Published:
16 March 2012High standards are expected of Audi here, and in many areas the A4 delivers with its substantial, soft-feel, matt-plastic textures, brightwork flourishes and an aura of precision assembly. More than that, this is a roomy interior for a premium compact saloon; there is adequate leg and headroom in the rear and a generous boot that’s extendable via split folding rear seats.
But there are disappointments. The new dashboard design, which gently angles the instrument pack and centre console around the driver, looks curiously dated, and the mock aluminium finisher in certain models fails to butt up snugly at its meeting point with main fascia moulding. Centre-console storage is not ideal either, because the narrow slot to the left of the cupholders is too narrow to properly accommodate a phone, and the console itself is wide enough to rob space for the left leg.
But the cabin’s most serious failing is a corollary of the A4’s conversion to right-hand drive. The transmission tunnel’s bulk forces the pedals too far to the right, skewing the driver’s lower body slightly, and uncomfortably, to the offside. Packaging errors like this should not be present in a car of this calibre, particularly when so many right-hand drive A4s are sold globally. Some testers also found the seat cushion’s angle too horizontal, an issue that its manual height adjustment cannot counter.
Oddments storage is good, though, with four generous door bins, a big glovebox, a console cubby, cup-holders all round, netted seat backs and some excellent shopping bag hooks in the self-opening boot, although the optional lidded cubbies under the front seats are near useless.
