This is the all-new Audi A4 (yes, really)
Newswheel staff :: 30 August 2007 :: Filed under Saloon, Audi, Audi A4, Europe & UK
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Ahh yes, that's rather familiar…
OK, the A4 is the meat and potatoes of the Audi’s saloon-car range. And the existing A4 has been doing roaring business. So, you can forgive Audi up to a point for hedging its stylistic bets with the all-new A4, revealed for the first time today. But it really is spectacularly unadventurous…
In the wake of our recent Jaguar XF rant, we’ll leave it at that regarding the new A4’s threads. After all, any fule can see it barely moves the game on, aesthetically speaking, from the outgoing model. Instead let’s focus on the underpinnings and oily bits.
New A4 above, outgoing model below. Or is it the other way round…?
Just like the new A5 coupe, the latest A4 benefits from a new approach to Audi’s traditional front-longitudinal engine installation and front-wheel-drive basic chassis setup. The so-called Modular Longitudinal Platform (MLP) moves the front axle forward by 154mm compared with the old A4 as well as adding wider tracks. The result according to Audi is “vastly improved weight distribution.”
Perhaps, but pop the bonnet of the A5 coupe and it’s clear that the engine still largely hangs out beyond the front axel line. Still, with suspension components made largely from aluminium and attention paid to the body in white, at least the new A4 isn’t too lardy. Audi says the body shell is 10% lighter than before. That’s some achievement in this age of creeping gargantuanism and in the context of 118mm of extra length and 56mm additional width.
As for engines, at launch we’re talking a pair of direct injection petrol lumps (1.8T 168bhp and 3.2V6 261bhp) and a trio of diesels. The oil burners include a new 2.0-litre four pot unit that’s good for a rather pedestrian (compared to BMW’s equivalent engine) 141bhp and 236lb/ft of torque. Audi’s 2.7- and 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesels will also do service.
Needless to say, quattro four-wheel-drive will be available as an option. Likewise, it’s a given that more powerful V8 engine options will join the range in due course. The only slight issue is that Audi has stated previously that it will only make one RS model at a time. That slot is expected to be filled by the imminent RS6.
The new A4 goes on sale in the UK in January. Pricing has yet to be announced, but Autocar mag reckons it might actually dip under the £20,000 mark, making it cheaper than the outgoing A4.
