New A4 TDI (long)

[Tom Nas]

Hi all,

Last night I actually got around to test driving my brother's new 1.9TDI
A4. It's the 'low-powered' 100 hp version, FWD, 5-speed manual. The 130 hp
gets a 6-speed  or the brand-new (and great) infinitely variable
Multitronic (anyone remember DAFs?).
I'd driven a 1.8T quattro the weekend before and was pleasantly surprised
by the stability of the car, but the sports suspension (standard on
quattros here in Holland) seemed to highlight the tyres' underwhelming
abilities- it just wanted to go straight on in turns. The FWD A4s come with
the stock setup which is delightfully neutral to the point of absurdity
while soaking up the bumps with amazing ease. It's incredible how Audi
seems to be able to make a car that combines chuckability and a
super-comfortable ride. I was able to go over speed bumps at twice the
speed I usually do with my FWD 80 and still not rattle the fillings out of
my teeth.

The TDI (sorry for those who can't buy this engine- just keep pushing the
importers so that they will eventually see that there's a demand) is a
great engine. Though a car with 170 km on the odo can't be considered run
in and diesels usually take a while to 'loosen up' and achieve full power,
it felt super-tractable and eager. Comparing it to my brother's previous
company car, a 110 hp TDI A3, it still felt powerful but more composed and
less aggressive. There's considerably more weight in the A4 and 10 hp less,
but it doesn't feel like it could use the extra power. In fact, I don't
think the 130 hp TDI would be much fun as a FWD- I drove a Passat with the
130 hp and was barely able to get it off the line without endless and
annoying wheelspin. The transmission is beautifully matched to the engine
and makes for super-relaxed cruising at speed. No reports for top speed
(one encounter with a traffic camera was enough yesterday) but according to
factory spec it does just under 200 km/h which is plenty for me.

The colour combo he's chosen is a Merlot metallic (maroon) with a grey
cloth interior, which makes for a very classy car. It's also the first car
in this colour I've seen on the roads, most seem to be either silver,
black, titanium grey or denim blue. The panels on the dash are painted in
high-gloss mid-grey, which looks better than it sounds. The 100 hp 1.9
comes with steel wheels as standard, adorned with some atrocious plastic
hubcaps. Luckily, my brother was able to trade those for a set of OE alloys
from someone who'd specced his A4 with a wheel upgrade. They're
ten-spoked(?) dished silver 16" wheels which make the car look great. The
new dash is superb, build quality is even better than on the old A4 and I
quite like the new bluish-white/red illumination, on its lowest setting at
least. The dealer installed an excellent Grundig radio/single CD with red
illumination which sounds excellent through the stock (non-Bose) speakers.
I tried getting info on this unit at my local car stereo specialist
yesterday but it's apparently not even in the '02 catalogue yet, the design
is very neat and looks good in the A4's dash.

Any criticism? Well, I'd need a longer test drive for that and some time
for the first things to break. For now, a luggage net in the cavernous
trunk would be nice but that's about it... I'd certainly pick the TDI over
the 1.8T as I prefer tractable engines over peaky engines. I'll be
interested in driving the 2.5TDI I liked so much in the A6 last week in
this chassis, either with quattro or the Multitronic (which is sadly only
available on FWD cars). I'm also interested in the new FSI
(direct-injected) petrol engines which will be available in the A4. Audi
has left the pioneering to others and has been content with learning from
their mistakes.

If you want digi-pics from any detail of the car I'd be happy to oblige,
I'd soon be all over the car with my camera anyway.

Tom
78 80 1.6
87 80 1.8
88 90q 2.3
The Netherlands