There is no other car from the Audi lineup that can make the brand more widespread, could pick up from where the R8 left off, and continue on proclaiming Audi's new face, feel, and future goals, but in this case on a much lower income scale.

Audi has never hidden its ambition to become the primary luxury brand in the world. Audi representatives have on numerous occasions stated that by 2015 Audi will rule the world of luxury cars. Only time can tell if this will become reality, but as of now we can say for sure that Audi is really trying to reach that goal and the 2009 A4 is a great example of that.

Model Size:

A4 has now different presence on the road. Build on the B8 Modular Longitudinal Platform, it has different look and also different size. The new A4 is longer and wider than the previous model with its 79 inches in width and 185.2 inches in length compared to the older platform which was 76 inches wide and 180 inches long.

Engine Range:

For the USA market Audi has chosen from its potent line of engines few models based on their fuel efficiency and output. The usual suspect here is the international engine of the year in its class - the 2.0 TFSI and its big brother - the 3.2 FSI.

What is very interesting to notice here is that Audi has raised its engines output - the 2.0 TFSI now produces 211-hp (up 11) and the 3.2 now does 265-hp (up 15 from 250 it was producing before). Most of this increase is based on the new Audi Valve lift system, which for those of you who are not aware what it is, let's just say that it is the Audi version of the Honda VTEC but more efficient.

What is worth noticing here is that the 2.0 TFSI engine with the current gas prices and the raging fuel crisis will make the A4 a very competitive and fuel efficient vehicle and for the power output it produces not slow at all. The 2.0 TFSI goes from 0-60 mph in 7.1 seconds where the 3.2 will do that in 6.3.

Drivetrain & Steering:

The A4 comes with quattro and with rear biased 40% front and 60% rear torque split, which changes the way the car feels (compared to the previous versions) significantly and continues to improve on the Audi handling and feel on the road. To add to this Audi offers also (as part of pre-selected package called "Prestige") the drive select system which changes the steering and the dampers based on driver's selection. Choices here are comfort, auto, and dynamic. The system also allows the driver to change large number of the preselected preferences thus giving him almost complete control over how the car feels and drives on the road.

Packages:

Audi has always used packages as a way to distinguish model features and extras from one another. With the latest A4 Audi offers 3 main selections:

Premium, Premium Plus and Prestige.

Here is a quick breakdown based on Audi USA web site materials [Legend: - N/A, O - optional, S - Standard]:

Packages:


Performance:


Safety:


Exterior:


Interior:


Technology & Audio


Pricing:
Audi has raised its pricing from the previous A4 model, but overall for what comes with the A4 2.0 TFSI version the price is quite reasonable. The 2.0 TFSI model comes at the price of $32,700 where the 3.2 FSI version is priced at $40,000.

Vision:
Audi A4 is a a very solid and confident step forward for Audi. It shows the evolution of the brand design language and how Audi brand will be identified in the future. The new look also gives us a glimpse and an idea of how the new S4 and RS4 would look, cars that are instrumental for Audi rivalry with BMW and Mercedes-Benz.