Even the neatly shaped remote key fob
quietly whispers 'quality' with its built in folding key and stylish
leather and chrome A4 keyring. I'm about to steal away for a quick
test of Fren and Ed's well spec'ed daily drive, in-between an
afternoons boating and a great seafood dinner, whilst joining them
for a few days on their holiday in Loch Lomond. Pull open the
drivers door to climb aboard and that sense of wellbeing swells as
everything that you can reach to touch or even see seems to confirm
that first impression. Quality and discrete style ooze out of every
nook, cranny, storage bin, and air vent at you sit, slightly in oar,
I try to drink it all in. It's a very well spec'ed car indeed,
positioned just nicely between the 'Look at me!' RS4 and the 'poor
mans' FWD 1.6 saloon. That three litre V6 TDi delivers a very
healthy 230bhp with 332lb/ft of torque via a ZF 6 speed auto 'box
through Audi's T2 four wheel drive system, ensuring that each corner
does its share in propelling this car forwards as requested.
Official figures declare 0-60mph times
somewhere south of 7 seconds, and I have little reason to disbelieve
them as I power out of the Cameron House driveway into the brief gap
in the congested Friday afternoon traffic that is escaping Glasgow on
the A82. The sun has been beating down for the past few days making
this part of the world look and feel more like some Mediterranean
resort that the place where low and high lands meet. I peel off onto
the B831 and then the A818 towards Helensburgh in search of some
quieter roads to get a feel for this car. The steering wheel is
reasonably small, with a few auxiliary controls that I have neither
time or inclination to figure out. The information coming through
the steering wheel is a pleasant surprise as is the sharp, accurate
steering response. I've had brief drives of front wheel drive A4's
in the past and found them to feel quite nose heavy with blunt
steering, but a combination of the 50:50 split of power front:rear
and possibly a few suspension tweaks on this B7 model (as VW/Audi
folk like to refer to them) makes for quite an improvement from
behind the wheel.
Mooching around Helensburgh, searching
in vain for a jet wash to clear off the road rash that was acquired
on the long drive up from Norfolk, and the standard auto mode makes
leisurely progress the order of the day. More free time would be
nice as Helensburgh looks like a pleasant place to spend an idle hour
or two, but I double back along the A818 to dash back to the A82 and
a little return leg via Luss. The roads finally quieten enough for
me to switch into sports mode and press on along this entertaining
ribbon of tarmac. The sport mode works so nicely, that the push/pull
manual override option seems fairly redundant. Braking into a
corner, the 'box down-changes to just the right gear, ready for you
to get back on the power through the apex, feeling all four wheels
put the power down cleanly. Even the V6 diesel engine makes some
fruity noises that encourage you to press on harder.
Although there is an instant sense that
this car has serious capacity to entertain with its poise, all round
grip, pace, and smoothness, there's something that hints at more to
be discovered. I suspect that this car would continue to impress for
month after month of ownership as more of that deeply engrained
quality of engineering and build came through in all sorts of
environments and conditions. A friend and I often have a 'what
one car would you buy if you had to use it for the rest of your
life?' style conversation, and high spec mid size 6 cylinder turbo
diesel estate car like this Audi normally reoccur time after time.
Pondering these thoughts as I cruise back along the A82 in search for
a nice spot to stop to photograph the still dirty car, and it's hard
not to think of obvious german rivals like the BMW 3 series and the
Merc C class. An equivalent 3 series might have a slight edge over
the others at 10/10ths, and although I've had little experience of
Mercs, they are renowned for their quality and comfort, but the 4WD
Audi seems to have an all round every day edge.
That's certainly the conclusion Fren
and Ed came to when choosing back it 2006, having previously had
various executive and sports cars between them. A relocation from
commuter-belt to central London had seen them consolidate down to a
Golf GTTDi a few years earlier, and pleased with the VW built
quality, but wanting slightly more luxury, an Audi seemed to fit the
bill perfectly. I suspect Fren would have rather have had a smaller
A3 and Ed a larger A6, maybe even an Allroad version, so the A4 Avant
was a good compromise. Front cabin space is very good, although rear
legroom does suffer as a result, and luggage space is somewhat
compromised by the sports estate styling. That said, the flexibility
of the Avant has served Fren and Ed consistently as city jobs have
given way to managing their own businesses along with other lifestyle
evolutions over the ensuing years. Runs along the coast to fetch
service parts for Groovy-Campers or to collect linen for
Blakeney Boltholes have replaced long motorway trips from and to
London every weekend.
Running short on time, I finally recall
a spot that'll work nicely as a backdrop for a few photographs before
dashing back to shower and change for dinner. It's always whilst
taking the photos that I take in the details of the car I'm testing.
Audi seem to constantly tweak and fiddle with the detailing of their
products, sometimes without any significant improvement. I think
this version still looks great, better than the original A4 which is
starting to look a bit frumpy these days, and in many ways, better
than the current versions, less fussy somehow. When asking to try
other peoples cars, I've always said that I'd need at least a couple
of hours with a car to be able to make any meaningful assessment.
That was all the time I had with this A4, and in truth, I can say
that it is smooth, nicely involving, and pleasing swift to drive, but
it truly is a car that you wouldn't tire of for days, weeks, months,
probably even years!
Thanks to Fren and Ed for loan of
their car (and that seafood dinner!).
