Although I-40 west of Flagstaff, Arizona isn't much like the Autobahn, if you squint your eyes when entering Kaibab National Forest the smell of the pines may convince you that you have been transported to the old country. Particularly if you exit at Williams. Williams is the town where tourists stop before turning north on their way to the Grand Canyon. Germans love the Grand Canyon as evidenced by the multitude of Wagnerian travelers found in the local food and gas mart. They also seemed to be pretty impressed with my set of wheels. I couldn't blame them, I was spending the week in an Audi A4.
I know many Americans are afraid of getting behind the wheel of an Audi, lest they find themselves hurling through the back of their garage and into their swimming pool. But really folks, the unintended acceleration problem was never a problem, merely a circumstance of Americans not understanding German gas and brake pedal placement. Many Americans are also afraid of Audi's scattershot reliability. To address this concern, Audi has a three- year/50,000 mile warranty that includes everything, even scheduled maintenance. Now that we have laid these fears to rest, let's discuss the real issues of the A4. The Audi A4 is one of the most beautiful cars I have laid eyes on this year. My wife thinks it looks like an art deco toaster but I don't care, the A4 has a shape unlike any other vehicle on the road. The designers have fashioned a car that feels larger on the inside than on the outside, with plenty of room for four adults and their belongings. Audi must also be complemented on the design of their doors. After years of sliding into cars that had openings barely wide enough to accommodate my six-foot one-inch height and two-hundred pound frame, it was refreshing to step into a car that has doors that open to a point almost perpendicular to the car itself. We are certain that this feature alone could make this the upscale car of choice among families with toddlers and those that are tired of trying to get their groceries in and out of a portal that is marginally larger than a mail slot.
Once inside the A4, drivers and passengers alike will revel in the car's luxurious interior. Exceptionally supportive leather seats cushion the ride for all passengers. Walnut inlays in the dashboard, center console and doors convey a feeling of opulence not generally found in a car that costs less than $30,000. An optional Bose music system will play your favorite songs as sweetly as they are heard in the best concert halls in the country. The A4 has seating for five, although it is unlikely that you would want to put five adults in this car for anything other than a quick trip around the corner. Seating for four, however, is comfortable despite the smaller than average area for the rear passenger's legs. The reason for this feeling of spaciousness may have to do with the outstanding shoulder and elbow room, not to mention the expansive views afforded out of the A4's large greenhouse. The result is that rear seat passengers feel like they have more room than they really do. Pretty sneaky, huh?
This is all well and good, but we both know that the real reason people buy Audis is not to sit around in pampered comfort. Rather, people buy Audis to drive. The A4 helps drivers accomplish this endeavor by providing all of the necessary equipment. The A4's thick steering wheel is comforting and meaty; inspiring the confidence to hang in there when negotiating tricky switchbacks. The wheel is flanked by easy-to-reach stalks for the lights, cruise control and wipers. The instrumentation is directly in front of the driver, making it easy to keep track of the A4's vital statistics. All secondary controls are textured, allowing your fingers to walk right to them without much groping. The driving position in the A4 is wonderful, after spending several days behind the wheel we felt neither fatigued nor irritable. One of our editors did complain, however, that the gas and brake pedals were placed a bit too far to the right, causing his leg to push awkwardly against the center console. Also, the pop-up cupholders are not worth the plastic they are stamped on. Do yourself a favor and invest in one of the Octopus cupholders they sell at the Pep Boys checkout stand.
Our staffers had the chance to test the A4 on a wide variety of roads, at different altitudes and in varying temperatures. From the one-hundred degree heat of the Phoenix basin to the winding state highways that lead to Nevada, our A4 never faltered. Negotiating slow-moving semis, Cadillacs and boat-towing pickups on their way to and from our nation's gambling capitol couldn't have been easier. Fast kickdowns by the A4's five-speed automatic transmission and nimble handling enabled us to spend most of our time viewing the slow-movers from our rearview mirror. Never once did we find ourselves in a situation wishing for more power or quicker acceleration. Even better, the engine never heated up despite the sweltering temperatures, hard driving and hilly terrain. The real test of the A4's driveability came on a trip to Madeira Canyon south of Tucson, Arizona. The drive to Madeira Canyon is not one that most take quickly and we admit that the scenery has slowed us down more than once. The 11,000 foot Mt. Writson looms overhead and the verdant valley offers plenty of trees and wildflowers to admire, but the chance to let the A4 flex its brawny shoulders on this desolate stretch of road's sensuous curves was more than we could bear. We dropped the hammer just off the freeway exit, wended a path through a few sightseers, and were off on a close approximation of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. The Audi A4 comes equipped with a 172-horsepower 6-cylinder engine that moves the car quickly through its gears. The five-speed automatic provides capable acceleration and plenty of power when coming out of tight curves. Weighing only thirty pounds more than the Jetta, the A4 seems much more balanced than its lesser cousin. There is very little body roll in the A4, and the most off-camber of turns is unlikely to ruffle its occupants. Tire-squeal under hard cornering is kept to a minimum, and all but the loudest of noises are dampened by the A4's excellent sound insulation. Steering is precise, if somewhat light, and the car heads where directed with little prodding. Our tester was not equipped with the Audi's Quattro all-wheel drive system; thus power was transferred exclusively to the front wheels. Surprisingly this didn't inhibit the A4's fun-to-drive quotient. Torque steer is virtually eliminated by the A4's new multi-link front suspension. Understeer, a problem with most front-wheel drive cars when taken to the limit, was almost non-existent in the A4. Despite hard cornering and braking maneuvers we never experienced the front-wheel plow that we have seen in some of the A4's competitors. Indeed, if more makers could give their front-wheel drive cars the quickness and precision of steering that our A4 exhibited, we would have difficulty arguing that rear-wheel drive is inherently better for sporting sedans.
Obviously, Audi has spent a great deal of time making their cars fun to drive and pleasant to ride in; fortunately for us, they have also been making them exceptionally safe. ABS5, Audi's latest anti-lock braking system, is excellent at stopping the A4 quickly and smoothly on virtually any surface; it also serves as the backbone for the A4's all-new traction control system. Unfortunately the Arizona sunshine didn't allow us to test the system on truly slick surfaces, but given the efficacy of the brakes we're certain it's top-notch. Dual airbags, side door guard beams that help the car meet 1997 side-impact standards, fog lights, five-mph bumpers, an alarm system and head restraints at all outboard seating positions are some of the items that Audi includes to make sure that their customers are around for years to come. For additional security in bad-weather situations, you can equip the A4 with Audi's Quattro all-wheel drive system. Audi claims that with the Quattro system the car won't get stuck as long as one wheel is able to grip.
We feel that near-luxury car buyers owe it to themselves to take a look at the Audi A4. The styling is more attractive than anything being offered by Lexus or Acura, the luxury is equal to big American cars such as the Cadillac Seville or Oldsmobile Aurora, performance is on par with top sedans from BMW and Mercedes, and safety is close to Volvo standards. Better yet, the Audi A4 comes fully loaded for close to $30,000, a price these other cars can't even touch.
