Audi A4 News

It's time to reveal the second half of the carsguide Car of the Year field - and this time it's all closer to home.The second group of five finalists includes a pair of Aussie icons and three of the perennial favourites out of Japan.These COTY contenders have been through the same gruelling three-day test program as the opening five contenders - the Audi A4, BMW 135i Sport, Fiat 500, Jaguar XF diesel and VW Tiguan.With the full final field of 10 revealed, the votes are in and a winner will be announced next Friday.For the stories, video and photos visit Carsguide Car of the Year 2009. 

The German sedan is attractive, both inside and out, and surprisingly swift.

Everything from an A5 cabrio, A5 Sportback, A4 Allroad wagon, A7 four-door sports coupe, A1 Sportsback, Q3 off-roader and R8 convertible is on the books.But Audi Australia is not revealing just what is likely to head to Australia.Audi Australia general manager of marketing, Immo Buschmann, is giving little away on the new arrivals, only confirmed the early 2009 launch of the Q5 off-roader.However, he hints that an A5 Sportsback and maybe an A4 Allroad were on the cards."But we have not decided," he says.He says he is unaware specifically what the Germany headquarters has in store for Australia regarding new models.Recently, Audi AG's product development chief, Michael Dick, revealed to European media that Audi's range of 22 vehicles will grow with another 18 "in our heads".It is believed the A5 convertible will be unveiled in Europe before the end of the year with an A5 Sportback arriving next year, followed by the Q3.The A5 Sportback will be designed to fill a gap between the A4 Avant and A6 Avant.Performance derivatives are believed to be among the mix, with an R5 and RS5 mooted.One thing is clear though, the huge investment local dealers have taken in new "Terminal" showrooms will pay off.The first "Terminal" dealership cost $12 million and is located in Sydney's Five Dock.It is the first of a design that will be adopted globally."Our dealers have invested heavily to be able to display and sell these new cars," he says."The Q5 is our next big launch."Audi is expected to launch the car with a tough Trans-Continental drive through Outback Australia like the successful Q7 launch.Speaking at the launch of the RS6 Avant, Buschmann, says although the focus on RS is to maintain exclusivity, he admitted that in the future, the company may have to broaden the RS thinking."If there is demand to broaden the RS portfolio then we will look at it," he says."The ethos of the RS is entirely up to our product strategists."But I imagine we would look at a top-down approach when we look at eligible RS cars, those that have the necessary DNA." 

Scrape off the usual Audi marketing froth — “emotional driving experience”, “a microcosm in a macrocosm” — what we have here are two highly-polished and desirable luxury luggage luggers. The Avant variant (that'd be wagon to us Antipodeans) of the well-received A4 sedan range arrived last week and were launched last week with a testing drive out of Albury to Bright in the Victorian high country and back. As with most Euro prestige wagons, a genre becoming ever more evident on our roads, it's not as though the Avants are a great deal more practical than the sedan, which boasts quite a big booty. Rather it's a question of which flicks your switch aesthetically. Still, the five door does have a highly useable 490 litres with the back seats up and 1430 when they’re folded flat. Up front there's a choice of the Volkswagen Group's direct injection turbo charged four cylinder engines. These are the stalwart 2.0-litre TDI common rail diesel and — one of our favourite small petrol jobbies — the 1.8 TFSI. Both versions are driven through the front wheels via Audi's Multitronic continuously variable transmission with eight manual settings. Down the line, perhaps the second quarter of 2009, comes the enticing prospect of a quattro all-wheel-drive variant with a 155kW/350Nm version of the 2.0-litre turbo four, a drivetrain that will also go to the four door. Like the current four door, the Avant has a decent levels of standard equipment and the usual mile long list of costly extras. The pretty much standard 1.8 version we drove to Bright featured Milano leather upholstery, Servotronic steering, eight airbags, daytime running lights and $1600(!) metallic paint. The S-line packaged version in which we returned also copped grippy great 18-inch low profile rubber, paddle shifters, perforated leather and the optimum version of Drive Select (through which steering, gearshift and damping responses are altered to mood or circumstance). Even without the full length sun roof ($2850), this variant returned little change from $70K. Steep, even when placed next to the Audi's direct rivals, BMW's 320i Touring and the Mercedes-Benz 200K Estate. And not a little silly if you're not so hopelessly badge besotted that you can't see the merits of Skoda's Octavia (with the same engines) and the Mazda6. Both are equally good if not better drives, both are bigger and both are $25,000 to $35,000 cheaper. We could also point to Holden's new Commdore sportwagon, but badge blindness goes only so far. As opposed to the previous generation A4, the new Audi is an attractive proposition as much for its on road behaviour as its chic lines. We'll get to the diesel in coming weeks (it's anticipated take up rate is less than 20 per cent), but on the word of trusted colleagues it reflects the equivalent sedan's disposition. That's to say that the extra weight, especially over the front axle, drags it back against its more adroit petrol sibling. Audi's persistence with longitudinal engines means that the bigger the donk the more negated the advantages of its much-vaunted new platform. Nor can a decisive economy advantage be claimed for the oiler. When pushing on, it needs to be spurred. In city traffic its consumption approaches that of the petrol car. In fact, the 1.8 TFSI combines the best characteristics of petrol and diesel, with the flexibility of the former (at 8.9 seconds it's almost one tick quicker to 100km/h from standing) and the low down response of the latter. And all of its 250Nm is available from 1500rpm — almost the instant the throttle is floored. It's a light weight contender that punches above its weight to imbue the Avant with a dynamic behaviour that's about as rewarding as you're going to get in a front-wheel-drive. While never enamoured of CVT, there are few grounds to complain of the way in which it transmits power to the road. As ever with Audi, the inside story is one of tactile delight. The interior of even a basic spec variant is pervaded by an air of comfort, convenience and sheer quality that exceeds the Merc and leaves the Bimmer for dead. When you're sitting this prettily, you don't mind so much which wheels are doing the driving.   AUDI A4 AVANT Price: $56,400 (TFSI); $57,800 (TDI) Engines: 1.8L/4-cylinder turbo petrol (118kW/250Nm); 2L/4-cylinder turbo diesel (105kW/320Nm) Economy: 7.4L/100km (TFSI); 6L/100km (TDI) Transmission: continuously variable auto  

A-list celebrities and a new $50 million corporate headquarters are German carmaker Audi's latest gambits to beat prestige rivals in Australia.With the help of former Miss World Jennifer Hawkins, designer Colette Dinnigan and a host of Aussie sport legends including Cathy Freeman and Steve Waugh, Audi has more than doubled sales in four years.“Total investment in new and upgraded facilities in Australia will exceed $170 million by 2010,” Audi Australia managing director Joerg Hofmann says.Hofmann, 41, arrived in Australia at the end of a dismal 2004 when Audi sales had fallen to 3701 units.In the first five months of this year, Audi sold 4193 cars and is set to achieve 35 per cent growth on 2007.He recruited the high profile ambassadors to spruik Audi's stylishly-designed cars.Sponsorships include prestige events such as the Sydney Harbour regatta, Hamilton Island Race Week and of the Sydney Theatre Company, which has Cate Blanchett driving an Audi.And Audi is now on track to pass Mercedes-Benz and BMW in passenger vehicle sales, Hofmann says.“Our vision is to become the number one prestige brand in Australia.“The dealer network will be completely rebuilt by 2010. When I came on board we invested about $20 million a year in the brand. We ramped that up to about $35 million and will go to $40 million or maybe even higher,” he says.“This year we can come close to 9000 sales and the 15,000 borderline will be reached before 2015.“I believe we can achieve it earlier. In percentage terms we are the number one growth market in the Audi world, including Russia and China.”Fifteen new model lines and variants have been introduced since Hofmann's arrival, with another five due in the next 12 months. These run the gamut from the Porsche-rivalling $250,000 R8 coupe to a $38,000 diesel hatchback that uses less fuel than Toyota's Prius.Released in April, Audi's crucial new prestige sedan, the A4, is within sight of BMW 3 Series. Its entry in the ever-expanding compact SUV segment, the Q5, is due next year.Elsewhere, work has begun on the so-called Lighthouse facility on South Dowling St in Sydney.It follows the recent opening of the imposing Terminal on Parramatta Rd, Five Dock, the first of an international roll-out of such designer dealerships.

The car industry is reeling from the Federal Government's increase in the luxury-car tax.

Imported cars are hardest hit by the new LCT threshold but some of our homegrown brands also suffer.

In his first Federal Budget, Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan has implemented a luxury tax hike that will affect cars priced at $57,000 and above.

If you haven't noticed, the German manufacturer is progressively introducing a fetching array of LED driving lights to its higher range cars. You can't miss them.But the LED dollars weren't there for all A4s. That's because plenty has been spent elsewhere on this new vehicle, which is essentially a four-door version of the sleek A5 and S5 coupes that have been running around for about a year.With a lineage going back a couple of decades, the A4 has won a share of buyers and the new model should ramp up sales more, given its attractive styling, equipment and power train options.Engineered from scratch, the code-named B8 A4 features a selection of new technology from the Audi world including a multi mode suspension system (optional on most models) called drive-select that alters engine, transmission, steering and suspension settings.There is a choice of two petrol and two turbo diesel engines, all of which Audi says are more powerful, more fuel efficient and less polluting.We have seen the 2.0-litre turbo diesel before and the 3.2 V6 petrol but they are joined by a 1.8-litre turbo four-cylinder petrol with direct fuel injection and a 2.7-litre, V6 turbo diesel. Both diesels have particle filters to cut soot.All-wheel drive quattro is only available on the six-speed Tiptronic auto V6 petrol. All the rest are front-wheel drive with either a constantly variable auto transmission called Multitronic or a six-speed manual in the case of the 1.8-litre turbo four-pot.In a big change, A4's engine has been relocated farther back in the engine bay and behind the front axle for gains in weight distribution, handling and ride. The new body is 10 per cent lighter than the outgoing model.It is wider, lower and has a longer wheelbase for extra interior room and better aerodynamics.Aluminium is selectively used in the vehicle, particularly in the front suspension.It has larger brakes and, in a huge jump forward, stability control that intervenes on steering as well as braking and engine power.Safety equipment is impressive and includes eight airbags on all models. A reversing camera is optional on all but the top liner.A vast range of options is available including lane assist, blind spot warning system, keyless entry and start and adaptive cruise that uses a radar system.All models score an electric parking brake and a large centre control screen. ‘Concert’ audio is fitted across the range, which can be upgraded to premium Bang & Olufsen.The base model is handsomely equipped with alloys (16-inch), automatic airconditioning, cruise control, leather, trip computer, headlight and wiper auto on, multi-function steering wheel and servotronic steering among the goodies.Made in Germany, the new A4 looks a million bucks on the street regardless of the model. The interior is up to Audi's expected high standard in terms of design, style and function.Prices start at $50,900 for the manual 1.8 turbo petrol rising to a bit under $90,000 for the V6 petrol. Tick a few of the option boxes and watch the price jump alarmingly.Audi Australia expects to sell mainly 1.8s but that could change depending on the price of fuel.An Avant (wagon) version will be here by August in similar specification but only 1.8-litre petrol and 2.0-litre diesel.