Driving Impressions

On the road, you can still feel the underlying Teutonic firmness, but there's enough resilience to iron out most of the nasty little lumps and bumps that can make routine driving unpleasant. The plus that goes with firm suspension is reduced body roll and weight transfer in quick maneuvers, which adds up to good control. Precise steering enhances a driver's sense of control in any car, and the A4's power rack and pinion steering gear is better than most. Like so many power steering units offered today, it has variable assist--the amount of power assist decreases as speed increases, enhancing the driver's sense of road feel. Unlike most variable assist setups, however, the A4's level of steering assist at low speed doesn't overpower feel. The driver still gets tactile information from the steering wheel even at parking lot speeds, and it's devoid of on-center numbness. The action of the 5-speed manual transmission doesn't get the same kind of marks. Engagements are generally crisp and positive, but getting the car into reverse requires the driver to squash down on the top of the lever before making the throw, and the whole mechanism feels stiff on winter mornings. Audi offers an optional 5-speed automatic in the A4, and it's a dandy. Although a manual transmission will always make the most of available engine power, the tradeoff with this automatic is minimal. It even delivers an extra mile per gallon in highway cruising. Which brings us to the subject of available engine power. The A4's 172-hp 2.8-liter single overhead cam V6 engine, which is also used in the bigger A6 sedan, is long on manners with its smooth, quiet operating traits. But as suggested at the top, it's not the kind of engine that sends a driver's pulse rate soaring when he or she wants to make a quick exit. Real urgency doesn't seem to occur until the tachometer needle hits 4500 rpm. Audi will add a neat little 20-valve 4-cyl. turbo--that's right, five valves per cylinder--to the A4's North American powertrain inventory late this year, but its main impact will be to lower the car's base price rather than its zero-to-60 times. Even with a turbocharger, the 4-cyl. engine makes only 150 horsepower, so the V6 will continue to be the hottest setup, and zero-to-60 will continue to take about eight seconds, which is not exactly sluggish.

Final Word

The A4 is a key player in Audi's effort to revive its fortunes in the North American market, and that TV ad calls it a "stunning achievement in German engineering." Again, that's a little bit of a stretch. But even so, the A4 looks very much like a winner.