AUDI A4 2.0 TDI - Incremental Progress

You want acronyms? This Audi A4 2.0 has got ABS, EBD, ESP, CVT, VTG and TDI. Entertainment? It's got a Bose 6-CD changer. Power? Fuel economy? There's a 1968cc, 142PS turbodiesel that'll give you both. Soul-stirring character? Err..., hmm.... let's see...

Story: Sameer Kumar Photography: Kunal Khadse

OOVER THE LAST YEAR OR so, I've driven some pretty impressive Audi cars. The very formidable A8 4.2 Quattro, with its 340PS, 4200cc engine, made a big impression. In its own quiet, understated way, that A8 seemed as near indestructible as a Challenger 2 MBT, and as searingly fast as a Lockheed SR-71 'Blackbird' fighter plane. You have to experience the way an A8 4.2 spears through traffi c, to really understand what I'm on about. The now decommissioned SR-71 used to fly so high, and so fast, that if its pilot ever detected a surface-to-air missile launch, the standard evasive action was to simply accelerate away from trouble! Throughout its career, from 1964 to 1998, not a single SR-71 was shot down, ever. And similarly with the A8 that I drove, all you had to do was floor the throttle to make the car go into hyper-drive, reducing all other traffi c on the road to tiny specs in your rear view mirror. Nothing (at least on our roads...) overtakes it, ever. Awesome!I also had the opportunity to drive the slick, suave A6 3.0, from Mumbai to Pune. This very good looking car was, again, mighty impressive in the way it drove and handled. And as a bonus, its Multitronic CVT felt distinctly better than any conventional automatic that I'd ever driven. Later, while on a trip to Germany, I had the chance to sample some

particularly taut and muscular Audi A4s on the Boxberg proving grounds, and they were all good fun to drive. So, having formed a suitably high opinion of Audi cars over the last few months, my expectations were running high when I set out to drive the A4 2.0 TDI. This car comes with Audi's 1968cc, SOHC, 16-valve, inline-four, direct injection turbodiesel, which makes 142PS@4000rpm and 320Nm of torque between 1750-2500rpm. The extremely high injection pressure, and a VTG turbocharger, with adjustable guide vanes, are said to improve throttle response. Audi have also started fi tting a diesel particulate fi lter to all its TDI cars, and these fi lter systems have an effi ciency rate of over 95 percent. What this means is that the engine is capable of meeting Euro 4 emissions norms, the most stringent anywhere in the world as of now.

Audi haven't concentrated all their efforts on the engine alone - safety has also been looked at. With this A4, Audi claim to have improved side impact protection by strengthening the body shell, especially from the B-pillar ahead. Inside, the seats get very rigid cross bracing, which helps them maintain their shape during a side impact. Audi claim that these changes have proved to be highly effective in simulated collisions with SUVs. Then, there's also dual stage front airbags, side airbags and curtain airbags (a total of six), the latest generation electronic stability program (with traction control), anti-lock brakes, 'Servotronic' speed-sensitive steering, and 'Multitronic' continuously variable transmission.

Source: Car India April 2006.