Article Comments-2009 Audi A4 First Drive and Full Test

34 messages, Last post on May 05, 2009 at 5:37 PM

You are in the Audi A4 Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens

What is this discussion about? Audi A4, Sedan

First Drive: 2009 Audi A4 Avant - First Impressions: A stylish, lively driving package as always, but there's even less cargo room than before.(more)

Full Test: 2009 Audi A4 - What Works: The best-handling A4 ever; beautifully built interior and now with actual rear-seat legroom; fantastic brakes.(more)

Outline

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#5 of 34 I just don't get it... by sunilb Apr 11, 2008 (3:52 pm)
Why create a great car that has me in mind and then not offer a manual transmission??? I've decided that my next car is going to be a wagon... and I am hoping for something fuel-efficient (ie, the 2.0T). Audi was on the top of the list, but now I may have to look at something from Munich. I believe you can get the A3 with a manual or DSG with the 2.0T, but no quattro... for quattro, you have to step up to the 3.2 engine but then no manual is offered. Go figure!
#6 of 34 Home Run for Audi, Not for Segment by 3ertouring Apr 11, 2008 (4:43 pm)
Great review of a great car. From the review, it does seem like Audi hit a home run with the new A4 Avant in the 2.0T variety. More hp, more torque and more room. However, that's nothing new in the wagon segment. Look no further than Audi's collegues at BMW. The 3-Series wagon, which comes in both RWD and AWD. The only area that the Audi outperforms the 3-Series wagon is in the Torque department. That 256 lb ft is huge!!!!. If only Audi would offer manual transmission together with RWD.
#7 of 34 Almost Perfect by blackadder5639 Apr 12, 2008 (2:11 pm)
"Why, oh why Audi, much you handicap the improved rear bias Quattro system with a slushbox?!" My thoughts exactly! What are Audi thinking? Really...
#8 of 34 What happened to the diesels?? by ppt1 Apr 12, 2008 (9:43 pm)
I though Audi announced last November that the 2009 A4 would be available with a 3.0L TDI diesel in the USA in late 2008. It was suppose to have ~350lbft of torque and great fuel mileage. They must be postponed due to the collapse of the dollar.
#9 of 34 Re: Article Comments-2009 Audi A4 Avant First Drive [KarenS] by redundant Apr 14, 2008 (12:53 pm)
Replying to: KarenS (Apr 11, 2008 6:08 am) To me this is an appealing car/wagon, even with the Auto. I would use it to commute into NYC and carry items for construction business. However, the biggest beef with the A4 is the lack of backseat room. It would be great if they took advantage of the wagon and put the rear seats on slides, like a minivan or something, so when the rear is not loaded, the seats could slide back for increased leg room. Replies to this message: dc325ix (May 10, 2008 8:02 am)
#10 of 34 Wow...no manual quattro...no sale Audi by sbsnyder Apr 17, 2008 (8:21 am)
First off I think this new A4 Avant is absolutely stunning. As an owner of a 2006 A4 Avant 2.0T Quattro Manual, I was really hoping to replace my car with the new 2009 A4. Unfortunatley I without a doubt want a manual transmission Quattro. This is an absolute deal breaker for me and I think a huge mistake on Audi's part. What a bummer.
#11 of 34 Re: Article Comments-2009 Audi A4 Avant First Drive [redundant] by dc325ix May 10, 2008 (8:02 am)
Replying to: redundant (Apr 14, 2008 12:53 pm) you bring up a good point - it would seem a sliding back seat would be obvious; I guess the designers in germany didnt even think about that - I wonder if they even asked family's in america what we wanted in a car. i dont get me wrong I will be buying one as I like the look and I like the manual transmission - but my biggest compliant with my a4 now is the lack of room in the back seat.
#12 of 34 No Maunual or DSG is a deal-breaker by svo May 11, 2008 (9:06 pm)
My wife and I would both be driving new A4 2.0T Quattro manuals by 2010 if they were available. I passed on the A3 for the same reason. And these motors are $500 and a memory-flash away from another 50-60 HP & Lb-Ft, with no loss in fuel efficiency. Sad- the Euros are dumping the sport wagon as soon as there is a real opening for them in the US market due to fuel costs. VAG did the same thing to the Passat wagon. I'll stick with my '01 S4 Avant longer and my wife will stick with her Volvo V70R (both wagon-AWD-Manual-Turbo) and then we'll surely look to Munich also. Oh, and I've never seen a flat cargo bay and rail-mounted, fold-down rear seats in a vehicle. Likely not possible. Not a matter of oversight, a design choice. Spontaneous & convenient cargo-hauling (my S4 seats fold down instantly) vs. plan-ahead & hassle (remove & leave the seats behind) with greater rear leg room. Few rear seats in compact models see a lot of use by adults, especially in the US. Replies to this message: rjlaero (May 14, 2008 7:44 am) byronwalter (May 18, 2008 8:35 am) sunilb (May 18, 2008 4:10 pm) huntzinger (Jun 02, 2008 6:28 am) and 1 more...
#13 of 34 Re: No Maunual or DSG is a deal-breaker [svo] by rjlaero May 14, 2008 (7:44 am)
Replying to: svo (May 11, 2008 9:06 pm) In reality, how many manual 6 speed A4 wagons are ordered every year? Yes, the hard core people are upset about the 09 lack of a manual, but the milllions of dollars it takes to produce each model can't be justified on a couple hundred people each year being happy. I would say less than 500 manual transmission 2.0T avants are made each year in the United States. That's an incredibly small amount of cars. Everybody wants aggressive pricing and deals by the manufactuer. So concessions have to me made to keep costs in line. Wagon people are very finicky at times, and even if there was a 2.0T 09 6 speed manual, you can bet people would still find something to complain about it. Replies to this message: byronwalter (May 18, 2008 8:35 am) sunilb (May 18, 2008 4:10 pm) huntzinger (Jun 02, 2008 6:28 am) gasser (Jun 03, 2008 6:03 am)
#14 of 34 Re: No Maunual or DSG is a deal-breaker [rjlaero] by byronwalter May 18, 2008 (8:35 am)
Replying to: rjlaero (May 14, 2008 7:44 am) This is a tough one for me as well. I really do want an Avant... would be my third... but I have never owned a car with an auto. Well, except for that $75 Chevy that I owned for 12 miles. Twelve miles, three flats, and then the transmission went. I just might go for the Avant, auto and all. One of the area dealers (NE Ohio) mentioned that they should have a B8 A4 for test spins sometime in the first half of July. I'm guessing that it will be auto-equipped. I hope to get my butt up there for some drive time ASAP.