No car is perfect, and no car deserves complete condemnation. As an automotive critic, my job is to determine where upon the continuum stretching between perfection and condemnation a given vehicle ranks. To do that in a credible and authoritative way, I must suppress personal preferences, understand the vehicle’s competitive set, and empathize with the potential buyer, trying my best to evaluate a vehicle through his or her lens while incorporating my experience with and knowledge of the alternatives in the marketplace.
With that as preamble, and within the context of the entry-luxury sport sedan segment, the redesigned 2017 Audi A4 is an exceptionally good example of the breed. Before we get to specifics, though, it is helpful to understand this car’s story.
Arguably, it was the American arrival of the A4 for the 1996 model year that reversed Audi’s sagging fortunes in the U.S., placing the company on a 20-year journey to record sales and A-list luxury brand status. As the best-selling model in Audi’s history, the A4 is critically important to the company’s fortunes and image, in much the same way that the 3 Series serves that role for BMW. To say that the redesigned 2017 A4 carries the burden of proof for the future of the four-ringed marque is no understatement.
Good thing, then, that the A4 is an outstanding automobile.
Granted, I evaluated an expensive example of the car, decked out with Prestige trim ($46,850 including the $950 destination charge) and every option except the Sport Package, 19-inch wheels, wood dashboard inlays, and rear side-impact airbags, bringing the price to $54,275. Therefore, my test vehicle’s extra-cost Quattro all-wheel-drive system, adaptive damping suspension, Bang & Olufsen premium sound system, Audi Virtual Cockpit instrumentation, and summer performance tires certainly played key roles in delivering a significant “Wow!” factor. Still, much of what impresses most about the new A4 is baked right into the most basic versions.
Forego Quattro and any extras, and the A4 Premium will run $38,250. Standard equipment includes front-wheel drive, a 7-speed automated manual transmission, 17-inch aluminum wheels, HID headlights, leather seats, triple-zone automatic climate control, a 10-speaker sound system, and a forward-collision warning system with front and rear automatic emergency braking.
The A4 Premium Plus ($42,050) installs S-line exterior trim, larger 18-inch wheels, LED headlights, parking-assist sensors, a thundering Bang & Olufsen sound system, passive keyless entry, SOS emergency calling, and more. Premium Plus trim also serves as the gateway to several of the A4’s desirable instrumentation, infotainment, and driver-assistance technologies.
Prestige models ($46,850) come with Audi Virtual Cockpit instrumentation, a navigation system with a handwriting recognition pad, Audi Connect subscription services, and a blind-spot monitoring system with rear cross-traffic alert. Exclusives to this model include a standard heads-up display and a 360-degree top-view camera system. The A4 Prestige is the only version available with an adaptive cruise control system with traffic-jam assist, an active lane-departure warning and assist system, automatic high-beam headlights, an adaptive damping suspension, and a Warm Weather Package containing ventilated front seats and rear side window sunshades.
Painted Manhattan Gray, my test car did not have the 19-inch aluminum wheel upgrade, nor was it missed. While the new A4 looks quite similar to the car it replaces and is conservatively penned almost to a fault, the sharply creased and tailored design is likely to age gracefully.
Longer and wider than before, the new A4 boasts a lower 0.27 coefficient of drag, demonstrating that aerodynamic cars need not be ugly cars. Thanks to extensive use of aluminum in its underlying construction, the 2017 A4 has shed nearly 100 pounds of weight, despite its increased dimensions.
Inside, the A4 is larger than ever, and Audi carved out additional rear seat space to make passengers just as happy as the driver. Impeccably detailed, the cabin is a case study of sensibility and elegance, reflecting how form can uncompromisingly follow function. From the chiseled fabric-wrapped windshield pillars and a dashboard bisected by ventilation outlets to the perforation and stitching patterns of the seats and the textured pedal covers, everything about this Audi’s interior is purposeful and complementary, conveying an upscale conservatism directly aligned with the exterior design.