Audi has come up with an A team: the A4, A6 and A8–a pleasant trio of vehicles from a manufacturer that languished in the D- territory not that manyyears ago.
Rather than give up, Audi, to its credit, admitted its lineup was lackluster and set out to remake it from bottom to top–with the A6 replacing the Audi 100 in 1995, the A4 for the Audi 90 in 1996 and the A8, a top-of-the-line luxury sedan entry for 1997.
We previously tested the luxury A8 sedan (Cartalk, Nov. 10) and now have put the compact A4, with its new 1.8-liter, turbocharged 4-cylinder and 5-speed manual, through its paces.
The turbocharged version gives Audi a lower-cost member of the lineup, starting at $22,990 versus $27,430 for A4 with a 2.8-liter V-6, the only engine offered until now.
In January the 5-speed manual will join the current 5-speed automatic now on sale.
The 1.8 turbo delivers 150 h.p., versus 172 h.p. for the V-6. You don’t feel the 22 h.p. difference so much off-the-line as you do when you pull out to pass at cruising speed.
The A4 is a compact that defines what folks mean when they refer to a European car. The suspension is a bit stiff and firm, built for handling twisting roads more than cushy rides on long, straight stretches of pavement. The A4 is more in tune with merging onto or off the ramp at speed with minimumlean or sway. Call it a driver’s car.
We tested the A4 in quattro, or all-wheel-drive, the optimum road handler, which adds $1,600 to the base price and a whole lot of enjoyment to your motoring pleasure, especially in the Snow Belt.
