Audi A4 News

...and, as Lexus is about to go public with its new IS, Audi is finalising plans for a new A4. The 2014 model promises evolution, not revolution, although it will share an impressive new VW Group mechanical package.This journalist is on Twitter: @paulwardgover

The lower-cost production is three years away for Audi's bread-and-butter A4 model, but Audi confirmed this week that the A4 will get a similar one-size-fits-all platform from 2015 as Volkswagen Group introduces its MLB system -- the sister design to the radical MQB platform just launched in the Audi A3 and Volkswagen Golf. MLB is the platform for longitudal engine layouts while MQB is for transverse layouts. The A4, which has its engine placed in line with the car, will enjoy the same advantages as the A3 with MQB - the potential for lower car costs in the future, lighter weight, better fuel efficiency and lower emissions, the simplicity of common components and faster production. Like the A3's platform - which is now being morphed into underpinning the Tiguan, Q3, Skoda Octavia and Seat Leon plus a raft of future models - the A4's new design will be used on the next Audi models but has direct applications in the Volkswagen Phaeton (effectively an Audi A8); SUV models from Volkswagen, Audi and the upcoming Skoda; Bentley Continental; and even the 2014 Porsche Macan SUV. Audi is by far the biggest user of platforms with the engine mounted in line with the car and predominantly driving the front wheels. A spokesman says the current Audi A4 has a platform that uses the principles of MLB but that the 2015 model will employ all the common design points that will allow it to be used in other makes and models. Volkswagen Group plans four distinct platforms - MQB and MLB, one for rear-engined cars and one for mid-engine sports cars - in its quest to boost production, lower costs and maximise profitability on a path to become the world's biggest vehicle maker by 2018.  

Audi is preparing to spear its RS and S models into Australia. Top of the wish list, the RS4, will return in its new A4 body early next year - but only as a wagon. Ask the question about a sedan and Audi goes quiet. “There's no official word about an RS4 sedan,” says Audi Australia's Anna Burgdorf. The RS4 will get the same 331kW V8 as the RS5, recently tested in Germany by Carsguide. Also new for Australia in November this year will be the S6 and S7 with a 4-litre V8 - dubbed TFSI - which is a derivative of Audi's existing 4.2-litre V8 mill. The 4-litre has cylinder deactivation to save fuel and is the same engine - though slightly different tuning - as found in the latest Bentley Continental. Bentley offers the V8 as an option to its ongoing W12. Europe will debut the S8, which also gets this 4-litre V8, but it is yet to be confirmed for Australia. “It's unlikely,” Burgdorf says. “There is a customer trend to sporty sedans (think S7 and Mercedes CLS) and that's indicated by our sales of the A7. The S7 may have more interest than an S8.” Audi launched the A4 in June and will now prepare the A4 and A6 Allroad models for an October debut. The second generation Q5, with a new 2-litre turbo-petrol engine option, in December. The A3 arrives as a five-door in the first quarter of 2013 and an S3 version will follow. The sports version of the Q5, the SQ5, is here about June 2013. Audi has since May 2011 sold a hybrid version of the Q5 in Europe. Though also intended for sale in the US, the 180kW/480Nm wagon isn't on the Australian shopping list. “It is likely to be too expensive for us,” Burgdorf says. “It also gets the same fuel consumption average as the new 2-litre petrol engine so there's no advantage for Australia.”

The Koreans starred, the Japanese mounted a comeback, and One Ford hit the headlines with an extended family of Focus-based newcomers that it is certain to make a big hit in Australia. But it was one car and the commitment of its company chief that made the most impact as America fought back on the opening day of the 2011 North American International Motor Show.A big screen above the Audi stage linked into their representative at the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas where the German company will highlight it's Audi Connect technology. CEO Rupert Stadler says the technology includes a wi-fi hot spot that allows the sat nav to use Google Earth with Street View. Users will also be able to do hands-free Google searches and a heads-up display will provide for a swipe function similar to that used on iPads to turn the "page". There were also cars in the Audi stage including the updated A4 and S4, and a concept Q3 Vail to promote the launch of the small SUV on the American market. The Vail is basically a tarted-up Q3 with 20-inch wheels, lower body cladding and an aluminium bash plate underneath. Audi lags behind its German counterparts in the US but seems to be making good inroads with its diesel engines. Stadler says they now account for one in three of all SUVs sold.

...and well before the recent tweaking of the Mercedes C-Class and BMW's 3 Series - so it's no surprise the German brand is working on an update.The facelift under this camouflage is expected to take its lead from the latest A6, with a bolder nose as the key point.

Hybrid cars and plans are popping up everywhere, from Porsche and Ferrari at the top end in Europe to the dozens of enthusiastic new carmakers led by Geely and BYD - the name means Build Your Dreams - in China.  We are also seeing far more efficiency in everyday petrol-powered cars, with a range of new technologies to boost economy and cut emissions.A growing number of new cars are now arriving with engine-stop systems for traffic-light efficiency, as well as driver-advisor systems to help pick the right gear. There is an Audi A4 in the Carsguide garage this week which does both and, even with a turbocharged petrol engine, is running fuel economy in the 7 litres/100km range.There is much more to come on the petrol-power front and the Toyota Prius, perhaps surprisingly since it's a hybrid, shows the way. Its 1.8-litre petrol engine is the first in the world without any sort of power-sapping drive belt for the parasitic add-ons, with electrically operated power steering and airconditioning, an on-demand alternator and an electric water pump.Expect all this, and soon, on cars for you.  Diesel engine development is going ahead very rapidly with most European brands - Volkswagen, Audi and Mercedes-Benz among them - touting some sort of Blue technology. So blue is the new green for diesels.The best new diesels are much quieter than in the past and, thanks to the massive advantages of turbocharging, they have huge pulling power. Torque rules in the real world, where you need punch for overtaking and stoplight drags, and that makes diesels the surprising performance choice for a growing range of vehicles.It's easy to go on and on about the engine changes, from Benz's switch from superchargers to turbochargers and BMWs impressive efficiency developments to the small-capacity winners from brands such as Nissan, but the long-term green path is into electric cars.  Australia has yet to see its first commercial electric car but the race is really on now, with Mitsubishi and Tesla expected to both have plug-in cars on the road before the end of the year.An electric Smart will arrive sometime in 2011 and Subaru is keen to have a battery car in Australia as soon as possible, with other brands also working on plans.  But the green machine will run off the rails if governments do not act - and act soon - to give them support. Electric cars need plug-in points, but that's the obvious and easy stuff being pushed today by the Better Place organisation and many others.The real key to sales of electric cars is some sort of Federal incentive, like the ones in Europe and the USA. Nobody by a full-on greenie is going to pay around $70,000 for a Mitsubishi iMiEV when a petrol-powered Colt, which is a similar size and does a similar job, starts from $15,740.Follow Paul Gover on Twitter!

Audi Australia managing director Joerg Hofmann has responded strongly in correcting remarks made by BMW’s local head of corporate communications, Toni Andreevski.

This global financial crisis thing is half in the mind, asserts Audi Australia managing director Joerg Hofmann, who has vowed to increase the resurgent marque’s market share in 2009

After claiming top prize in the Carsguide Car of the Year award for 2008 the blue oval brand's family favourite has also been named as Best Family Car in the Australia's Best Cars awards for 2008.It is the only homegrown champion among the 12 winners in the annual contest judged by Australia's motoring clubs as a consumer guide to new-car showrooms.The winners claimed their crowns after a massive assessment of 280 individual contenders, who are judged against three basic measurements: value for money, design and on-road performance.The field was trimmed to 36 finalists across the 12 categories, and these were then extensively road tested to find the winners in each size and price class.The champion crew for 2008 runs from the Mazda2 Neo at the bottom, through the Falcon and Hyundai iMax people mover to the luxury Lexus GS450h hybrid and the luxury BMW X5 four-wheel drive.But it is the Falcon which has made the biggest impact, according to Best Cars' chief judge Ernest Litera."The winning 2008 Ford Falcon XT represents a concerted effort on product refinement; the model is not an all-new chassis and engine but more a refinement to the engine to produce better performance and fuel economy," says Litera."The ride and handling package has also improved significantly and feels more like the quality cars we would expect to come out of Europe, without compromising on space, touring ability and towing that Australians also often look for."Litera praises the general standard of the vehicles which made the shortlist in 2008."The finalists are a good set of cars - we are very pleased with the sorts of cars that have come on to the Australian market this year."The judges are seeing a steady improvement in the quality of vehicles on the Australian market - particularly in the area of safety equipment and crash test results alongside their on-road performance."They have to perform well in crash tests conducted by Australia's leading crash test and vehicle safety advocate, the Australasian New Car Assessment Program, and the ANCAP results show vehicles are definitely safer today without compromising performance."But he says the choices, even exotics such as the Audi TT-S sports car and the heavyweight Land Rover Discovery four-wheel drive, are always assessed against the needs of potential owners."These are consumer awards where every score on every vehicle is made available to help buyers make informed purchasing decisions," says Litera.Full details of the Best Cars awards can be viewed at australiasbestcars.com.au or in the Australia's Best Cars magazine, available from newsagents. Australia's Best Cars 2008 WinnersBest Small Car: Mazda2 NeoBest Mid-Size Car under $28,000: Hyundai i30 SXBest Mid-Size Car over $28,000: Mazda6 ClassicBest Large Car: Ford FG Falcon XTBest People Mover: Hyundai iMaxBest Sports Car: BMW 135i Coupe SportBest Luxury Sports Car: Audi TT-S TFSI QuattroBest Prestige Car: Audi A4 TDIBest Luxury Car: Lexus GS450hBest Recreational 4WD: Volkswagen Tiguan TDIBest Luxury 4WD: BMW X5 3.0dBest All-Terrain 4WD: Land Rover Discovery 3SE TDV6  

It would have been so easy for the Blue Oval team to drop the bundle as they worked towards producing a new car for a segment that was shrinking daily before their eyes.