First Drive: 2009 Audi A4

Audi invited us to Elkhart Lake, Wis., this past weekend to check out the American Le Mans series at Road America on Saturday. (Ingolstadt, Germany’s, two R10 racecars ended up clinching a one-two finish, incidentally.) Oh, there was also a new 2009 A4 on hand to drive around local roads all day — a European version, to be sure, but aside from a few cosmetic changes, it’s mechanically identical to the one hitting U.S. showrooms this fall. 

Drive we did. A full review is in the works, but at first blush the redesigned A4 is worth a look in a segment jam-packed with excellent cars. It isn’t as dynamic at the limits as a BMW 3 Series or an Infiniti G35, but for most people it certainly ought to be playful enough — and as a daily driver it stands out above both.

We’ll post a full gallery shortly, but suffice it to say the A4 doesn’t look radically different from its predecessor. It’s significantly larger but retains the same mammoth grille and clean side profile. The headlights drop last year’s scalloped frames for a more consolidated design, but there’s now a strand of optional LEDs that snakes its way around the main bezels and ends at the inboard turn signals. Wicked cool.

Inside, the wraparound dashboard looks similar to that of the related A5/S5 coupe. Even in our all-black test car, the cabin felt warm — certainly a step beyond the 3 Series or Mercedes C-Class – and considering the fact that German sport sedans do inviting interiors like Kevin Costner does acting, it’s nice to see Audi take the lead. The company’s MMI system is standard. It works a screen that sits top and center in the dash, and if you have to go the knob-based route, this works eminently better than BMW’s iDrive. There are plenty of shortcut buttons, and I found the well-marked “return” key especially helpful for undoing some of my mistakes.

General control quality is not as impressive — and yes, I’m in the minority of auto writers who think this. I like my buttons to have a solid, cushioned feel — like you’ll find in most Acura and Lexus models — and finish quality notwithstanding, Audi’s often feel brittle.

I had no such beef with the drivetrain. Our test car had a 265-hp V-6, a six-speed auto and Quattro AWD; there’s also a 211-hp turbo four with a stick or automatic, which Audi says will make up the majority of sales. The six puts out decent power, though it’s more in the realm of Cadillac’s direct-injection CTS than a 335i or G35 — to wit, it’s quick but not exhilarating. Power builds progressively, and north of 4,000 rpm the engine sounds terrific.

Our tester had a new Audi Drive Select program that alters suspension, steering and drivetrain settings from comfortable to sporty levels. It’s the sort of feature many competitors confine to their high-performance variants. In the most aggressive setting, ADS gives the A4 a playful character, but the car still lacks the outright balance of a 3 Series or G. The steering cooperates nicely in tight corners, but the chassis feels noticeably nose-heavy, so the front wheels easily kick wide while the rears stubbornly hold the line. All told, the A4 feels more balanced than the new Acura TSX, but that’s faint praise at best.

Here’s real praise: Many sport sedans stick you with cramped seats, Lilliputian cargo areas, subpar gas mileage and convoluted electronics. The new A4 doesn’t. Its trunk is Buick Lucerne-sized, and the folding backseat is executed better than most family cars’. Four adults could fit comfortably, and the four-cylinder is the only one among the immediate competition that’s capable of 30 mpg on the highway. (Caveat: It recommends premium, but so does almost everything else.) All things considered, that puts it easily back in the running.

Stay tuned — we shot a couple videos of the car that we’ll post later this week.