Many dozens of cars pass through our parking lot each year, and many of them are forgotten soon after they've left. Not so with our long-term Audi A4.
Much in demand by a demanding staff, the Denim Blue pearl effect sedan was never left sitting. It became a favored commuter car due to its terrific multitronic transmission, and it was also a desirable long-distance tourer because of its inviting cabin and smooth road manners. Moreover, even with just over 25,000 miles logged on the odometer, the A4 never let us down, requiring no servicing or repair beyond the normal schedule.
The A4 came to us with a sticker of $34,785, a bit over its $31,390 base price, due to the pearl paint ($450), xenon headlights ($500) and a "luxury package" consisting of a power tilt/slide glass sunroof and leather upholstery ($1,800). The standard fare included almost every comfort and convenience feature known to the modern motorist, a 4-year/50,000-mile limited warranty, a 4-year/50,000-mile no charge maintenance program, a 12-year anti-corrosion perforation warranty and 4-year roadside assistance coverage.
All of the features on the A4 were familiar to us except for Audi's wonderful constant-velocity transmission. I'd previously driven multitronic A4s and A6s in Germany and was extremely impressed with the technology's slick shifts and sporty character. However, some of the less restrained staff feared that an "automatic" gearbox would de-fang the 3.0-liter V6 beyond redemption. They were happily mistaken. The "six-speed" gearbox, which can be operated in fully automatic or "manual" modes, briskly snaps the sedan away from stoplights and is arguably quicker off the line than similar cars with manual transmissions.
However, as good as the A4 is right out of the box, the name of the game around here is "personalization." Dipping into Audi's own "aftermarket" parts bins, we fitted the car with an aggressive body kit, assorted interior accessories, a roof rack and factory-optional Toccata 17-in. wheels wrapped by Continental performance rubber. The aesthetic conversion was very well received around the office and on the streets of SoCal, where body kits are de rigueur. One young man driving a highly modified BMW pulled alongside and asked whether our long-termer was the new Audi S4. In many of our opinions, our A4 appears to be the more powerful of the two siblings, the factory having chosen a rather understated approach to the V8-powered car's styling.
We also subscribed to XM Satellite Radio and couldn't be more pleased with it. The more than 100 stations offer up something for everyone, and XM's reception proved to be faultless wherever we drove the car. After the initial installation fee and purchase of a proper head unit (we used a Pioneer-supplied system), it cost about 10 bucks a month for a subscription, which we considered well worth the price.
What didn't we like about the A4? Precious little. Given the choice, we'd rather have had a quattro drivetrain instead of a front-driver, however multitronic was not yet available with all-wheel drive. Our proximity to some of the best skiing in the U.S. meant the A4 was used often for winter vacations. Though normally the two-wheel-drive A4 is up to handling almost any weather-related obstacle, we regretted not changing out the performance rubber for tires better suited to ice and snow. One staffer's drive to Utah's slopes became quite an adventure as a winter storm blasted the area and he struggled to keep the car on the road.
As pointed out earlier, the car required no extraordinary attention from the dealer, though at one regular service visit we asked its technicians to check out the multitronic transmission for faults. Every once in a rare while the system felt, for just an instant, like it wasn't quite hooking up to the wheels. It was as if the traction control system were sensing a slippery surface and in response cut back on the throttle, causing a couple of jerks in the otherwise seamless flow of power. As often happens with an intermittent behavior like this, the service technician was unable to duplicate it while affirming that no fault codes showed up in the diagnostics. An Audi spokesperson told us that multitronic has had a trouble-free launch and the firm knows of no occurrence like the one we experienced.
european car is now without an Audi in its long-term stable for the first time in years, and we're all going through withdrawal. However, because there's a bunch of new technology coming down the pike from the wizards in Ingolstadt, be assured we'll be asking for a replacement--soon.