AUDI A4 AVANT REVIEW

List price from £25,685 Lease price from £310 The verdict 7 

The Audi A4 Avant is a thoughtfully designed estate that offers plenty of style and prestige

The A4 Avant is Audi's smallest estate, so it won't be much help if you need to move an antique wardrobe. Instead, it's designed to be a practical and versatile family car for those who want style as well as space.

Strong demand on the used market keeps resale values high and leasing rates low. And with several efficient diesel engines in the range, the A4 Avant makes an attractive company car choice.

Space

Lots of practical touches, but far from huge

With the rear seats in place there’s plenty of room for large suitcases. But the A4 Avant isn’t ideal for those with big dogs, because it has a steeply angled rear window that eats into the space above the luggage cover.

This also limits what you can carry when you fold the rear seats down to maximise the load area. However, the space is long and wide enough to cope with most flat pack furniture, and there’s no step down from the boot opening to the load floor, so you can just slide heavy items in and out.

A reversible floor adds to the practicality (one side is carpeted, while the other has a wipe-clean plastic surface that’s ideal for muddy wellies). And the luggage cover retracts up on rails instead of back into the boot, making it easier to pull back into place.

Finally, six-footers will be more comfortable in the back of the A4 Avant than they are in the saloon, because the Avant has a flatter roofline that leaves more headroom. 

Comfort

Let down by firm suspension and offset pedals

The pedals are offset to the right of the driver’s seat, which can cause aches and pains when you’re driving in town and regularly pumping the clutch.

To make matters worse, the A4 Avant tends to bump and fidget on poor quality roads, significantly detracting from its comfort for both the driver and passengers. 

Dashboard layout

Some rivals have better layouts and classier materials

Audi is famed for the quality of its interiors, but while the A4 Avant’s looks smart enough in isolation, it isn’t as classy as the one in the rival BMW3-seriesTouring. In fact, Audi’s smaller, cheaper A3 has a more upmarket interior than the A4.

The A3 and 3-series also have better control layouts than the A4. After a bit of familiarisation, you can operate most of their functions by touch, whereas you frequently have to look away from the road to find the right button in the A4. 

Easy to drive

Gutsy engines and easy to see out of

All of the engines are strong, but the 2.0-litre diesels strike the best balance between performance and fuel economy.

The manual gearbox that’s standard on these models is nice and slick too. And an automatic gearbox is available as an option as long as you avoid the most efficient models - which are badged TDIe and TDI Ultra - and versions with Audi’s quattro four-wheel-drive system.

Visibility out of all models is fine, although it can be difficult to judge exactly where the back of the car ends from the driver’s seat, so the standard parking sensors are useful. 

Fun to drive

Composed rather than fun

The A4 Avant’s firm suspension helps the car stay nice and composed in bends, but it still doesn’t feel as sporty as a BMW 3-series Touring.

The standard steering is light at all speeds. And while Audi does offer the option of a Drive Select system, which lets you change the weighting of the wheel, it does little to improve the fun factor.

Bigger engines merely highlight the lack of involvement for the driver, so they’re best avoided. 

Reliability

A4 owners are pretty happy, but Mercedes offers a better warranty

The A4 performed pretty well in the 2013 JD Power customer satisfaction survey, finishing 32nd out of 116 cars. However, it was still behind the MercedesC-class, which came 12th.

Mercedes also offers a three-year warranty with no mileage limit, whereas Audi’s cover lasts for three years or 60,000 miles - whichever comes first. 

Fuel economy

Competitive, but not class leading

The most efficient versions of the A4 Avant are the 2.0 TDIe and 2.0 TDI Ultra, which both average 64.2mpg in official Government tests. That’s less than the most frugal versions of the BMW 3-series Touring and Mercedes C-class Estate, although not a lot less.

Just bear in mind that specifying your A4 with quattro four-wheel drive or an automatic gearbox will increase fuel consumption. 

Affordability

Should work out cheaper than key rivals

Fuel economy and CO2 emissions are directly linked, with the latter determining what percentage of your car’s value you’re taxed on if you’re a company car driver. As a result, the A4 sits in a higher tax band than the equivalent BMW 3-series Touring or Mercedes C-class Estate, but it has a significantly lower list price, so it will still cost you slightly less in tax.

The A4 Avant also holds on to its value well, so it’s likely to be cheaper than the 3-series and C-class as a private buy, both in the short term and the long term. 

Safety

Should keep you and your passengers safe

Front, side and window airbags are fitted as standard, along with a stability control system that works to counteract skids.

Together these features helped the saloon version of the A4 earn a five-star rating when it was crash tested by independent safety body Euro NCAP, plus the A4 scored higher than the Mercedes C-class for adult occupant, child occupant and pedestrian protection. The BMW 3-series performed better still in two of the three areas, though, while equalling the A4’s child protection score.

Like its key rivals the A4 Avant makes it easy to fit child seats by having Isofix mounting points on its outer rear seats and front passenger seat. 

Standard spec

All A4 Avant’s come well equipped

The A4 Avant competes with some tough rivals, so Audi fits lots of standard equipment to boost its appeal.

Even the cheapest, SE specification features alloy wheels, climate control, parking sensors, a Bluetooth hands-free phone connection and a socket that lets you play an iPod through the stereo.

We’d be tempted to upgrade to the SE Tecknik model, though; for a small premium this adds leather upholstery, satellite-navigation and metallic paint.

The S-line spec is also a popular choice because it brings sportier styling inside and out, and Xenon headlamps with LED daytime running lights. Unfortunately, S-line cars are quite expensive and they have bigger wheels and sportier suspension settings that make them less comfortable.

Only the TDIe models miss out on a space saver spare wheel; they get a can of tyre repair foam instead.

Our favourite version	2.0 TDIe SE Technik, list price £29,775
Options you should add	Rear side airbags (£255); three-spoke multi-function steering wheel (£100) and tyre pressure loss indicator (£75)

Source : telegraph[dot]co[dot]uk