Audi A4 vs Aston Martin Vanquish

What's the difference?

The Audi A4 allroad 40 TDI quattro S Tronic is a nice-looking wagon that’s fun to drive.

It’s packed with tech, adequately functional for daily life and it’s also capable enough off-road as long as the driving surface is nothing more challenging than well-maintained gravel or dirt tracks in dry weather, and you’re not planning a rough-and-tumble expedition into remote bushland.

As I mentioned earlier, the great thing about adventures is that you can scale them to suit you and your vehicle and the allroad offers a nice stepping-stone for people who’d like to experience the outdoorsy lifestyle, before perhaps diving deeper into it.

The definition of luxury is having something you want, rather than something you need. And the Vanquish is definitely something you don’t need, but will desperately want once you’ve experienced it. It’s opulence on wheels, the kind of car you buy mostly because you can. Because owning a V8-powered Aston Martin wouldn’t cut it in your circle of friends. Or because you just want the very best things in life, cost be damned.

The allroad’s overall look is part of a range-wide refresh and it certainly fits in with the line-up’s updated aesthetic.

Because I’m a bloke who spends the bulk of my time in 4WDs – traditionally bulkier vehicles rather than slim city-friendly wagons – I’m not totally enamoured of the Audi’s style, especially in terms of trip-packing practicality. However, I can certainly appreciate the appeal of its quite low, sleek and streamlined appearance, which its tweaked chunkier grille adds some gravitas to. It’s just not my cup o’ tea.

While the engine is the unique heart of the Vanquish, the design is the first element that grabs your attention. Even for a brand renowned for its GT cars with imposingly long bonnets, the Vanquish stands out.

That’s because the designers deliberately added 80mm of space between the front axle and the A-pillar (the front windscreen pillar) to elongate the bonnet even more for what it calls a “rakish and indulgent” profile. 

The lines flow across the length of the Vanquish, from its trademark grille to its Kamm Tail, giving it a look that is somehow simultaneously classically Aston Martin - with elements of its multiple generations of GT cars - while also being contemporary. 

Some of the modern touches are derived from Formula One, as the brand looks to leverage its racing team, with bonnet louvres to help cool the engine without unsettling the air-flow too much.

Aston Martin’s Chief Creative Officer Marek Reichman calls the Vanquish “an iconic halo model” and explained the design was deliberately pushing “beyond the expected, rational, and thoughtful.” Which sums up this dramatic piece of automotive art quite nicely.

I’ll answer that question as a politician would – without actually answering the question.

The allroad’s interior looks good and certainly feels open and spacious, although the driver’s seat tends to feel a bit more snug as the dash is angled towards that position.

The new 10.1-inch touchscreen, home for most upfront functions, dominates the dash, in a good way.

The front seats are electrically adjustable with lumbar and driver memory.

There are plenty of places in which to put your everyday bits and pieces (including a decent storage bin/arm-rest), as well as charging points, including two USB ports, for your devices.

Need somewhere to put a cold beverage, mate? There are two cup-holders between driver and front-seat passenger, two in the fold-down centre arm-rest for the back-seat passengers, and bottle holders in all doors.

Back-seat passengers also get air vents, climate control, mesh seat-back pockets and grab handles. 

There is a 495-litre cargo space when the rear seats are in use, but that increases to 1495 litres when those seats – 40:20:40 split folding – are stowed away in the floor.

Despite measuring nearly five metres long, the Vanquish is a surprisingly small car from a practicality perspective. Because the added wheelbase is ahead of the cabin, it remains strictly a two-seater, with no room for rear passengers.

There’s limited small item storage, too, aside from a couple of cupholders and a lidded console box. Although, on the plus side, the lack of rear seats creates room for some small shelves in case you need to store some loose items.  

It also has a surprisingly small 248-litre boot, which means limited storage for anything, including luggage, for a road trip in what would otherwise be a great road trip car.

As for the multimedia system, while not at the cutting edge (although Aston Martin will debut Apple CarPlay Ultra in its DBX model) the system works well for this type of car.

It’s unlikely too many under 25s will be grabbing this $700K luxury GT, so the fact the media system has a touchscreen and an array of physical buttons is a welcome detail.

As for the 1170-watt, 15-speaker Bowers & Wilkins sound system, it performs incredibly well, as you would probably expect. Like the car it has loads of power but excellent attention-to-detail with fantastic clarity, too.

The Vanquish sits at the top of the range for now, at least until the new Valhalla supercar arrives in Australia, and has an eye-watering starting price of $737,000.

Not only does that not include on-road costs, which will likely push the price closer to seven-figures, there’s also the plethora of options and customisation you can choose from that will add to the amount you pay.

Not that the standard specification is bad. For $700K you do get 21-inch alloy wheels, carbon ceramic brakes, 16-way adjustable sports seats, keyless ignition, a 10.2-inch touchscreen multimedia display, Apple CarPlay, Bluetooth, wireless phone charging and a 1170-watt 15-speaker Bowers & Wilkins sound system.

Of course, on top of all that you get a bespoke chassis and a unique twin-turbo V12 engine, that puts the Vanquish in the same class as the Ferrari 12Cilindri, which starts at $803,500 - making the Aston Martin look competitive. 

The Audi A4 all road 40 TDI quattro S Tronic has a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine, producing 140kw at 3800-4200rpm and 400Nm at 1750-3000rpm.

It has a seven-speed S tronic automatic transmission and all wheel drive.

The engine is undoubtedly the star attraction of the Vanquish, with the twin-turbo 5.2-litre V12 being the last of its kind in the British brand’s line-up now that the DB12 has switched to an AMG-sourced twin-turbo V8. 

While that engine is arguably better with its excellent performance, smaller dimensions and lighter weight, the fact remains that for many of Aston Martin’s long-time buyers, it’s V12 or nothing.

It also helps that the V12 produces an extremely potent 614kW and 1000Nm, which is way ahead of the 611kW/678Nm the Ferrari 12Cilindri makes. So you get bragging rights at the golf club with your Ferrari mates.

The engine features a unique titanium exhaust and is paired with an eight-speed automatic transaxle that drives the rear wheels.

That is enough to propel the Vanquish to a top speed of 345km/h, making it the fastest production car the brand has ever produced, with a 3.3 second 0-100km/h time.

It has claimed fuel consumption of 5.2L/100km (combined), but we recorded actual fuel consumption on test of 8.4L/100km – driving in soft sand likely negatively impacted that figure.

It has a 61-litre fuel tank.

To say the Vanquish isn’t the most fuel frugal vehicle on the market is an obvious statement, but even its claimed 13.7L/100km is best described as optimistic.

That’s not surprising given its size and performance, but with an 82-litre fuel tank that’s a driving range of less than 600km, at best.

In the real world, during our time in the Vanquish, the car’s trip computer was indicating that we stayed in the high teens; although that featured limited freeway/extra-urban driving.

For a bloke who spends a lot of time in big, tall and bulky 4WDs, I felt like I was driving a go-kart. It’s that low, but it’s also that much fun – and it’s a very different driving experience to what I’m used to.

The allroad is 4762mm long, 1847mm wide and 1430mm high, and has a listed kerb weight of 1720kg. So relative to the 4WDs I usually steer around, this is light and low slung. It’s more car than SUV, that’s for sure.

Acceleration is rather punchy (the engine and auto are a decent match-up), steering is light but precise, and you can cycle through drive modes (efficiency, comfort, auto etc) to set up vehicle characteristics to suit your driving style and conditions.

The quattro all-wheel drive system helps to keep the allroad planted and composed at all times. 

Ride is on the sharpish side of firm and you do tend to feel every irregularity in the road surface – it is long and low and on low-profile rubber afterall.

The virtual cockpit plus – a 12.3-inch high-resolution colour display – offers a comprehensive read on all things to do with the allroad.

Throw around your superlative of choice – “sporty” and “dynamic” fit this allroad well – but I’m loathe to gush about its on-road performance much more than that because I reckon if any motoring journos are reading this – many of whom spend the lion’s share of their time swanning about in sports cars – they would have already choke-spat out their dirty chai with surprise by now.

As cars go, few can match what the Vanquish offers. Even in my 20+ years of driving every type of car imaginable, the Vanquish stands out as being something distinct, bold and special.

Sitting behind the wheel, the bonnet looks like it stretches out to the horizon and you feel like you’re sitting on the back axle of the car. And yet, when you start driving, the Vanquish feels like it shrinks around you.

At normal speeds it feels like a classic grand tourer, relaxed, refined and easy to drive. Obviously it's a firmer ride than your average luxury car, but that’s a small price to pay for the breadth of capability this car offers. 

Because once you get out of the urban environment, the Vanquish becomes something else entirely. On a winding road this British beast is surprisingly agile for such a big car.

The steering feels direct and the front end responds with much more precision and poise than you should reasonably expect from a car with such an exaggerated bonnet.

No, it doesn’t have the dynamic aggression the more compact Vantage offers, but it manages to take elements of that car and combine it with the GT nature of the DB12 to give you the best of both Aston Martin’s coupes.

Of course, the catch is it’s much too fast for Australian roads and isn’t really designed to be a track day car, so in Australia - without autobahns or more liberal views on speeding - the Vanquish in many respects doesn’t make sense.

But that is arguably its driving essence, you buy it because you know what it’s capable of, even if you’ll rarely use it, and that is an absolute luxury.

There’s no ANCAP rating given the extreme low-volume nature of the Vanquish. However, it does come with complete airbag coverage for both occupants and a laundry list of safety acronyms.

These include autonomous emergency braking (AEB), forward collision warning (FCW), adaptive cruise control (ACC), traffic sign recognition (TSR), lane keep assist (LKA), lane departure warning (LDW), blind spot assist (BSA) and rear cross-traffic assist (RCTA).

In addition there’s driver attention assist, to make sure you stay alert in such an expensive machine, and door exit assist, so you don’t open the long doors into a passing car or cyclist.

Importantly, none of these systems are intrusive or annoying, so credit to Aston Martin for integrating them smoothly.

This Audi has a three-year/unlimited km warranty. Service intervals are recommended every 12 months or 15,000 km, whichever comes first.

Despite the extraordinary price tag the Vanquish is covered by a very standard three-year/unlimited kilometre warranty. It’s a surprising, and some might argue disappointing, short period of coverage for a car that is not only expensive but should have a long life.

However, it does redeem itself in some way by including the first five years of servicing into the cost of the car. Ferrari offers seven for its models, so Aston Martin is still behind the market, but included servicing feels right for a car costing nearly $1 million once you put it in traffic.