I have to mention that i would be driving the car in weekends only, since i would be owning 2 cars.

if there are any problems that this car presistantly suffers please let me know.

AND if you can think of any other GERMAN car that has a price tag of around $53K plz tell me cause that is what am paying for a fully equiped A4 3.2 Quattro S Line with exclusive leather (brand new from the agency), A BMW 3 series sedan is just to ugly for me, and the mercedes C350 sedan has bad interior in my opinion.

Many things swayed my decision.
1. $40K for a premium AVANT
2. Their 2.0T FSI engine
3. The only one I test drove that did not threaten to wreck my cervical spine with those stupid head rest that forces the driver into the posture of the Hunchback of Notre Dame – BMW 3 excluded being the exception.
4. I have test drove the lot – Infiniti, Acura, Lexus, but for driving fun, nothing beats a BMW3. And the A4 just happened to come second.
5. I couldn’t quite get a BMW3 with 4-wheel drive to fit my budget and with desired options, and sadly, had to give up on that idea.

But your warning is well taken, too late. I will keep an eye out for it. From what I hear, it may not happen until after several thousand Km – mind is 5000 Km so far.

I love the fuel economy of the A4 though – just made a 700 km return trip, through mountain highway, and achieved 7.1 l/100. Mixed driving = 7.8 to 8.2 so far. City driving varies a lot on my right foot – 10 l/100 k if I am listening to Anne Murray, and 12 l/100 k if I have Deep Purple’s “Highway Star” playing end on end.

The car has a manufacturer’s defect.. it’s not on every car.. but at least in the dealership i went to there are 4 other cars with the same defect.. the defect is in the steering wheel of the car and takes away from the drive of the car. Audi claims it’s not a “safety issue” and claims that the owner should put up with driving a “luxury car” that is defective. I’m warning everyone because I don’t want you to have to go through the hell I’m going through trying to get this taken care of. I was a previous owner and loved my last A4 but this car couldn’t be less like the old A4. It has none of the luxury and none of the functionality. It’s a cheap car masked in the new “hip” body. It’s a total disappointment and I couldn’t be less happy with the car.

As far was reliability, well that was another question altogether. I no longer own the car and the chances of me owning one in the future are dim. Besides, all that I could think of is why am I paying all this money for a glorified VW?

It is all about the target audience. The A4 suits me just right:
It’s big enough to be practical (trunk, back seat);
I like the exterior design;
The interior is impeccable (I figure I’m smart enough to figure out all those buttons);
It isn’t the fastest, but its fast enough;
The Drive Select is appealing (sometimes I want to DRIVE and sometimes just cruise).
Many are concerned about the price. My loaded-up A4 cost more than the Infiniti G37 but less than a comparably equipped BMW.
Car prices are swinging a lot here in Canada – Early in ‘08 companies had to adjust prices down due to our strong dollar but now the dollar has weakened and they’ll have to adjust up to stay somewhat aligned with the US market. But they are under pressure from the weakening economy. The price-value comparisons between brands can change a lot over a few months depending on when each company reacts.

My biggest challenge shopping for a small sport sedan was driver head room! I am less than 6′ 2″ but I could not sit in a Lexus IS or GS unless I reclined the seat to an uncomfortable position. The BMW 3-series sedans and Mercedes were tolerable, but still tight.

Otherwise…
- I’d feel pretentious in a Mercedes and I was really disappointed with the C-series. It felt like a MB for someone who couldn’t afford a real Mercedes. The exterior is too plain and parts of the interior seemed cheap. I’ll wait to consider MB when I have more money.
- BMW out-performs the Audi, but the interiors were a letdown. And besides, everybody seems to be driving a BMW these days (yes, ’cause they are good cars, but I wanted something a bit different).
- The Infiniti G37 sedan was amazing for performance and interior gadgetry. Plus I believe it will be very reliable. But it had more speed than I need, was a bit tight in the back seat and I just didn’t like the sedan styling. Still, great value and a good second choice for me.

Thanks for the review – have been waiting to read this one.

wstansfi

If I could somehow get over that, I’d ditch the Acura and get one. And, I’d then be the coolest dad when picking up my kids at school.

Ask the dealer like I did today. A new grille is $150 with a spot for a license plate, at least here in Canada. Since some provinces don’t require front plates, it’s optional here. The one in the showroom had the big new hunk of extra plastic. Not needed in this jurisdiction, so an order mistake, but proves Audi ain’t dumb about NA laws.

I have owned five Audis from new in the past. So they had two A4s side by side in the showroom, the new one and the old one, same color exactly, and it took a while for me to realize the cars were different, as I was nattering to the salesman I had to “persuade” to sell me my Legacy GT last winter. Known him for decades and like to tease him a bit, as he’s so serious and measured.

Sat in the new one, and now I know what it’s like to be a panzer commander. Only my head made it above the window sill (turret). Like sitting in a coal bin. Ah yes, the power height adjustment. Now I’ve got no headroom. Same power moonroof controls as my Legacy. But the shade was sticky to operate. Way cheaper sun visors and roof panel than the Legacy, and dead cheap aluminum strip across the dash, looking like wide Xmas ribbon. Luxury not. No gravitas. No thrill. Very sober. $52,500 with every option they could stuff in except the V6, including $3500 worth of freight, PDI and Audi Plan (free service or something) That’s $13K worth of something or other. Hmmm. But nicer than my friend’s BMW 135i interior for roughly the same loot ($46K with “M” package) except for the seats. Sorry, like my Legacy’s interior better, and the thrill of just sitting in it, looking out over that hood scoop. Just seems more special.

My dealer is also the Subie dealer, so I beat a hasty retreat to recover my car from its 18 thou km service, for which I was ripped off to the tune of a full $47.95 including taxes. Newly washed, my Legacy looked like a shark amongst the Audi minnows. Personally, I don’t find the new A4 all that good-looking, and the Avant has that flabby Jetta wagon rear as well. Actively dislike the tail-light shape.

Much prefer my car, thank goodness.

I wonder which car will still be working well in 10 years, the LGT or the A4? Based on my past experience….and my ‘99 Impreza which I simply tired of… you get the drift.

The sweet spot of this car will be the 2.0T 6M- more torque, manual trans and much cheaper. The A4 will do much better in the 328i vs. A4 2.0 matchup than the 335i vs. A4 3.2.

Anyway- on topic: I’ve been excited about the 2009 A4 Avant since they announced it. My wife and I have been hoping to upgrade both the size and class of our single car household (we carpool together) from a 2004 Honda Civic coupe to the 2009 A4 Avant. We’ll take the mpg hit since the commute is relatively short, though as with many others on this site we’d be very interested in a 3.0 TDI version. (I recall rumors have that pegged for US launch in 2011 if the other TDIs for VW & Audi do well. (?))

My main stalling point is the lack of 6MT on any of the new 2009 A4s. Of course the DSG would ease the pain if it was available, but Megan’s positive comments about the auto tranny are reassuring. I’ll make my way out to a dealer for a test drive of the sedan soon.

I know the recently announced 333hp supercharged 2010 S4 sedan will have a 6MT, but sadly Audi says this gen won’t be available in wagon form. No matter, it will also likely be prohibitively expensive in my case.

Speaking of price- since that seems to be the hot topic for this thread: while $45k as tested is on the high side, I’m not sure everyone noticed that the base model with the brand new 2.0T (211hp and impressive 258 ft-lb torque) starts reasonably well equipped at $32,700. Now after a couple of options, the mid $30s I can handle.

Cheers, and thanks to the contributors for the great posts and to the readers for the great comments! I always have a better time reading this site than many others!

PS: Any chance of a ‘09 328 wagon vs ‘09 A4 Avant comparison article?

I drive a 08 legacy, am dead center in the cross hairs of this target market and wouldnt dream of test driving this car at $45-50K. Jaguar XF for me please.

However, if we allow the target market argument to apply to the 5 star rating system, may I suggest another consideration that affects pratically every single family: The “other vehicle in the garage” factor. SUVs, pickups, and even minivans have never been given adequate credit for this factor.

This car probably costs the same in Euro so doing straight conversion, which I know some will immediately shout that that’s not proper, nevertheless, the car should cost something like 70-75K USD and without the Euro VAT 55-60K. You’re lucky this thing is listed at 45K, will probably be sold for less, possibly at a loss. Another country subsidizing US consumers.

The Audi is more on a Rally type of a car with tremendous grip on curves. the interior I think is better than a BMW. Audi driver I think are more conservative type of people.

The BMW is about being German that’s the only thing I can think about BMWs. The interior is never been great on a BMW and I don’t understand why Mitsubishi copied the style except the 2009 Lancer GTS has carbon fiber trim interior and paddle shifter for a econobox which BMW doesn’t have and being fast (I don’t think so)

I noticed that BMWs drivers are more snotty.
(Hey look at me a drive a BMW kind of mentality)

Which I don’t get?

Also, you either get it or you don’t get it with Audi.”

Wow – what I’ve been trying to say about Audi for as long as I’ve owned one, wrapped up in one simple sentence. Thank you for simplifying my future life.

“blue addidas

If people here think it’s a better to save $5k or so to buy a more ubiquitous car like an Infiniti or a grotesquely ugly, inherently flawed FWD Acura TL, you get what you pay for.”

Another great comment.

No car is about numbers, really. They’re (for enthusiasts at least) about how they make you feel.