| Road Test Audi A4 3.2 FSI quattro S line |
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Can I Keep It, Please?
Good things never come cheap and the A4 saloon is no exception. This fine sporting four-door is one of the world's best and can wear its £26,885 list price with pride - even though my S line trimmed test example came with just about every conceivable extra Audi could lay their hands on. It was a generous fit and pushed the final bill to an eye-watering £36,125. You might wonder how anyone can spend £10,000 on extras on an already well-specified basic model. I did too. Audi's excellent S-Line pack costs £1400 and adds 17" alloys with 45-section low-profile tyres, a three-spoke sports steering wheel, aluminium trim, superb Concert 11 radio and CD system, sports suspension, sports front seats, electric windows and unique badging. That's good value. But then there's £1650 for valcona leather but no electric adjustment, £1975 for a class-leading DVD navigation system, £1100 for steerable xenon headlamps, a TV with teletext function at £705, a BOSE sound system at £480, a £380 auto-changer, heated front seats at £250 a pair, a daft interior lighting pack costing £155, unnecessary aluminium inlays at £100, and an auto-dimming rear view mirror at a breathtakingly expensive £325. Put all that together and you end up with quite a car - but apart from the good-value S line pack, comfortable leather and efficient heated seats I'd pass on most of the "toys". The simple facts are that the A4 3.2 FSI quattro is as dynamically impressive in standard guise as it is with all those costly extras. It's a fantastic car, beautifully crafted with astonishing levels of grip, a strong sporting performance and a high level of comfort. There's no doubting the ability of the DVD navigation system or the surprising clarity of the TV installation when you're parked up and waiting for the better half to return from a shopping trip - but to part with more than £2600 to enjoy electronic map reading and the Simpsons is too rich for my taste. |
