Review: Audi A4

Again offered in both sedan and “Avant” station wagon versions, the midsize Audi A4 has been nicely redesigned for the 2009 model year. It’s larger and roomier than before, with stronger and more fuel efficient engines, added sophistication and fresh styling that’s highlighted by friendly looking eyebrow-shaped LED daytime running lights.

The base A4 2.0T models pack a 211-horsepower 2.0-liter turbocharged inline four-cylinder engine that delivers strong thrust with little perceptible turbo lag (the hesitation in throttle response that affects most turbocharged powerplants), and is truly satisfying to punch hard when conditions warrant. A smoother and somewhat stronger 265-horsepower 3.2-liter V6 is also offered, though most buyers should be satisfied with the more playful standard engine.

The base sedan can be mated to either a six-speed manual or a gearless continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) that delivers manual transmission performance with the convenience of an automatic. All other variants come with a conventional six-speed automatic gearbox that operates efficiently and virtually imperceptibly.

Riding on a wheelbase that’s been stretched by six inches, the new A4’s revamped aluminum sports suspension and speed-sensitive power steering combines to provide well-balanced ride and handling characteristics that we found to be neither too soft nor too harsh, even when traversing pockmarked pavement. Audi’s “quattro” all-wheel-drive system, which is standard with the A4 3.2 sedan and optional with the 2.0T, normally splits engine power on a 40/60 front-to-rear basis for sportier rear-drive characteristics, adjusting the torque to the appropriate axle when necessary to maintain traction.

The car’s handsome and comfortable interior is reasonably roomy and whisper-quiet, even at highway speeds. A gaggle of luxury features and high-tech gizmos are offered that, when fully configured, can price the car into the stratosphere. Ours came fitted with the Audi Side Assist blind-spot detection system, which was particularly helpful in alerting us– via warning lights nestled unobtrusively into the side-view mirrors – to cars that we might not otherwise spot in the adjacent lanes just to the rear of the vehicle. Front side and side-curtain airbags that cover all outboard passengers are among the A4’s many standard features.

While the dashboard gauges are attractive and legible, the car’s center stack of controls is, lamentably, a confusing amalgam of buttons and dials that are interrelated to operating menus displayed on an LED display screen. While it’s far from being the worst multimedia control interface among luxury cars, having, let’s say, a row of preset buttons for selecting radio stations is still far easier and less distracting than having to use a knob to scroll down and select from a list of frequencies displayed on a monitor.