• Impressive fuel economy
• Low emissions for all models
• Diesels are cheapest to run

What are the running costs?

When it comes to fuelling, the Audi A4 Avant is impressively efficient. It’s economical, with the diesels especially posting some excellent figures. The latest 2.0-litre TDI unit found in the 35 TDI will easily return between 48-54mpg when fitted with the S Tronic automatic gearbox, while the higher-output 40 TDI dropping slightly to around 44-47mpg. If you want to maximise fuel consumption, avoid choosing a Quattro.

The petrol models run the diesels surprsingly close, though. In testing, we easily coaxed 40mpg out of the 40 TFSI in motorway driving, with the 35 TFSI doing even better, getting around 42mpg. Higher up the range is the 45 TFSI which should be closer to 35mpg. Despite being a diesel, don’t expect the S4 to cover itself in glory, with the 35mpg being a realistic target for motorway drivers, while RS4 Avant drivers will dip into the low-20s without even trying too hard.

Servicing and warranty

You’ll find Audi’s servicing and maintenance costs up there with its premium rivals – in other words, fairly expensive, with high levels of customer satisfaction, and sweetened by excellent fuel consumption.

Audi’s standard warranty, at three years or 60,000 miles is less-than generous compared with rivals. Especially BMW’s, which is three years and unlimited mileage. But you can extend the warranty to four years/75,000 miles or five years/90,000 miles for extra money. But none come close to Kia, MG or Toyota’s offerings.

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Reliability

• Audi A4 scores well with company car drivers
• Audi’s overall reliability record is patchy
• Some recent technology has suffered from niggles

Audi A4 Avant reliability has proven to have been strong with the Fleet News FN50 reliability survey placing the A4 third behind the BMW 3 Series and Tesla Model 3. You can read more in our rundown of the UK’s most reliable cars.

This should be no surprise, as many of the engines and gearboxes employed have seen service in other Volkswagen Group products but the latest motors are evolutions of what came before.

Should you opt for the digital instrumentation of the Virtual Cockpit, be aware that many other models in the Audi range have suffered niggles with their systems, including the one fitted to our long-term test example.