Audi has updated its A4 and S4 models claiming they are more efficient, better to drive with improved infotainment systems.
Exteriorwise, the changes to the A4 Saloon, the A4 Avant, the A4 allroad quattro and the S4 aren’t exactly radical, looking much like the current car. It is, it’s fair to say, a mid-life refresh.
Whatever, this will be the eighth-generation A4 and it’s Audi’s bestseller. Since its introduction has sold ten million models in total.
The new look is smarter. Most notable is grey grille, redesigned bumpers, headlights and tail lights. The The interior has also been updated and Audi’s MMI navigation plus system now features four instead of eight buttons, with a shift function integrated in the volume control dial. Other improvements concern operation of the automatic transmission, air conditioning systems, the drive select system and the multifunction steering wheel. The seat heating and air conditioning are now directly operated at the respective buttons.
The interior of the S line sport package comes in black with 18-inch wheels or optional 19-inch wheels and Sport suspension that lowers the body by 20 millimetres. S line sport suspension, which lowers the body by a further 10 millimetres, is also available as a no-cost option on S line models.
There’ll be a choice of five diesel and four petrol engines for both the Saloon and the Avant. All engines are supercharged direct-injection systems with start/stop and brake energy recuperation.
The most economical model is the Audi A4 2.0 TDI with 135bhp that will return an average of 67.3mpg with CO2 emissions of 112g/km. There’s also the new A4 2.0 TDI with 161bhp that achieves 64.2mpg with 115g/km. Both engines are available for the Saloon and the Avant.
In addition, two other four-cylinder diesel engines are available – with 144bhp and 175bhp. They can also be ordered for the allroad quattro, apart from the entry level version. Three V6 TDI units complete the line-up. The 3.0 TDI with 202bhp (not for the allroad quattro) achieves 57.6mpg on the combined cycle. The second variant, the 3.0 TDI, generates 242bhp.
There’s a new 1.8-litre engine, available for the Saloon and the Avant. The four-cylinder engine has a power output of 168bhp and it will return an average of 50.4mpg with CO2 emissions of 134g/km. That is an efficiency improvement of 19% compared with the engine it replaces.
The entry level petrol engine is the 1.8 TFSI with 119bhp. The 2.0 TFSI engine that’s also available in the A4 allroad quattro delivers 209bhp. At the top of the line is the 3.0 TFSI in the S4, which develops an impressive 330bhp.
A six-speed manual transmission is standard on the Saloon and Avant models with front-wheel drive. Most variants offer continuously variable multitronic as an option. The quattro versions have either the manual transmission or the seven-speed S tronic on board. The A4 allroad quattro employs a manual transmission or S tronic with all engine versions.
The quattro permanent all-wheel drive is standard on the A4 allroad quattro, and available in the Saloon and Avant from the 2.0 TDI with 175bhp.
The Audi S4, available in the Saloon and Avant versions uses the 3.0 TFSI with 330bhp and it can get from 0 to 62mph in 5.0 seconds and an electronically-limited maximum speed of 155 mph while returning an average of 35.3mpg.
The modified Audi S4 is identifiable from the changes to the headlights, the bumpers, the air inlets and colours and the interior has also had some minor tweaks.
UK specification and prices will be confirmed in the next few weeks, but are expected to be similar to the current A4 range.
Audi’s revised S4:
