The Audi A4 B9 has been on sale since 2016 so you might be wondering why we are still driving it. The vehicle got a mid-life facelift a couple of years back and it has now received another minor update. The A4 rivals the Mercedes C-Class and BMW 3-Series. The former is priced at Rs. 71-79 lakh while the latter costs Rs. 72-85 lakh, all prices on-road Mumbai. Meanwhile, the A4 is priced from Rs. 54-64 lakh (OTR, Mumbai).
The Audi A4 still looks quite nice. It has a premium feel to it and turns heads as well. Our test car finished in Tango Red looked beautiful but the wheels have a very simple design which just don’t match the car’s appeal. A better looking set of wheels would change the appeal of the car completely.
The cabin is also very nicely finished. It doesn’t have a lot of unnecessary tech but Audi has got you covered with all the essential features and then some. The A4 also has a very sleek looking key compared to the newer Q3 which actually has the older key design used by the VAG group. With this update, the A4 also gets a new flat bottom steering wheel and new B&O 3D sound system which actually offers a very nice aural experience. Most of the fundamentals of the A4 remain intact.
The interior gets two colour options – beige and brown. Our test car came with the beige option but I think brown would have gelled much better with the red body colour. The seats on the A4 are really good. I received this car at 8 AM, drove it straight to Pune, returned to Mumbai in the evening and drove it for another 80 kms locally before retiring it for the day. Even after driving it for 350 kms throughout the day in varying levels of traffic, I had almost zero fatigue.
No mechanical changes have been made to the A4 and thus it gets the same 2.0 TSI petrol engine which delivers 202 HP and 320 Nm. The vehicle gets a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission and the torque delivery starts from an early 1450 RPM and goes up to 4475 RPM. It’s a wide band and this is evident when you drive the car because the A4 feels eager to pick up pace all the time. I am a big fan of this engine having experienced it on so many VAG models now.
The engine delivers its peak power from 4475 to 6000 RPM and it is a free-revving unit. You’ll find the A4 very responsive even in city traffic and it is actually very easy to drive thanks to the high visibility and the compact size complemented by the higher ground clearance (compared to its rivals). On highways, it feels great to drive. If you’re in the mood for cruising, the A4 will do that happily all day long and if you want to have fun, the A4 doesn’t hesitate before offering you a few giggles. Sure, I know it is a FWD sedan unlike the C-Class and 3-Series which are RWD and the steering could do with more feel.
What I also like about the A4 is the fact that it gets 17-inch tyres with 50 profile tyres. This isn’t a very sporty size but is actually practical for our roads. 18-inch low profile tyres are expensive to replace and more prone to sidewall cuts while also making the ride stiff. The A4 glides over potholes and the ride is very settled. This is actually one of those sedans you wouldn’t mind driving everyday on good and bad roads alike.
The Audi A4 is significantly more accessible than the C-Class and 3-Series and even though the A4 is older than them and doesn’t have much of a glitzy factor to it, you can’t contest the fact that it is still a very practical, comfy and fun sedan. Audi is also known to offer really good discounts on many of their models *wink wink* which means if you get a nice deal on the A4, I’d say close your eyes and get one.
