2022 Audi A4 Reviews, Pricing & Specs

The Audi A4 lineup includes the A4 sedan, the A4 Allroad (a station wagon with SUV styling cues and a slightly higher ride height), and an S4 performance-tuned model with a more powerful engine. We evaluated the A4 for this review, which comes in 40 TFSI and 45 TFSI model series and Premium, Premium Plus, and Prestige trim levels. Prices start at under $40,000 and rise to more than $50,000.

Our test car was just about as expensive as an A4 gets without upgrading to the more powerful S4 model. It came in Prestige 45 TFSI specification with Tango Red paint, the Black Optic Plus package, 19-inch wheels, the S-line Interior package, and ventilated front seats. The Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) came to $55,890, including the $1,095 destination charge.

Simple, clean, and conservative in appearance, the A4 proved a perfect canvas for the Tango Red paint, Black Optic package detailing, and classic five-arm rotor-design wheels, the latter an example of automotive design perfection that cannot be improved upon. Our A4 looked sensationally good.

Inside, the A4 shows similar aesthetic restraint. The test car had black everything, but with enough aluminum trim, gloss black décor, and metallic accents to avoid seeming like a cave. Audi deftly integrates the air vents into the dashboard and properly labels the controls with white markings on a matte-black background. The test car had high-quality materials, a 12.3-inch Audi Virtual Cockpit digital instrumentation panel, and ambient interior lighting. Only the tablet-style touchscreen infotainment system looked out of place, like an afterthought rather than an integrated part of the design.

Choose the Audi A4 40 TFSI, and you’ll get a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine generating an underwhelming 201 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque. It uses a seven-speed S-tronic dual-clutch automatic transmission (DCT) to power the standard Quattro Ultra all-wheel-drive (AWD) system, and earns an EPA fuel economy rating of 29 mpg in combined driving. Audi says this powertrain will scoot the A4 to 60 mph in 6.3 seconds.

Our A4 45 TFSI test car brought 261 hp and 273 lb-ft of torque to the party. Otherwise, this model’s drivetrain matches the 40 TFSI, but it comes with a lowered sport suspension. Audi claims the A4 45 TFSI accelerates to 60 mph in 5.2 seconds, and the EPA says you should expect to get 27 mpg in combined driving.

Both engines require premium gas and offer a choice between Comfort, Auto, Dynamic, and Individual driving modes. We evaluated the car in Auto mode, switching to Dynamic mode for the mountainous portion of the testing route, and the A4 45 TFSI averaged 24.8 mpg. Somehow, the test vehicle didn’t feel as fast as Audi’s acceleration claim, but to be fair, we had just come out of an electric vehicle boasting substantially more power.

The A4 uses Audi’s efficiency-focused Quattro Ultra AWD system. It powers the front wheels unless the driving situation warrants power transfer to the rear wheels. During enthusiastic driving in the Santa Monica Mountains near Los Angeles, we thought we could feel the rear-end digging in as we accelerated out of curves, but it’s not as visceral a sensation as the traditional Quattro system with a sport differential.

Driving the A4 is a joyful experience. The engine is refined when revved and delivers a solid punch of torque right where you want to feel it. Steering wheel paddle shifters enhance engagement and offer downshift rev matching, while the S-tronic DCT behaves beautifully.

Tire grip is outstanding. The 245/35 Hankook Ventus S1 Evos stayed utterly glued to the blacktop of California’s Mulholland Highway in triple-digit temperatures. Despite the heat, the test car’s brakes suffered nary a shudder nor a grumble, and didn’t fade whatsoever. The steering elicits no praise but avoids criticism, so it could be better.

Around town, the A4’s structure and suspension convey a rock-solid sensation over speed bumps and humps, which the Audi takes at speed with a shrug despite the low-profile rubber mounted to the 19-inch wheels. The isolation levels suggest sorcery is at work.

Furthermore, our A4 was remarkably quiet at all times. With dual-pane acoustic front window glass and a slippery coefficient of drag, this might be expected, but it was still surprisingly silent within the cabin.

Overall, the 2022 Audi A4 45 TFSI Prestige is dynamically rewarding and absolutely unflappable, making it a great German sports sedan. In fact, we thought the A4 45 TFSI delivered all the speed anyone needs, making the upgrade to an Audi S4 seem foolish.

Sitting low to the ground, the Audi A4 is harder to enter and exit than you might expect, and the small door openings and snug cabin don’t help. But once you’re settled in, the A4 is exceptionally comfortable in front and just comfortable enough in back.

In addition to soft leather, power adjustment, and a thigh-support cushion, the heated and ventilated driver’s seat offers a perfect driving position. The center armrest slides forward and back and adjusts for height to optimize driver comfort.

The A4 also includes a three-zone automatic climate control system. The climate system is separate from the infotainment screen, and is easy to use. Overall, there is a refreshing simplicity to the A4’s layout and switchgear; nearly everything in the car is intuitive. That cannot be said for many modern vehicles equipped with this much tech.

Adults fit into the 40/20/40-split folding back seat, though there isn’t much space for stretching out. You sit inboard, which restricts real-world capacity to two people, and Audi panels the front seatbacks in hard plastic and exposed storage netting, both of which are unfriendly to knees and shins. Getting in and out is also a challenge. But once you’re snuggled into the supportive, heated rear seat cushions with your feet tucked under the front seats, you’ll be comfortable for shorter trips.

Interior storage space is limited. For example, the center console bin underneath the center armrest houses the wireless charging pad and Audi Phone Box signal booster, rendering it useless for carrying items. Only the glove compartment and door panel bins exhibit any generosity in this regard.

The A4’s 13 cubic-foot trunk is nicely finished and has enclosed hinges so that you won’t crush your luggage. Storage nets reside on either side, and there is plenty of floor space for your things. Audi also supplies grab handles on both sides of the lid, making it easy to swing it shut.

Back in 2020, the A4 was the first of the automaker’s models to get a next-generation MIB3 version of Audi Multi-Media Interface (MMI). It uses a 10.1-inch touchscreen display that stands proud on the dashboard like you’ve clipped an iPad to it above the center air vents.

While the execution might be inelegant, the technology itself is like a breath of fresh air. The screen supports common fingertip smartphone functions including swipe, scroll, pinch, and spread. Additionally, the menu tiles and virtual buttons offer acoustic feedback when you use them, confirming the selection.

Features include wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, SiriusXM satellite radio (with a complimentary 90-day subscription), and Audi Connect connected services (free for six months). The test car also had a navigation system, wireless smartphone charging, and a 19-speaker Bang & Olufsen premium audio system.

The MMI is simple to configure, and while the screen looks out of place, it is easy to reference and use while driving. In addition, an obvious Home button quickly takes you back to the main menu screen, making the tech even more intuitive. The voice recognition technology is accurate but slow to respond to commands, so you need to exercise patience. A Back button makes it easy to modify an existing command or issue a new one.

What’s especially remarkable about the Audi A4’s MMI is that the omission of most physical controls isn’t a problem. It helps that the climate controls are completely separate from the touchscreen, and Audi does provide a knob on the center console and buttons on the steering wheel for adjusting stereo volume and tuning the radio. Otherwise, you must use the touchscreen, but the intuitive user-experience and the useful voice controls make the lack of traditional knobs and buttons a non-issue. That’s impressive.

As expected, the Bang & Olufsen stereo is deeply satisfying, but if you dial it up to 80 percent of maximum volume, the sound quality can start to suffer degradation with certain kinds of music. Our test car also had a large head-up display, but if you wear polarized sunglasses, it’s going to be hard to see.

Audi stair-steps availability of the A4’s safety features. The more you spend on the car, the more you get. Our top-of-the-line Prestige model had all of the bells and whistles.

Under the Audi Pre Sense umbrella, the A4 Prestige includes front and rear collision preparation, a forward-collision warning system, and automatic emergency braking. Additionally, our test vehicle had lane-departure warning, lane-keeping assist, and lane-centering assist.

Adaptive cruise control with Traffic Jam Assist low-speed driving assistance was also on the test vehicle, along with blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, a safe exit warning system, a surround-view camera system, and Park Assist parking-assistance technology. Our A4 also blazed a bright path after dark thanks to its Matrix-design LED headlights with automatic high-beam operation.

Overall, the driver assistance tech is effective and non-intrusive. During the evaluation, we experienced the Pre Sense tech in heavy city traffic, and it is effective. However, in one situation with a car ahead slowing to make a left turn, the adaptive cruise control continued to brake the A4 even after the vehicle in front had moved out of the Audi’s path. That delayed reaction to changing conditions forced the driver to intervene and accelerate.

Other safety-related features that we liked include the ability to set a speed warning and the safe following distance icon within the digital instrumentation. Both provide subtle reminders to keep speeds in check and to maintain more distance to vehicles ahead.

If you do get into a collision, know that the A4 is a crash-test rock star. It gets a Top Safety Pick+ rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and a five-star overall rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Compared to its rivals, the Audi A4 offers commonly desirable features, such as real wood trim, leather upholstery, heated front seats, and a power sunroof, as standard equipment. Plus, every 2022 A4 has standard AWD. However, the lowest and most appealing prices apply to the comparatively underpowered 40 TFSI model.

Nevertheless, the cost to upgrade to the 45 TFSI is reasonable, and with the more powerful turbo-four, the A4 remains a good value. Furthermore, the A4 45 TFSI offers enough of a driving thrill that only the most hardcore enthusiasts will feel it necessary to upgrade to the more powerful Audi S4.

Value assessments aside, the 2022 Audi A4 was a pleasant surprise. Especially in light of the stiff competition in the compact luxury sport sedan segment, we expected the aging A4 to show more than a few wrinkles. Instead, it impressed us just as much as it did when the current-generation model debuted for the 2017 model year.

You may be tempted to overlook this car, but we recommend putting it on your test-drive list.