Audi A4 2.0T Review

Buying an Audi sedan without Quattro all wheel-drive is like dating a Swedish brunette. That said, there’s nothing wrong with the right brunette, Bergman movies notwithstanding. And Audi makes and sells plenty of products where only the front wheels are driven, from economy cars to its aufwendig TT. In fact, Audi’s UK website proudly proclaims “a front-wheel-drive car is in principle more controllable and tracks better than conventional rear-wheel drive.” OK then, in advance of the all-new A4 headed our way in '09, let’s have a look at the Audi A4 2.0T and see if we can get past the FWD thing.

Under the guidance of northern Italian designer Walter de’Silva, Audi’s products preserve the straight, clean lines that BMW and Mercedes abandoned in pursuit of Picasso-esque titillations. The A4 maintains the simplicity of form and absence of affectation that has marked this marque’s models for decades. It’s proof positive that Audi understands understatement like Ferrari groks glamor.
The A4’s interior has no such Achilles heel. The design is two steps forwards, one step back; the splendid red-on-red gauge read-outs are back, along with the square steering locus and the all-work-no-play center stack. The A4’s quality materials continue to defend and extend Audi’s rep for haptic happiness, with controls that snick with precisely measured sensual satisfaction.

Of course, no one’s perfect. A garish, silver piece of trim bisected my test A4’s interior; presumably inspired by a bath tub ring. Worse, the A4’s rear accommodations are still cramped enough to make an A4 owner covet a relatively measly Malibu. If your passengers are neither large or numerous, the A4’s handsome cabin remains the standard to which all other automobile manufacturers can– and do– aspire.

Once underway, Audi’s 200-horse powerplant displays minimal turbo-lag and stumps-up enough twist to keep on keeping on on the highway. Enough is enough, but no more; the 3428lbs. A4 is no pocket rocket. That's partly because the front wheel-drive A4 I tested came with a CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission)– no "proper" autobox is available. In any case, the sprint from rest to sixty takes about eight seconds.An A4 2.0T sans all wheel-drive is nothing more than a comfortable, boring sedan that gets reasonable mileage.

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