New Audi A4 starts at £25,900 08 | 09 | 2015
AUDI'S ALL-NEW A4, which goes on sale in Scottish dealerships on Thursday (Sept 10), will start from £25,900. And before the car is officially unveil at next week's Frankfurt Motor Show, we have the full specs, details and prices.
Set to go toe-to-toe with the likes of the class-leading BMW 3 series, Mercedes C-Class and Jaguar XE, the new Audi A4 range will start for the first time with the 148bhp 1.4 TFSI petrol.
Another first for Audi sees the Ingolstadt company simultaneously unveil the stylish, load-lugging A4 Avant, which will cary a £1400 premium over the saloon.
Though it carries a familiar A4 family look, the latest model — the fifth-generation — it is an entirely new model rather than a facelift.
More significantly, despite the fact it has more space, is more efficient, has more performance and is bolstered by more technology, the new model starts at around £1500 less than the car it replaces.
At launch the new A4 will be available in three trims: SE, Sport and S-Line. There's a £950 premium over the entry-level SE for the Sport trim, while the flagship S-Line adds another hefty £3300. The standard kit on the SE is pretty attractive, including 17in alloys, Xenon headlamps with LED DRLs, three-zone climate control, Audi drive select and the 7-inch MMI interface with smartphone integration.
Related: See more photos of the all-new Audi A4
Across the range, Audi has managed to improv fuel economy by 21%, while also increasing power by 25%.
Both these facets have been aided by the A4's new front-wheel drive MLB Evo platform: not only does it add 21mm to the length and 12mm to the wheelbase compared to the outgoing saloon version, but it also sheds a whopping 120kg in weight.
Luggage space increases on the Avant by 15 litres to 505 litres, though it remains the same on the saloon at 480 litres.
Audi has rather than add significantly more luggage space, has instead put the increased dimensions to good use in increasing space for the A4's occupants, delivering more head and knee room.
And while the new A4 has a rather more beefy look, accentuated by the car's new wider, more aggressive grille, there are significant improvements in the cabin.
While the 12.3-inch virtual cockpit first seen in the TT is an option, Audi has completely redesigned the centre console and dash.
There's also been a complete redesign of the seats, steering wheel and tablet style MMI display, while there's the introduction of a new Design Selection cabin which brings new interior trim colours and decorative detailing on the sills and dash. UK specifications have not yet been finalised but a new 3D sound system, matrix LED headlamps and Apple CarPlay will be optional features.
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Under the bonnet, the new A4 arrives with seven all new or heavily revised engines, including four TDI diesel and three TFSI petrol engines ranging from 148bhp to 272bhp.
Worth highlighting here that the new 148bhp 2.0TDI Ultra — likely to be one of the topsellers — returns a class leading 95g/km of CO2 and 74.3mpg. Even in the larger Avant, you'll get 99g/km of CO2 and 70.6mpg, which is impressive.
The entry-level 148bhp 1.4-litre TFSI petrol — a new addition to the range — returns 57.6mpg and 114g/km. But there's also higher powered 215bhp or 268bhp versions of a new 3.0TDI V6 which return 67.2mpg/110g/km and 57.6mpg and 134g/km respectively.
Audi isn't saying anything about its A4 e-tron, but expect it to follow soon. It'll feature the same hybrid powertrain from the A3 e-tron, which means a combination of the 1.4TFSI and electric motor.
A six-speed manual gearbox is standard on all petrol engines and four-cylinder diesels, though a new seven-speed S tronic available as an option on all models. It comes standard on the 215bhp V6 diesel variants. The top-spec 268bhp 3.0-litre diesels come exclusively with an eight-speed Tiptronic transmission and Quattro all-wheel drive.
First deliveries for both early order of both the saloon and Avant will start in November.
Related: Roadtest Audi Q7 3.0TDI quattro
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Jim McGill