Audi A4 gets mid-life makeover

Chassis revisions make the Audi A4 a more engaging, enjoyable drive.

It was at lunch at a hotel in rural Majorca that Stefan Sielaff talked about his eight years at Audi as its main interior man.

He's the 40-something German fellow who set a new benchmark late in the 1990s in the way the components of car interiors come together.

He made the inside of Audis fit like the workings of a watch. He introduced tolerances in fit and finish and colour that were the envy of German rivals BMW and Mercedes-Benz. The artisans at Lexus took notice of his work, too. So did those at Rolls-Royce and Bentley.

Seilaff became such hot property that Mercedes-Benz knocked on his door with an offer he couldn't refuse. He said his grandmother was pleased. She liked the idea of him working for the inventor of the car.

He hadn't long been with Mercedes-Benz when we talked at the Son Mas Hotel, once a 17th-century estate, now a luxury 16-room retreat on 20ha of olive, almond, orange, and carob trees on the east coast of Majorca.

Some of the estate's olive trees are 1000 years old. Almond trees once covered most of Majorca. In 1962, they numbered an estimated six million. The almond nuts are eaten, the oil is used for cosmetics.

The black leathery bean of the carob tree contains 50 per cent sugar. It is said that St John the Baptist nibbled on it during his many pilgrimages, just as hikers snack on scroggin. That's why it is also known as St John's Bread. Majorcans use it to make a liqueur called palo. The wood from the carob makes hardy walking sticks.

Seilaff wants to know about these things, too, because he might find a use for them in design. Carob wood could end up as an interior inlay, for example.

Mercedes-Benz' new interior design chief might now be putting the finishing touches to the interior of the new S-Class saloon (due here early next year), but the legacy of his work is visible still in the interior of the updated Audi A4 range, launched on roads south of Auckland the other day.

The quality of the interior remains outstanding. Audi didn't need to do much to it for the mid-life makeover, apart from redesigning the seats and adding a few touches here and there. The car's exterior gets most of the updated treatment. The roof is the only panel carried over from the outgoing model. The doors and front and rear panels have been changed to accommodate a swage line that runs the length of the car.

The car is 38mm longer than the old A4, most of the extra length taken up by overhangs to meet crash regulations.

The range carries Audi's deep signature grille, an identity that Audi believes is more powerful than the front ends offered by Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

Apart from panels, most of the changes have been made to the A4's underpinnings, engineering revisions to the chassis which make the A4 a more engaging, enjoyable drive.

There is also a line-up of new engines, both petrol and diesel. And, for the first time in New Zealand, Audi offers a 3-litre V6 turbodiesel with quattro all-wheel-drive in sedan and Avant guise.

Significant changes have been made to the suspension, with the addition of components from the high-performance S4 and bigger A6 helping new spring and damper settings to improve agility and comfort. This is evident in the car's improved poise and precision, especially on broken surfaces and when making deliberate, mid-corner adjustments.

Also apparent is the new steering set-up, a Servotronic system borrowed from the S4. It's more accurate and responsive than the outgoing A4's and better weighted through the twisty bits.

The update includes the latest stability control system, wrapped up in a package with anti-lock brakes with electronic brakeforce distribution and hydraulic brake assist, which aids the driver in an emergency.

The system uses sensors to automatically feather the brakes in the wet to keep the discs dry and more efficient.

The new A4 range starts with a turbocharged 1.8T sedan, which uses a four-cylinder engine to drive the front wheels. It costs $74,900. The load-carrying stationwagon Avant variant costs $79,900. The other models are all-wheel-drive quattros. The 2-litre turbocharged sedan costs $85,900, the Avant $93,900.

The naturally aspirated 3.2-litre V6 sedan is $105,500, the Avant $109,500, the same prices as the 3-litre turbocharged diesel.

The top-range S4 sedan is $145,500, the Avant $149,900. The S4 uses a boosted 4.2-litre V8 producing 313kW (420bhp) at 7800rpm and 430Nm of torque at 5500rpm.

Audi expects sales of the Avant to grow. Ten years ago Avant accounted for 25-30 per cent of sales. Last year it was 44 per cent.

The carmaker expects the new diesel quattro sedan to attract 15 per cent of sales and the Avant about 20 per cent.

Eight years ago Audi practically couldn't give away the first diesel A4 models it brought in, entry-level 1.9-litre units that were noisy but economical.

"We made a mistake with those," said Audi general manager Glynn Tulloch. "We thought buyers wanted diesels to save money. But we were wrong. They wanted the top-line diesels."

Tulloch believes the new A4 diesel quattro is what customers want. The 3-litre engine produces 150kW (200bhp) and a huge 450Nm of torque between 1400-3150rpm. Audi claims its combined fuel usage is 8.2litres/100km. That's approaching 40mpg.