Audi A4 2008-2014 verdict

We expected more from the A4 than it has delivered, especially as Audi has gone to the expense of developing a new platform for it.

It is also not good enough to topple the BMW 3 Series, and in many respects – such as its driving position, its handling and the weighting of its controls – it is inferior to the cheaper Ford Mondeo.

We expected more from the A4 than it delivered

Matt Prior

Editor-at-large

That this A4 doesn’t look so different from the previous generation is perhaps appropriate, then. And the flawed driving position is a disappointment.

Yet despite all of these criticisms, the A4 is an agreeable car, more so because it is civilised and very well put together.

But Audi’s efforts might have been better directed at polishing the car itself, rather than offering a cornucopia of options that the majority of owners will never see.