RE: Audi A4 revealed

Monday 29th June 2015

New Audi A4 revealed

Coming soon to a fast lane near you...



To spend hundreds of millions of Euros engineering a car that looks so similar to the outgoing model is a sign of either crushing arrogance of extreme confidence.

But that's what's happened with the new, fifth-generation Audi A4 - with design changes showing all the evolutionary development you could expect to find taking place in a pond over lunchtime. Even existing A4 owners are going to have to work hard to spot the difference from what, we're assured, is an all-new car rather than a facelift.

That background really isn't helping
That background really isn't helping
But as the current 'B8' generation is still selling strongly, seven years after its introduction, Audi is probably onto something. And with the new car gaining more kit, the predictable cut in CO2 emissions and a far nicer cabin, it looks set to continue with business as usual.

Panel gaps are fetishistically tight - at the front the bonnet is a single clamshell, one of the biggest and most complicated metal stampings ever fitted to a production car. It's super slippery too, with a coefficient of drag of just 0.23 for the saloon (better even than the supremely aerodynamic C-Class). It's fractionally bigger than the old car in every key dimension apart from height - which is unchanged - but Audi says it is up to 120kg lighter through the use of high-strength steel and various aluminium panels, including the roof.

We've only got details of the bottom end of the engine range at the moment, and although the A4 has been bit by some predictable downsizing it hasn't followed the BMW 3-Series in to three-cylinder engines. The entry-level petrol motor will be a 1.4-litre four-cylinder TFSI turbo with 148hp and an 8.9-second 0-62mph time. It scores 57.7mpg and 114g/km on the official EUDC economy test.

More palatable than the crossovers at least
More palatable than the crossovers at least
Above that are two 2.0-litre TFSI fours in 187hp and 247hp states of tune, leaving plenty of room clear for more powerful versions to follow - there will be no six-cylinder petrol engines at launch. Diesels are all familiar, with a 2.0-litre TDI four-cylinder in 148hp and 187hp versions, the former also available in 'Ultra' tune which delivers CO2 emissions of just 95g/km; the lowest in the segment.

At the top of the pile sits a 3.0-litre V6 TDI diesel which, as in the A6, comes in two states of tune - 218hp and 272hp, with the brawnier of these being the only version to have four-wheel drive as standard. Quattro is also available as an option with the more powerful four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines. A six-speed manual 'box is standard on all of the four-pots, with the auto option now being an S-Tronic branded twin-clutcher; goodbye, CVT - you won't be missed! The 272hp V6 TDI has an eight-speed torque converter auto as standard.

The interior gets TFT instruments like the new TT and R8, and what looks to be a very classy cabin (certainly in the range-topping form the images represent.) Underneath the chassis has been redesigned with aluminium links and a new back axle, but one worrying mention in the press kit is the standard fitment of speed-sensitive electric power steering. It's not like Audi has a great record when it comes to making A4s deliver meaningful feedback and that sounds like a recipe for a proper PlayStation rack.

The new A4 makes its official debut at the Frankfurt show in September, and we'll bring you more details and pricing closer to it going on sale here after that.





Author
Discussion

gcpeters

Original Poster:

984 posts

238 months

Monday 29th June 2015
quotequote all
Did they just copy and paste that interior straight from the new 3 series?!


underphil

1,251 posts

216 months

Monday 29th June 2015
quotequote all
.

smithyithy

7,450 posts

124 months

Monday 29th June 2015
quotequote all
I really can't like those new displays that look like a tablet mounted to the dash, much prefer ones that are either fully integrated or that flip up/out.

Edited by smithyithy on Monday 29th June 12:32

GTEYE

2,153 posts

216 months

Monday 29th June 2015
quotequote all
Predictable, and tidy, but it was always going to be that way.

Love them or loathe them, Audi presumably know exactly what their customers want - and if the current one is still selling strongly, you can see why they've done what they've done - but if they could only have been 2% more adventurous.

I'm sure PH will certainly give it a pasting though.

QuattroDave

1,561 posts

134 months

Monday 29th June 2015
quotequote all
gcpeters said:
Did they just copy and paste that interior straight from the new 3 series?!
They've invested massive amounts time and money and really honed their skills in the photocopying department so it would be an opportunity missed not to utilise those resources on the interior also!

I know all the large german manufacturers have very similar looking cars across the range but Audi really has taken the point of brand identity through looking exactly the same too far now.

Of my 35 cars (and counting) 17 have been Audi's of various types but I won't be buying another one new or used for a long time until their models become a little more inspiring to look at and drive.

PhantomPH

4,043 posts

231 months

Monday 29th June 2015
quotequote all
As an Audi owner...ah screw it...I can't even be bothered to finish that comment. That thing just sent me to sleep...

fathomfive

10,141 posts

196 months

Monday 29th June 2015
quotequote all
I'm not sure the gear lever is quite big enough.

Jam12321

164 posts

116 months

Monday 29th June 2015
quotequote all
Wow thats er..... the same. Well done Audi, been meeting with the Porsche design department a bit too much have we??

RGambo

861 posts

175 months

Monday 29th June 2015
quotequote all
PhantomPH said:
As an Audi owner...ah screw it...I can't even be bothered to finish that comment. That thing just sent me to sleep...
+1

confused_buyer

6,752 posts

187 months

Monday 29th June 2015
quotequote all
Surely this is the 4th generation, not the 5th? Or have I completely missed one all together (very easy to do).


EricE

1,945 posts

135 months

Monday 29th June 2015
quotequote all
I don't think I would notice the new model if it drive past me on the road today. Porsche facelifts are visually more progressive than Audi generation changes at this point. The car hasn't even launched and already looks extremely dated to me. Is the generation really supposed to last another 8 years?

Edited by EricE on Monday 29th June 12:34

Dion20vt

252 posts

168 months

Monday 29th June 2015
quotequote all
dull... But it'll sell millions!

justboxsters

135 posts

172 months

Monday 29th June 2015
quotequote all
I HATE STICK ON IPADS

STOP IT, STOP IT, STOP IT, STOP IT, STOP IT, STOP IT, STOP IT!

Nors

1,291 posts

161 months

Monday 29th June 2015
quotequote all
So, bigger again!!! How long before we have to rent a football pitch to park these 'mid' sized cars!

Another incarnation of the A4 I'll be by-passing. I'll stick with the smaller D3 A8.

delta0

2,387 posts

112 months

Monday 29th June 2015
quotequote all
They've been needing a new A4 for a while. They've been building the last one since the 90s. When will the photos in the article be updated to show the new one?

DeltonaS

3,707 posts

144 months

Monday 29th June 2015
quotequote all

Seems Audi have prolonged their contract with Xerox successfully......

Can't imagine buyers of what the German manufacturers so fondly call; "premium cars", will accept the ever similar designs and hardware accross all of their covered segments. Theirs nothing "premium" about it.

Engines, gearboxes, platforms, interiors, hardware, design, inert steering and suspension, wether it's a Skoda, VW, Seat, Audi; it's all the same. The only difference nowadays seems the size of the car and the plastics used for the interior.

Nors

1,291 posts

161 months

Monday 29th June 2015
quotequote all
justboxsters said:
I HATE STICK ON IPADS

STOP IT, STOP IT, STOP IT, STOP IT, STOP IT, STOP IT, STOP IT!
+1. How tacky and cheap looking.

Megaflow

9,876 posts

231 months

Monday 29th June 2015
quotequote all
Whilst I sure it wi................................. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Fetchez la vache

5,629 posts

220 months

Monday 29th June 2015
quotequote all
I can't see what you're all moaning about.
From the outside, it's blatantly obvious that they've upped the blandness a little bit.

court

1,489 posts

222 months

Monday 29th June 2015
quotequote all
Are we sure the tablet is stuck there? With all the info in the cluster already shirley this has to be a retractable device?