When in India, dial A for Audi

CHOOSING

the right premium executive car
has always been tough because of the excellent

Mercedes C class

and the delectable

BMW 3 series.

The Mercedes C class

has always been very comfortable with its superlative ride quality, but this time Merc has tried to emulate the BMW with a more communicative steering and tighter handling.

BMWs

were great handlers but they decided to go the Merc way in India by offering the Highline models which we are told, rides better. Now, it has been made even more difficult by the third and newest contender- the Audi A4. The last generation of the Audi A4 was not taken very seriously despite being one good all rounder.

One drive in the new A4 will reveal that the latest generation is here to conquer. Audis have a cool image associated with them thanks to the number of footballers driving around in them.
Look at the new A4.

The overall shape is classic and unmistakably Audi but there are some super cool touches like the diamond-string head lamps that are derivative of the R8 supercar. The A4 gets the Bulgarian beard that is now characteristic of all Audis and a neat front air-dam beneath it.

The skirtings around the car add a bit of sporty character while the simple 18 five spoke alloys give it a sense of dynamism. Audi has adapted what they call as the comfort rough road package
for the suspension to cope up with the Indian roads.

Inside, the A4 has gained more room thanks to the 2.8m wheelbase which is the longest in this segment. It has the most width in the segment as well. The cockpit and the controls are tilted towards the driver. The MMI screen and dial takes centre stage in the console and are intuitive to use.

The 14 speaker Bang&Olufsen music system can turn the Audi into a concert hall at the twist of a knob.

The A4 does not have a conventional handbrake and gets a parking brake with auto hold function as in the VW Passat.

The suspension offers three settings which are changeable via the switches behind the gear lever. Quality of plastics could have been better; which is probably the only negative you can find
with the cars other-wise excellent interiors.

Under the hood of the A4 3.2 FSI is a longitudinally mounted V6 with 265bhp and 33.6kgm of torque. It's mated to a six speed automatic transmission and power is sent to all four wheels via the Quattro which is Audi's name for four wheel drive.

Audi was the first company to use all wheel drive in cars to improve traction and this is where the A4 really shines. The A4 catapults itself from 0- 100kmph in 8.1 seconds with no wheelspin at all.

The power delivery is immediate and the throttle responses are lightning-quick in dynamic mode. There is a surge as you floor the throttle and the A4 hurls towards the horizon. Top speed is close to 250 kmph.

And in corners it grips, grips more and then still more. Carry any speed into the corners and the A4 will oblige. Or you can shed some of it with those brilliant brakes and then hit the throttle when you near the apex of the turn.

Overall handling can be termed as neutral though there is some understeer when pushed really hard. It is in the wet that the Audi feels so reassuring and that Quattro really makes sense.

A BMW with its rear wheel drive will be more fun on the corners but this one will make sure that you get out of them just as fast and more importantly safer at all times. And in case something goes wrong, there are 8 airbags to protect you as well. The Audi A4 is quite simply the best performance ex- ecutive car in the segment now. But it delivers on other key areas as well.
The ride quality despite the 40 section tyres is reasonably pliant. Space, comfort and safety levels are quite up with the best and it has a long list of equipment too. Fuel economy is not that good however, which is partly due to the all-wheel drive system that saps power. But it is mostly due to the engine management system which retards the ignition to suit our fuels to the high 12.5:1 compression ratio as a result of which fuel burns less efficiently.

This could be improved by using 97 octane fuel. But honestly we don't mind spending a little bit more on fuel when you get that gratifying surge with every prod of the accelerator and leech like grip in corners.

In case you do, Audi also has the 2.0TDI engine on offer which has everything but its appetite for fuel.