Don’t tell them its little secret

by Barclay Nelson

Here’s another luxury option for the urban wagonette consumer.  The Audi A4 is similar to the Audi A3 but is about 2 feet longer (more storage space), has updated engineering and is a little more expensive.  The A4 comes in two body styles, a sedan and a wagon.  Anyway, the 2009 A4 has more power (211 horsepower) and somehow gets better fuel economy than its predecessor.  Gas mileage is a reasonable 21/27 city/hwy.  I drove and reviewed the wagon, called the A4-Avant, which has a 2.0 liter, 4 cylinder, turbocharged engine with an automatic transmission.  You’ll pay about $31,000 for a reasonably equipped model. 

The exterior has an understated elegance.  I like the look of the wagon even better than sedan.  The interior is Louis Vitton all the way.  The seats struck a great balance between comfy and supportive.  Lots of brushed aluminum inlays, wood grain, and spaciousness as well as great rear seat legroom.  There are plenty of cupholders, trays and storage compartments.  The Open Sky Sunroof is amazing, it’s huge; it’s twice the size of a normal sunroof.  It has a standard sized sunroof with a second non opening window that let’s in a lot of light. You may have seen the cool LED daytime wavy front lights on new Audi’s, they’re very cool, very distinctive but you have to get the premium plus package to get them.

I loved the way this car drove.  For all it’s subtle beauty it’s, and here’s the little secret, it’s really fast.  When you want it to, it just accelerates and corners like a sports car.  The transmission was even smoother than the A3.  It simultaneously achieves power and impalpable smoothness.  This smooth power delivery was in part due to the Quattro all wheel drive system which is standard on all A4 Avants. 

A lot of the optional features in the last generation are now standard.

Some noteworthy standard features include:

• All wheel drive
• 8 way adjustable power front seats
• Sunroof
• MMI, onboard computer system displaying radio, temp and car controls
• Leather seats and steering wheel with steering wheel controls
• Speed sensitive power steering

There are lots of premium options that are optional to all packages or that are bundled into packages called premium, premium plus and prestige packages. 

Some noteworthy optional features include:

• Open Sky Sunroof
• Bluetooth connectivity and Homelink universal garage opener
• Heated seats, mirrors and wipers
• LED daytime running lights
• Navigation system with rear camera
• Adaptive cruise control

All Audi’s are safety superheroes.  The A4 gets the highest ratings (5 stars) in all safety categories in both the US and Europe. 

Standard safety features include:

• Tire pressure monitoring and ABS
• Wet weather brake disc wiping and brake assist
• 3 airbag systems (6 airbags) for driver and front passenger
• Electronic traction stability control
• Electromechanical parking brake
• Rear door reflectors

You can get additional safety options like a rear camera, rear airbags, slide assist, parking assist and light sensitive headlights as well.

If you can afford it, you’ll love this car.  Luxury, versatility that performs like a sports car (shhh don’t tell it’s little secret).    For more information visit http://www.audiusa.com/us/brand/en/models/a4_sedan.html.

Barclay Nelson is a Financial Marketing & Research Consultant that likes to test drive cars and write about them when he’s not working, fly fishing or smoking cigars.