Audi S4 TDI: A Commitment To Diesel

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Audi S4 TDI: A Commitment To Diesel
Audi S4 TDI: A Commitment To Diesel

Video: Audi S4 TDI: A Commitment To Diesel

Video: Audi S4 TDI: A Commitment To Diesel
Video: Прощай, 1.4 TFSI. Рестайлинг Audi A4. Дизель для S4: солярка и электронаддув! Первый тест 2024, March
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It was the Germans' favorite Audi in recent years, and the SUV boom hasn't changed that: the A4 model confidently tops the brand's internal registration statistics. Now the successor is coming on the market. We tested the S4.

A fundamental renovation is to make the sedan and station wagon fit for the second half of their life cycle, and the revamped A4 will be at dealerships from September.

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The identification with their company is enormous among researchers and developers in Audi services, as well as among members of the communications department. That is why it is noticeable to some of the pressure that comes from constantly new reports of continued diesel manipulation. Others try, smiling bravely, to do “business as usual”, as for example now with the presentation of the new Audi A4.

Every fifth Audi sold is an A4

It is still very popular with German customers, which is unusual for a car that is about to be overhauled. With around 28,700 new registrations, the A4 won the silver medal behind the Mercedes C-Class in the first half of the year. For the new 3-series BMW presented at the end of 2018, only bronze remained, but this is due to the fact that the station wagon called Touring was not yet available. Every fifth Audi sold worldwide is an A4, with a total of around 7.5 million units delivered.

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As a passenger car in the lower middle class, the A4 has a special meaning for the Audi brand because it marked the beginning of the all-wheel drive era. The predecessor series with the model designations Audi 80 and Audi 90 found their customers as well-intentioned but unexciting front-wheel drive cars, who were sometimes said to drive crocheted covers for toilet paper rolls on the parcel shelves. It would never have occurred to them that Audi could have something to do with sportiness or even automotive luxury. But with a harmless-looking Audi 80 at the 1980 Geneva Motor Show, the Ingolstadt-based company took the first step towards becoming an automotive upper house.

Driving tests with the polecat

During winter driving tests, the Audi engineer Jörg Bensinger noticed that the Volkswagen “Iltis” developed for the German Armed Forces, although motorized with only 75 hp, not only achieved the best test results under snow and ice conditions, but also clearly outperformed more powerful cars. If conventional passenger cars were to be equipped with four-wheel drive, it would have to bring clear advantages in terms of driving behavior.

Bensinger quickly found an ally in the then Audi boss Ferdinand Piëch. The manager, known as a technology freak, liked the idea. It went perfectly with his plan to strip the brand with the four rings of its homely flair. The first prototype with a five-cylinder turbo engine and 200 hp was commissioned. At the beginning of 1980 the car was ready to drive and was presented to the public.

One of the ancestors of today's A4 is responsible for the fact that the "Quattro" drive found its way into almost all Audi model series. Legendary commercials such as the ascent of a ski jumping hill and motorsport successes - with Walter Röhrl at the wheel, among others - shaped the brand image and enabled Audi to catch up with the established premium brands Mercedes and BMW. The introduction of all-wheel drive coincides with the first attempt at sophisticated elegance and equipment. The self-confidence the A4 has today is easy to see from the fact that it is seven centimeters longer than the Audi 200 of the time.

Change a lot without attracting attention

The art of a successful facelift is to change as many features of a car as possible without it being noticed immediately. The A4 has a wider single-frame grille, flatter headlights, the light edges on the shoulder line are now divided into three parts and emphasize the slightly flared wheel arches. The inclination of the C-pillar was accentuated and the rear lights received a segmented graphic. Four-door, Avant and Allroad are available from the start, only the Chauffeur version, which has been extended by 88 millimeters, remains reserved for Chinese buyers.

The power spectrum of the diesel and gasoline engines ranges from 136 to 245 hp. At launch, five engines will have a mild hybrid system (MHEV) on a 12-volt basis on board, which is intended to reduce consumption while increasing comfort. According to Audi, this broad-based electrification makes an "important contribution to increasing efficiency and saving fuel".

It could be seen as a sign of courage that the sporty top model is a diesel engine. The Audi S4, available both as a sedan and as an Avant, has a three-liter V6 TDI engine and develops 347 hp. With 700 Newton meters of torque, it even surpasses the previous top model RS4, which “only” has 600 Newton meters. However, one can assume that the old pecking order will be restored when a new RS4 model appears. The powerful acceleration of the S4 was a pleasure on the first test kilometers. It is the first model in the series to use an electric compressor that can provide compressed combustion air faster than any exhaust gas turbocharger.

Turbo lag? What's this?

The result is extremely spontaneous reactions to throttle movements, the memory of the phenomenon known as “turbo lag” fades with every meter driven. The temptation to drive dynamically is immense and, in practice, it is better not to expect the car to manage with the official fuel consumption of 6.3 liters per 100 km. The S4 TDI brings another novelty to the customer: With regard to further electrification potential, it has a 48-volt main electrical system, the voltage of which is transformed down for the 12-volt components that are still used. Only acoustically does the S4 leave something to be desired; a juicier sound would make the symphony of longitudinal and lateral acceleration even more impressive.

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Admittedly, the provisional top model is unlikely to exceed a single-digit percentage of the total volume of the A4 series. The Allroad quattro 45 TFSI is likely to be found much more frequently. While its diesel counterpart is equipped with a six-cylinder, the gasoline engine draws from a two-liter four-cylinder that mobilizes a hearty 245 hp. At 370 Newton meters, the torque is almost at the level of diesel engines of the same size and this is enormously noticeable when driving. The chassis, which is a little higher than the normal Avant, is characterized by robust suspension comfort without being uncomfortable. The electromechanical steering allows precise handling and targeted changes of direction. According to the data sheet, the Allroad manages with an average of 6.8 liters,During the test drives in the mountains, the on-board computer showed eight liters.

New touch display

One or the other customer will definitely miss a familiar detail in the cockpit in the future: the rotary push button on the center console for operating the MMI infotainment system has been quickly retired. Instead, Audi wants to approach the operating principle of smartphones and has installed a 10.1-inch touch display with acoustic feedback. Its graphics are “deliberately kept clean and reduced,” says Audi. The virtual cockpit, which has already been implemented in other series, will remain on offer, as will the head-up display.

For the simplest variant of the newcomer, Audi will charge 33,600 euros. The model with the type designation “A4 35 TFSI” has a four-cylinder petrol engine with 150 hp, front-wheel drive and a 6-speed manual transmission. All other engine versions are equipped with a 7 or 8-speed automatic transmission. The cheapest diesel (136 hp) is in the price list at 38,900 euros. The customers of the S4 sedan have to dig much deeper into their pockets: 62,600 euros are called, for the estate version it is another 1650 euros more. The A4 allroad quattro 45 TFSI costs 50,100 euros.

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