Introduction
Audi A4
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Since its introduction in 1996, the
Audi A4 has offered prospective buyers smooth European style and luxury, mixed with quick acceleration and wonderful top end capability. Thanks to decades of experience in on and off road racing, the A4 cannot only give the driver the feel of a high performance car on an autobahn type surface, but it can handle the curves as well as any luxury performance sedan in the world market. The A4 has always been a great car for cruising at high speeds down a country road on a warm summer day, but come winter time that same country road, covered with snow presents little challenge thanks in part to the Quattro all-wheel drive option. Throughout its history, the A4 has displayed amazing versatility, serving as a comfortable family sedan with sure footedness and top notch safety, or a weekend toy to take to a road course or drag strip, and when those features are added to the overall build and material quality of the A4, as well as the other Audi models, most perspective buyers are hard pressed to find an owner who has been unhappy with just about any aspect of his or her Audi A4. The constant question with most vehicles is, why not do this or that, but with the A4 line, it is more of a question of what else can be changed to make this great car better?. Well, with the newest member of the A4 lineup, the B7, Audi has shown the world exactly how to improve on perfection.
Exterior
While being about 38 millimeters longer, the general shape of the B7 has remained the same as the B6, the biggest noticeable change from the B6 is the new, larger, chrome laden trapezoid shaped grille, which will be working its way onto all of the new Audi products. The back end has also gotten a bit of a minor face lift. The tail lights have been lengthened a bit, giving the back of the car a bit of a wider look, which Audi describes as being "more muscular" looking. The sides of the car have been modified slightly toward a more European, angular look, which has quickly become the trend among the BMW models, and Audi has followed suit with an angled body line that runs from along the near-top of the fenders and doors. One of the most commonly quickly changed features of the B6 after purchase was the valance and lower fascia area which had been in molded black over the past few years, but now come in matching body color on the new A4, which gives the car a cleaner, classier look. Speaking of the bottom of the car, three wheel options are available on the new B7 A4. A standard base model 16" wheel is available with an all season tires, but Audi has focused its efforts more on the higher two wheel options. The first of them is a seventeen inch five-spoke aluminum wheel wrapped in 235/45r17 Pirelli P6 all-weather tires, which come with the non-sport suspension, and on the sport models, a seventeen inch split five-spoke aluminum wheel fitted with 235/45zR17 Dunlop SP Sport Maxx High Performance Tires. To light the way ahead of the new B7, the A4 comes with non-xenon headlamps, equipped with daytime running lights, with a switch to control their function. However, the daytime running lights are only available on American and Canadian models, and the control switch is only available on the American models. Also available on the new A4 are bi-xenon headlights, with the key feature of these headlights being their ability to turn around corners as the drivers turns the wheel, which is another feature that is very popular on many of the luxury class sedans in the European market. There has been a broadening of sorts in the colors available with Arctic White, Light Silver Metallic, Quartz Grey Metallic, Dolphin Grey Metallic, Dakar Beige Metallic, Cambridge Green Pearl, Liquid Blue Metallic, Ocean Blue Pearl, Moro Blue Pearl, Brilliant Black, and Brilliant Red. However, any color in the factory Audi spectrum can be ordered by the customer if these colors are not enough, at an additional cost of roughly twenty-five hundred dollars.
Audi A4
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Audi A4
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Handling
The new B7 A4 offers two different suspension setups; the sport package and the non-sport package, and Audi plans on a 50% take rate of either package. Suspension items have been taken from prior model A6s and S4s, but the design itself is completely redesigned from the B6 models. The non-sport package offers a smooth ride and sporty handling, and for the average driver, this package will seem like a huge step up from most cars in the market, but for the sports car enthusiast who intends to push his or her new A4 to the limit, we strongly recommend the sport suspension which is over twenty five percent stiffer, and allows the car to sit almost a full inch lower to the ground. The new suspension setup utilizes a four link setup in the front and self tracking trapezoidal link rear suspension, which is a fully revamped version of the older S4 suspension setup, and the larger shock absorbers from the
A6 line. The new B7 also comes with a cleaned up steering system, because in the past drivers have complained of sloppy steering, but with the new Servotronic steering system, all of these complaints should be put to rest. To assist this new steering and suspension setup, the new A4 comes packed full of electronic goodies such as ESP8 which is the latest version of their electronic stabilization control. This system works by means of the ABS braking system with electronic brake force distribution and hydraulic brake assist, which automatically increases braking pressure as the brakes are applied under hard cornering and braking, or under emergency braking. This new ESP8 also features a rotor wiping system which, when driving in wet conditions, rests the pads briefly to remove moisture from the rotors in case of the need for a sudden stop. The new A4 also features ASR, which is their traction control system, which can be disengaged in two modes. One push of the ESP button will disable the traction control for a brief time, and a longer push of the button with disable it until it is reactivated. All of these features work in conjunction with the new brake setup, which is enlarged and streamlined over the B6 A4 setup.
Interior
Audi A4 Interior
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The interior of the new B7 A4, while having the same general look and feel as the B6, has some subtle changes to something that owners have not always liked in the past. With the location of the cup holders in the B6, near the top of the dash, an overfilled drink could often end up as dressing for the dash face. So to fix that issue, the cup holders have been moved to an enlarged center console, flanking the emergency brake handle. Another issue addressed by Audi with this new line was the fact that in the previous model A4, the 1.8T model offered a brushed aluminum trim line around the inside of the car, whereas in the V6 model, the aluminum look was not available, and
only a wood inlay could be ordered. In the new B7, that aluminum trim can be ordered in either model, as can the wood trim, which now comes in either dark walnut or vavona. The B7 offers a navigation system comes with a retractable screen, and behind that screen, two auxiliary inputs, which allow the stereo system to be fully MP3 compatible. The A4s that are equipped with the Navigation system have a glove box mounted compact disc changer, where the non-navigation system A4s have an in-dash changer. The new A4 stereo system is also adaptable for Sirius and XM compatibility. The new B7 A4 also features a new soft blue gauge face color, which is also new. The interior itself is similar to that of the B6 A4, offering the same feel of complete Audi luxury that the affordable A4 has been known for now for almost ten years. Power express front windows and cruise control help to keep the driver comfortable and focused on the road for long trips, and plush leather seats with power controls are, as always, offered on this new A4, and quick catch three point safety belts help to keep the driver and passenger in those plush seats should there be an emergency stopping
maneuver or accident. Also to keep everyone safe in the case of an accident, driver and passenger side airbags keep the front riders away from the dash and windshield, which has become another standard feature in the Audi lineup.
Longevity
As with all of their vehicles, Audi stands tall behind their vehicles. Along with the drivetrain warranty, basic wear items are covered for six months should anything not be just right from the factory. The actual braking components can be replaced free of charge once during the four year fifty thousand mile warranty coverage period. Pads will be replaced during a checkup if they are below five millimeters of friction material, and the rotors can be replaced if they should happen to be less than a half a millimeter over the minimum micrometer specification. However, the rotors are not covered free of charge in the event of metal to metal contact with a completely worn out brake pad. Also, any damage to the braking system that may occur due to vehicle abuse or misuse, or anything that occurs in a racing event, such as road course racing where the brakes are heavily used, is grounds for refusal of free service or replacement of worn items.
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Audi A4
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Audi A4
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Powertrain
The new B7 has gone to what every performance car driver thinks about and added more: horsepower. A newly designed 2.0 liter turbocharged FSI (Fuel Straight Injection) engine replaces the previous 1.8 liter turbocharged engine of the B6 A4, and in doing so, adding thirty more horsepower and forty-one ft/lb of torque, giving it two hundred horsepower and two hundred and seven ft/lb of torque. The new turbocharged engine features an added intercooler, stowed away behind the lower grille sections. These additions and upgrades to the previous A4 have helped to boost the zero to sixty mph time to 7.2 seconds. This stout little 4 cylinder is the base model engine in the B7, with a naturally aspirated 3.2 liter FSI V6 being offered as an upgrade, with this larger engine boasting an impressive two hundred and fifty-five horsepower and two hundred and forty-three ft/lb of torque. This new V6 pushes the new A4 from zero to sixty in roughly six and a half seconds. Both of these new engines have seen a pair of changes in engine technology; a change in the oiling system, and a change in the fuel system. The oiling system change is a minor one, with both of the new engines now using an exposed element filter, and the system is now emptied by a drain valve, which requires a special tool, so dealership oil changes ay become the norm for new A4 owners. The fuel system change is the major change, with a type of direct cylinder injection, as opposed to an injection system where it is injected above the valves, and the fuel enters with the air flow, on the new 2.0 liter engine. The fuel lines run low through the engine compartment, and the system contains no fuel return lines, and because of that vapor lock issues are more likely to arise. To help assist with this possible problem, the B7 A4 fuel system primes itself for firing as soon as the drivers door is opened, instead of when the key is turned. This also aides in a quicker start and less drain on the battery over the life of the car. Audi has done with the old five speed manual transmission
in the B7 A4, and the 2.0 liter engine comes with a six speed manual transmission or a six speed Tiptronic automatic transmission. The 3.2 liter model will offer the manual later in the year, and comes standard with the six speed automatic upon its market release.
Summary
So, the question, "what else can be changed to make this great car better?" has been answered just how every sports car enthusiast has hoped. Bigger engines, more horsepower, a six speed transmission, tighter, lower suspension, and a cleaner steering system make this car a dream come true for everyone who ever wanted a luxury sedan with race track quality performance, and when combined with the refined interior and slightly redesigned exterior giving the new B7 even more comfort and style, the new A4 is truly a car which stands out in its class, and others both in Europe and in the United States. Whether you want to have a car that will impress your coworkers on the way to an off-site business meeting, or impress your buddies (or just leave them in the dust) at the drag strip, the all new Audi B7 A4 is the luxury sedan for you.
