A couple of friends and I paid Euromobil Glenmarie a visit yesterday to test drive one of Audi’s latest, the A4 1.8TFSI.
Now I don’t think I need to describe how absolutely brilliant this car looks. The thing that sets this car apart from others has definitely got to be the trademark Audi daytime driving LED lights which you can also find in the R8. In my opinion, I think it certainly makes the BMW angel eyes look so yesterday (Sorry BMW owners). You can find photos and detailed info of the A4 Paul Tan’s site.
Once seated in the cockpit, I fiddled with the settings on the electric seat to get that optimal driving position. The leather wrapped steering wheel felt good under grip. I signalled out and gunned the throttle to make my way onto the highway. Wheel spin was evident, but nicely controlled by the ESP and there was virtually no torque steer.
Cruising on the highway at sensible speeds was a pleasure with Comfort mode on. The suspension was soft, the steering light, making the ride smooth and relaxed. At 120kph, the engine RPM was only slightly above 2000. But things were starting to get boring and I thought it’s time I did what I came here for, to see what this car can really do!
I switched to car to Dynamic mode and put the tame CVT gear box into Manual mode. Now the A4 felt like it really meant business. The steering feels stiffer and more direct, throttle response sharper and the ride became noticeably more bumpy as the suspension was stiffened. With this car in manual mode, you could switch cogs using the gear lever or what I would prefer, the paddle shifters.
The acceleration was nothing short of impressive, even when it was lugging four full grown adults. Shifting up from 1st, to 2nd then 3rd and so on was quick and smooth. Shifting down however, leaves much to be desired, as I would expect from a CVT tranny. It definitely isn’t as responsive as a DSG in comparison. The other thing was that having 8 speeds made it kinda hard to keep in mind which gear you’re currently in. Though the center display does tell you that, I find the font to be quite small to read quickly.
I’m very surprised at how quiet and smooth the engine was even with the revs going at 6000rpm. The engine/exhaust note doesn’t really sound exactly sporty because it is heavily subdued from the cabin. So yeah, don’t expect Lamborghini growl-like sounds here. In Dynamic mode, this car is really fun to drive around corners. The grip is just fantastic and body roll is minimal. The stiffer steering provides much needed feedback from the tyres on the road.
Overall, I really enjoyed this car. Previously I have only liked the new Audi designs, but this experience made me a fan of the marque. If I had 260k to burn, I wouldn’t hesitate to opt for this over the BMW 320i. I can’t wait to try out the A4 2.0TFSI when it is launched here which I think will be even more fun to drive!
Now how do I earn 260k without selling my soul, hmm…
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