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IT’S A snub-nosed car that looks part thug, part poet. It’s the 1996 Audi A4, a rapmobile par excellence.

Of course, Audi doesn’t describe the A4 that way. The company’s publicists use terms such as “flowing wedge profile” about their latest creation. They really mean “hip.”

Consider the A4’s Teutonic rivals, the BMW 325i and the C-class Mercedes-Benz models. All are excellent cars — all stylistically acceptable. But none ventures into the arena of hipness. In terms of design, they are frozen fish.

The A4, by comparison, is a hot number. Its shortened front end is a muscular work that conjures images of barrel-chested, open-collared dudes struttin’ their stuff in a bar on Saturday night. People, blue collars and pin-stripers alike, stopped me to ask about the car. They gave thumbs-up signs by the dozens.

One fellow summed up the A4’s appeal: “It’s funky, man; really funky.” Hmph. It’s Germany’s version of blue-eyed soul.

Background: Ford Motor Co. did it in the United States. Now Audi has done it in Europe. Ford once marched lockstep with General Motors and Chrysler Corp. Audi so slavishly copied BMW and Mercedes-Benz, it was hard to give Audi any positive attention.

But like Ford, Audi decided to improve its chances for survival by doing something different. Ford did it by inventing and reinventing its Taurus and Sable family sedans. Audi has done it by replacing its step-above-ho-hum Audi 90 sedan with the A4.

The A4’s exterior speaks volumes — a low-slung, muscular body with a flippant tail that incorporates the function of a rear-deck air spoiler without actually sticking one of those goofy, wing-like appendages atop the trunk lid. The interior is equally competent — simple, commodious (a wide cabin that seats five adults comfortably), fun, highlighted by a well-designed dashboard and floor-mounted center console and an affection for things real, such as genuine walnut wood trim.

There’salso 13.7-feet of trunk space, enough to accommodate four large soft pieces of luggage and some smaller crushable stuff.

Technically Audi seems to have found the perfect compromise between a sports car ride and a limousine ride. Credit the multi-link suspension system — including a four-link suspension up front. The suspension allows the front-wheel-drive A4 to float into curves sans wiggle, wobble or race-car-you-gotta-control-this-baby histrionics.

The A4 is equipped with a V-6 engine rated 172 horsepower at 5,500 rpm with max torque set at 184 pound-feet at 3,000 rpm. Standard brakes include power ventilated front discs/solid rear discs, with four-wheel anti-lock backup (Audi’s ABS 5 system). A five-speed manual transmission is standard. A five-speed automatic — that’s right, five-speed automatic — is optional.

Other standard equipment includes dual-front air bags, eight-way power driver’s seat with lumbar support and an automatic air conditioning/hea ting system.

Front-wheel-drive A4 models (“A” for Audi and “4” designating Audi’s mid-size cars) are on sale in the United States. A four-wheel-drive A4 will go on sale later this fall.

Complaints: See mileage note below. Other comments from A4 drivers welcome.

Praise: Finally Audi has a car that can go wheel-to-wheel with BMW and Mercedes-Benz, at least in the low-luxury (under $35,000) category.

Head-turning quotient: High-fives all the way.

Ride, acceleration and handling: Triple aces, with an ace-plus for ride, where the A4 beats the BMW 325i and the C-class Mercedes-Benz models. Ace for braking too.

Sound system: Optional Audi/Bose, eight-speaker AM/FM stereo radio and cassette with trunk-mounted, six-disc CD changer. Excellent.

Mileage: No cheers. About 22 miles per gallon (16.4-gallon tank, estimated 350-mile range on usable volume of recommended 91-octane unleaded), running combined city/highway, mostly driver only, with lugga e weighing 135 pounds. Please note that the A4 engine can also run on less-expensive 87-octane gasoline.

Price: Base price on the tested front-wheel-drive A4 is $26,500. Estimated dealer invoice on base model is $23,400. Price as tested is $31,455, including $4,480 in options (Kodiak leather seats, automatic transmission, sunroof, top-line stereo, special “anthracite” paint job) and a $475 destination charge.

Purse-strings note: Compare with BMW 325i, C-class Mercedes-Benz, Lexus ES300, Mazda Millenia, the 1996 Acura TL series, Oldsmobile Aurora, Oldsmobile LSS, Buick Riviera, Chrysler Concorde, 1996 Ford Taurus SHO.