AUDI A4 2.0 TDI - A For A4

The adjustment-knob for outside rear view mirrors did not match up to the general quality of the plastics though. Disappointing that. The storage capacity inside the cabin is what holds quite an importance for me and the A4 did not deliver to my expectation on this front too. Yes, there is a small storage box just in front of the gear-lever on the centre console and some small bits can be stuffed into the arm-rest as well, but that's all the front has to offer apart from the glove compartment. The person at the rear will find a net on the back of front seats which can surely prove quite handy. The boot is sufficiently large to accomodate baggage for a week-long trip of a nuclear family.

This said, and the application of the various knobs understood, we started off towards a road which we thought would be best for the testing chores. But we were proved wrong. Again. The road which we thought will be relatively light on traffic had cars zooming on it all the time and we could not do the speed test of the A4 in the manner we would have liked. Still, the numbers are important. The best time to a hundred clicks we could manage in the Audi A4, 2.0-litre diesel mind you, was 10.9 seconds. We wanted to do some more acceleration runs to improve upon this time but the damn traffic did not allow, and the sun was sinking too.

The A4 is, by no measure, as fast as the BMW 320d. That machine was mad and shouted "phowerrrr" from its exhaust. This - the Audi is more gentlemanly. More behaved. What really impressed us though was the way the engine pulls. Clean and linear, it displays the torquey nature of the engine. The Pumpe Duse engine is far from a common rail diesel motor that many mistake it for. The unit-injector technology of the PD engine allows each of the injector to have its own high pressure pump which injects the fuel at over 2000 bar. Result? 320Nm of turning force at a mere 1700 rpm! Good. Very good. Tech stuff over, now let's continue with the drive.

We did not get the chance to push the A4 to the limit we are or the car is capable of, but then again, not many would indulge in such antics. So for a nice yet fast drive on a twisty bit of road, the A4 would not disappoint at all. And even if you overcook at some corner, those electrical gadgetry like the ABS and traction control would prove themselves as demi-gods! I had huge expectations from the famed Multitronic gearbox. But... Well, it's not that the gearbox does not perform, it does. And it does brilliantly. But it just does not float my boat. I would have preferred a proper semi-auto tranny which would have allowed me to play with the engine revs when shifted in the manual mode. But this one, even in the manual, it shifts on its own. Cross a certain rpm limit and blip, you are in a gear higher! The same holds true for the downshift as well. We deliberately took the car through rough patches but the car did not shrug from its line. The ride quality was surprisingly good, better than what we thought it would be and there was no irritating or concerning sound from those multilink suspensions when they were hard at work.

For that well heeled person who is spending over thirty odd lakhs, the drinking habit of the A4 would hardly be an issue and a 10kmpl might not make him smile with joy. But for us, considering that it is an Audi and that the engine that powerful is hiding under the bonnet this number sure is pretty damn good!

So, the A4 is understanted elegance, understated brilliance which could have been a notch better. Performance is adequate (we've got spoilt), handling is taut and ride is surprisingly good as is the fuel efficiency. Good car this, then? Oh hell yes. A loud yes! But could have been better. So the end it was for my time with the car, but the start of something else. "Why the hell do you come home if all you have to do is work?" Mom's scolding will continue.