Audi A4 2.5 TDI Sport Multitronic review
by Ross Finlay (14 April 2004)
Settling on the exact price and specification of this test car wasn't easy, because Audi has a habit of spraying around different figures in different places, and there are sizeable reductions till the end of June this year on the cost of both the Sport specification and the Multitronic transmission.
Wherever we've got to, this is a fine-looking saloon, with clean lines, intelligent detailing, a huge luggage boot even with a full-size spare wheel under the floor, and a typically austere Audi interior. Despite being more generously dimensioned all round than the previous model, it's not quite as roomy in the rear cabin as it looks from the outside, and it has Audi's annoyingly hard (for rear seat occupants' knees) front seat backs, but there's absolutely no argument about the impeccable fit and finish, inside and out.
The Sport specification, currently on offer at a remarkably low £500 instead of the £1400 list price, adds 17" five-spoke "star" alloy wheels, body coloured bumpers and sill extensions, a revised front valance with larger air intakes and built-in foglamps, plus a rather discreet bootlid spoiler to the standard A4.
It doesn't stop there, because this model also has sports suspension, sports front seats with effective lumbar support, leather trim for the steering wheel, and so on.
The Multitronic transmission, almost certainly the best CVT system on the market - in fact, with its six "hold" positions when used as a manual, one of my favourite transmissions, full stop - is also on short-term offer at £500 instead of the usual £1450. So, what with one thing and another, at the current special-offer price this version of the A4 is well worth serious consideration.
In a front-wheel drive A4 like this one (the corresponding four-wheel drive quattro types have 177bhp to play with) the latest version of the 2.5-litre TDI has 160bhp on tap, but how much torque there is depends on what transmission is fitted. Audi is quite correct in saying that its Multitronic transmission can cope with much higher torque figures than earlier CVTs, but there is a limit.
While the Euro IV-compliant engine is tuned to provide 258lb/ft at 1500rpm in cars with manual transmission, the Multitronic versions peak at 228lb/ft. Mind you, that feels plenty, especially as maximum torque feeds in from just 1400rpm.
So there's strong mid-range performance to go with what is in a diesel context pretty sharp off-the-line acceleration, but one of the particularly appealing things about this engine is the combination of characteristic sound effects produced jointly by the diesel engine and the V6 layout.
A substantial improvement on its predecessor - what with the lightweight suspension units, greater attention to airflow both over and under the body, and so on - the latest A4 runs quietly even in diesel form, especially when on smooth and properly maintained tarmac.
Some of my colleagues prefer it with the smaller 1.9-litre turbo diesel engine, but you can't deny how impressive the V6 model is on a long-distance cruise, wafting along as it eats up the miles in such a relaxed manner.
And while it may not be exactly a chuck-about machine, one drive in particular, over a favourite hill road, showed how it won't just power (or torque) its way up, but can come down at a considerable rate of knots, spearing through the S-bends and, thanks to its powerful brakes, shedding speed easily for the hairpins.
I'm no great fan of many current transmission systems, especially some of the ones which pretend, on the flimsiest of evidence, to be "F1 style". As if . . .
But the Audi Multitronic has been a success right from the start, with its sophisticated technology, use of a steel rather than mesh transmission belt, and an electronically controlled clutch to ease the take-off from a standing start. It works very well when either making the standard "stepless" ratio changes or letting the driver snick through the six manual holds, and doesn't do as much damage to the performance and economy figures as a standard automatic.
I'd certainly go for it immediately at the current £500 sticker price, and even at £1450 I wouldn't take much longer to come to the same conclusion.
Second Opinion: I'd go for the four-cylinder myself. The V6 is a splendid unit but it's a lot for the A4 to carry. Funny thing is, this car gets better the harder you drive it. When you're really pushing on, everything seems to work in unison, but at gentler speeds (the ones the car will be asked to do most of the time) the handling is rather wooden and the ride too jittery. Still, even with some press-on motoring I found it fairly easy to beat the quoted combined fuel consumption figure, and you can't argue with over 40mpg in a car this size. David Finlay.
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