Mercury
Well-Known Member
Audi A4 2013 1.8T 170BHP
I got no pics but we all know what an A4 looks like
Had a week with this car, figured it might help some people.
So, the Audi A4. In general it's a decent car, but it's really not worth the money with some of the other products on the market these days. Here's why:
I'll start with the interior. It's very well built no doubt and the materials are very good, everything feels sturdy and very well put together. The buttons and levers all give the feeling of German build quality and really I can't complain about anything here. My only complaint is that the "InfoTainment" system on the car that controls pretty much everything is a bit daft and could be much more user friendly. I managed it just fine but I imagine an older person with no regular access to these things might get confused.
The seats in the front are very good, comfy and supportive even in long drives. The back could do with more room. I'm 1.83M tall and I had no leg room and my head occasionally hit the ceiling... 3 people in the back is too much as well, this car handles 2 adults in the back at most and some of it's rivals have a much more inviting back seat.
The engine is very nice and provides enough oomph when it's necessary and is very quiet otherwise, it's a bit of a gas guzzler though as I averaged around 8km/l (and this includes a lot of freeways...) and I easily manage 10 km/l with my chipped 2006 Golf GTI. This could be due to the engine only having 1000 km on it though. All in all I liked the engine a lot.
The gearbox is terrible in any kind of way, unless you're driving very very calmly this gearbox is just a party pooper all the time, you put your foot down and the relentless drone coming from the engine bay can drive you mad. You reach a hill? Be sure to accelerate earlier just to keep that drone as low as possible, it helps but you'll still reach the top of the hill with a headache and a wish to god that you were in another car. Honestly, what possessed Audi to give their cars a continuous gearbox?? They've always been and always will be shit, unless you're a 90 year old.
The suspension is completely unacceptable. I've heard new German cars tend to be on the firm side and that's fine in a BMW that's aimed at a certain demographic but in an Audi mostly bought by "normal" people? Gimme a break... My GTI manages a much better ride in town and on the freeway. The A4 is OK on the freeway, it manages to crest most bumps but occasionally the suspension will meet a bump it can't handle and shut completely making a very distinct noise, this is again unacceptable, it made me lose all confidence in the car. I should state this happened to me twice, both times the car was full with 4 people in it.
In town it's much worse, no matter how slowly you hit a speed bump it's very uncomfortable and pot holes are a sure recipe for back aches. I'll make this short, in town this car is simply uncomfortable. And I'm being gentle here.(the price for the handling I suppose).
The handling is pretty good, loads and loads of grip with very controllable and predictable under steer if you go over board. You can get through a back road very quickly and the suspension plays along very nicely here. The steering wheel is quite numb but very accurate and it gets good weight when things get interesting. The gearbox is a thorn in your backside here as well as it doesn't allow for anything other than very calm reactions from the engine and making the backside dance is next to impossible when combining this with the high grip. All in all it's a good companion on a back road. It's no BMW, but it's much better than most cars on the road.
Conclusion:
I was quite crossed when I climbed out of this car. I was expecting German quality with high comfort, a car that is a comfortable pillow to put your head on at the end of a tiring day. I didn't get that. It's much too firm in the city and the gearbox is just awful in every way. I found my self barely touching the gas peddle to keep the noise down and to keep the fuel consumption down. It was tiring and annoying and I didn't like it.
The Audi did not live up to some cars that are much cheaper. A recent drive in a Ford Mondeo (Titanium trim level) showed me just how much. The Ford is more comfortable, much more spacious in the back, better equipped, costs less and just as good if not better because of the gearbox on the back roads. The Skoda Superb is also very good and costs less and I'm struggling to understand why anyone buys an A4... S4s and RS4s are fine but the A4? It's just not good enough.
I got no pics but we all know what an A4 looks like
Had a week with this car, figured it might help some people.
So, the Audi A4. In general it's a decent car, but it's really not worth the money with some of the other products on the market these days. Here's why:
I'll start with the interior. It's very well built no doubt and the materials are very good, everything feels sturdy and very well put together. The buttons and levers all give the feeling of German build quality and really I can't complain about anything here. My only complaint is that the "InfoTainment" system on the car that controls pretty much everything is a bit daft and could be much more user friendly. I managed it just fine but I imagine an older person with no regular access to these things might get confused.
The seats in the front are very good, comfy and supportive even in long drives. The back could do with more room. I'm 1.83M tall and I had no leg room and my head occasionally hit the ceiling... 3 people in the back is too much as well, this car handles 2 adults in the back at most and some of it's rivals have a much more inviting back seat.
The engine is very nice and provides enough oomph when it's necessary and is very quiet otherwise, it's a bit of a gas guzzler though as I averaged around 8km/l (and this includes a lot of freeways...) and I easily manage 10 km/l with my chipped 2006 Golf GTI. This could be due to the engine only having 1000 km on it though. All in all I liked the engine a lot.
The gearbox is terrible in any kind of way, unless you're driving very very calmly this gearbox is just a party pooper all the time, you put your foot down and the relentless drone coming from the engine bay can drive you mad. You reach a hill? Be sure to accelerate earlier just to keep that drone as low as possible, it helps but you'll still reach the top of the hill with a headache and a wish to god that you were in another car. Honestly, what possessed Audi to give their cars a continuous gearbox?? They've always been and always will be shit, unless you're a 90 year old.
The suspension is completely unacceptable. I've heard new German cars tend to be on the firm side and that's fine in a BMW that's aimed at a certain demographic but in an Audi mostly bought by "normal" people? Gimme a break... My GTI manages a much better ride in town and on the freeway. The A4 is OK on the freeway, it manages to crest most bumps but occasionally the suspension will meet a bump it can't handle and shut completely making a very distinct noise, this is again unacceptable, it made me lose all confidence in the car. I should state this happened to me twice, both times the car was full with 4 people in it.
In town it's much worse, no matter how slowly you hit a speed bump it's very uncomfortable and pot holes are a sure recipe for back aches. I'll make this short, in town this car is simply uncomfortable. And I'm being gentle here.(the price for the handling I suppose).
The handling is pretty good, loads and loads of grip with very controllable and predictable under steer if you go over board. You can get through a back road very quickly and the suspension plays along very nicely here. The steering wheel is quite numb but very accurate and it gets good weight when things get interesting. The gearbox is a thorn in your backside here as well as it doesn't allow for anything other than very calm reactions from the engine and making the backside dance is next to impossible when combining this with the high grip. All in all it's a good companion on a back road. It's no BMW, but it's much better than most cars on the road.
Conclusion:
I was quite crossed when I climbed out of this car. I was expecting German quality with high comfort, a car that is a comfortable pillow to put your head on at the end of a tiring day. I didn't get that. It's much too firm in the city and the gearbox is just awful in every way. I found my self barely touching the gas peddle to keep the noise down and to keep the fuel consumption down. It was tiring and annoying and I didn't like it.
The Audi did not live up to some cars that are much cheaper. A recent drive in a Ford Mondeo (Titanium trim level) showed me just how much. The Ford is more comfortable, much more spacious in the back, better equipped, costs less and just as good if not better because of the gearbox on the back roads. The Skoda Superb is also very good and costs less and I'm struggling to understand why anyone buys an A4... S4s and RS4s are fine but the A4? It's just not good enough.