Updates on this refreshed version of Audi’s mainstay are so subtle you need a keen eye, or the press pack, to tell you what’s been done.
The most obvious are aluminium finished door mirrors and an aluminium blade in the rear diffuser. Inside there’s a flat bottomed steering wheel, grey dials with white arrows and aluminium-look hubs, with the aluminium theme continued on the pedals and shift paddles.
Its three-liter supercharged V-6 now develops 328 bhp and 324 lbs.-ft. of torque, but the most satisfying aspect of this engine is its hearty roar under full bore acceleration when using the paddle operated seven-speed gearbox.
Using the MMI system, the driver can select numerous modes that tune in the steering, suspension and engine response for comfort, automatic and sport. While it is the latter that unleashes the engine’s most vibrant sound track, it doesn’t add that much improvement to the car’s dynamics over the UK’s weather beaten roads. Opt for automatic and while the engine volume is slightly more subdued you get the best balance of ride comfort when highway cruising and sharpish handling when hustling the car down country lanes.
Top speed is limited to the ubiquitous 155 mph and the 62 mph sprint is dispatched in five seconds, while you can expect average fuel consumption of 29.4 US mpg.
I like the practicality of small wagons and often think they are better looking than their sedan siblings and this version of the A4 ticks all the right boxes, but…it just left me a bit cold. Sporting sedans and wagons, to my mind, should want you coming back for more and the S4 just doesn’t make me yearn for that. Maybe the more extreme RS4 we’ll see next week at the 2012 Geneva Auto Show will do the trick.
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