 PM
posted by:
MJvwGTI
$46k?!!!!??! nice car, but what is with German cars and their options list? does the base model just come with anything? or are engine, wheels, tires, seats options too?!
04/30, 9:40 PM
posted by:
Borat
Navigation for 2500 is insane, but even at 44 large it is not cheap. After all it is the same motor and gearbox as in GTI for 20 less.
04/30, 9:49 PM
posted by:
Architect
I very much like Audi’s, and owned a ‘98 A4 1.8T before my now ‘06 BMW 330i – in fact, I had more affinity for the A4 at the time than I do my current 330i.
But, there’s now way around this: 44 large is ridiculous for this vehicle. My 330i was $42K and my ‘98 (admittedly, 10 years ago) A4 1.8T was ONLY $26K…which was a deal at that time (in my opinion).
No way on God’s green earth would I buy this over a BMW 335i at a similar price point, much less MORE than the BMW.
04/30, 11:18 PM
posted by:
olds307
The cheapest Korean car is better than this junk.
04/30, 11:32 PM
posted by:
Veda
Yea very nice but expensive options. Way better than the current C Class and 3 series. I know I currently own a few of them…
04/30, 11:45 PM
posted by:
cocojoe53
Nice, but just way overpriced.
05/01, 12:09 AM
posted by:
idrinorbarsaku
driving this car on city streets and in town or the valley is more enjoyable than the 3 series or the c-class. Well done AUDI!!
05/01, 2:13 AM
posted by:
buytheredcar
After seeing the A5, i had high hopes for the styling of the new A4.
I have to say, its alittle disapointing.
The previous model looks more refined.
05/01, 8:37 AM
posted by:
A4
Borat…. this gearbox is not in the GTI, the GTI has DSG and this is Tiptronic. Which almost makes the price even more baffling. I love these cars but for that price who wouldnt get an S4?
05/01, 8:41 AM
posted by:
A4
One of the most alluring features of the A4 was that you could get an all wheel drive luxury sports sedan for under $30k, and now theyre pricing it up with BMW’s. If im going to spend $40k on a sports sedan they better make it push out the 265hp it does in the S3. I dont want to go chipping it and voiding my warranty, and i dont want to build the engine myself.
05/01, 9:35 AM
posted by:
jimbocardude2
i love those led headlights, except when the blinkers are on =(
05/01, 9:55 AM
posted by:
idrinorbarsaku
A lot of you are saying that this is expensive, which is true, but, the majority of new a4’s are leased not sold. Then they buy them when they are used. Considering a loaded a4 with a price of 44490 leases at only 399 with 3499 down, that’s a pretty good deal!!! at least at my audi dealer it is like that.
05/01, 10:01 AM
posted by:
idrinorbarsaku
and don’t forget, this has options that the 3series doesnt have. And this is a nice fact, the average a4 that is sold/leased caaries a price tag of around 33xxx- 36xxx
05/01, 10:05 AM
posted by:
Borat
idrinorbarsaku, all Teutonic cars were leased (90% I guess). But cost of lease (in theory I know, I leased and theory was not working) the difference between new car price(sticker in 95%) and projected price after end of the lease plus financing and processing cost. All German brands were expecting high residual and in real life it wasn’t that high and they all lost their arses in the process. Now they don’t lease that eagerly or so cheaply. At least not to secretaries.
05/01, 10:35 AM
posted by:
idrinorbarsaku
borat, i guess i agree with you… who cares if they miscalculated on lease residual and what not, it is our money and we will spend it on whatever float our boat…not theirs!
05/01, 11:23 AM
posted by:
TornadoGTI
I have a lot of experience with Audi and I have never seen one this expensive on the lots. This is a 2.0T Presige w/ navigation and practically every other option available. The Premium trim starts under $35k and the Premium Plus starts un $38k. Those are far more popular than the Presige. Also, for 2010, since they are getting rid of the 3.2l, they are changing the option/packaging structure on these cars. Yes for $45k+ this car is expensive, for $38k-$40k, it is un beatable in aspect, by its competition, as far as I am concerned.
You people are comparing the price to your 3-series and C-class’ yet I am willing to bet that less than 20% of those cars sold have AWD. Even here in Michigan they are rare to come by. AWD on both of those cars adds $2k. For those of you with 3-series, to say that this is overpriced. You are nuts. 3-series offer leather seats as an option…an option for leather seats in a $35k+ car. Leatherette just doesn’t cut it. Power seats and xenon headlights are options as well. Both standard on the Audi. C-Class has the option of a 6-disc cd player for $450.
My point is that the Audi IS expensive but it is equipped accordingly. This one tested even has the fabulous Band and Olufsen sound system. Wait a year and a bigger engine will be sure to come along.
I LOVE THIS CAR if you didn’t notice. Not packaged just like this but the A4 is a great car. Performance of a 6, efficiency of a 4. Sexxy inside and out. Sign me up.
05/01, 3:08 PM
posted by:
idrinorbarsaku
i think the leatherette from vw/audi is good. the ones from bmw/merc are really noticeable in looks and comfort. The previous a4 had leatherette on some a4’s, i think they should have kept it because i prefer it over real leather(only on some cars though)….it never cracks or gets that old worn leather look. but, ehh whatever.
05/01, 4:07 PM
posted by:
A4
TornadoGTI, Xenon headlights are NOT standard equipment on the A4.
05/01, 4:09 PM
posted by:
A4
and a bigger engine wont be coming along, the bigger engine is the S4. the 2.0T is going to fill the “entry level” gap, the S4 is going to fill a more performance oriented gap with a price point just over the top end of the A4 spectrum, and then the RS4 will be the extreme performance option. Audi’s N/A V6 engines have never been anything to write home about, and they only sell about 2% of A4’s with the 3.2 currently. It is a redundant engine. At best they will offer a higher output 2.0T, but even that seems unlikely.
05/01, 4:11 PM
posted by:
A4
now just imagine how well vehicles like the Q5, A5, and A3 would sell if they were all available as 2.0T with quattro. Q5 is currently 3.2 only, A5 is going to be 2.0T with frontrak, and A3 is 2.0T with frontrak.
05/01, 4:32 PM
posted by:
Dante_JoseCuervo
I still have yet to drive one of these. My only reservation is that it looks huge for something wearing the A4 badge. I mean I can’t say how it drives but I’m thinking about test-driving one this summer (2.0T w/manual) just to see how it compares with the ‘08. I’m still kinda hung up on the bigness of the car
05/01, 7:04 PM
posted by:
A4
I wish it was smaller too. The B5 platform A4’s are still the best.
05/03, 12:29 PM
posted by:
Dante_JoseCuervo
No doubt man, no doubt. I’m gonna drive one soon though, as I’ve heard you don’t really notice the extra size.
05/06, 11:28 AM
posted by:
cameraz
I just bought one of these — my third Audi A4. The 2.0 engine is more peppy than the 3.0 six in my previous A4, and gets better gas mileage to boot. The new car also rides nicer, handles better and has great electronic features. The price was high, but worth every penny, imho.
I, too, was afraid the car was going to be too big; I preferred the size of my ‘96 (B5) A4 and was not happy when they made the ‘02 models (B6) larger. But the new A4 (B8) doesn’t feel much bigger, and it handles very nimbly. The longer wheelbase really improves the ride, also.
05/07, 6:27 PM
posted by:
krautninja
A4…i hope hope hope and prey they dont mess the A% by makin it available with fronttrak. Whatever happened to audi’s plan a couple years back to progressively move away from FWD and go strictly AWD. Back to the car, I’ve driven one, the ride is amazing, very smooth, very responsive, the understeer is noticable but is easy to overcome. yes the BMW 335 that everyone keeps comparing it to is has more grunt but the BMW more apt to battle with this is the 328 xdrive, not the 335 and by comparison this is a much better buy than the comparable bimmer and arguably better lookin. I gotta say i Love those led angry lights