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Philip Lord6 May 2016
REVIEW

Audi A4 Avant 2016 Review

Audi widens its A4 portfolio with a wagon that adds a healthy dose of practicality

Audi A4 Avant
Australian Launch Review
Byron Bay, NSW

The wagon is not dead yet, and the A4 Avant is proof of life. It gives hope for an outcome where efficient, stylish and quick load-carriers like this return to the mainstream. That's not likely anytime soon, but the $63,900 A4 Avant 2.0 TFSI is a compelling, legitimate alternative to the sea of mid-size luxury SUVs clogging our roads.

We Aussies slavishly follow overseas trends and none more so than when buying a car with which to carry stuff. We buy the latest and greatest SUV when a passenger car wagon would not only do, but probably do better.

The Audi A4 Avant is a case in point. Here’s a wagon that costs about the same as its SUV sibling, the Audi Q5, and has a similar load capacity. It handles better, goes quicker and sips less fuel.

So what’s the point of an SUV again? Oh right, you sit higher than other traffic, except for all the other SUVs…

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Like the sedan version, the A4 Avant’s driver workstation is a bit like learning how to use a Mac when all you’ve had before were PCs. There’s an array of buttons and switches that at first glance looks confounding.

Spend some time learning the ropes and it all becomes logical and pretty easy to use. The toggle switch shortcuts on the centre console for the infotainment system are a good example. Find yourself buried deep in the system menu for changing the interior mood lighting colour when you suddenly want the nav screen or phonebook list, and you simply toggle back in one flick to the screen you need.

In-cabin storage is mostly well covered off with bins and pockets in the essential spots, although a larger, deeper storage tray in the centre console would go down well. With smartphones getting bigger and the janitor’s set of keys some people like lugging around, the A4 doesn’t quite hit the sweet spot there.

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A neat touch is the set of two illuminated USB ports tucked inside the centre console bin. That’s a rare feature even now -- more than one USB connection -- and even rarer that they are lit up.

It's a shame then that back-seat passengers only get one 12-volt socket and no USB charger connections, but then maybe Audi is hoping buyers opt for the two front head restraint-mounted tablets that comprise the guts of the $3600 rear-seat entertainment system.

The front sports seats give firm lateral support without making you feel like the meat in a squashed-down sandwich, and under-thigh support is also very good. The steering wheel also feels right, with its small diameter, flat lower section and ample rake and reach adjustment.

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The instruments are easy to read -- especially the virtual cockpit and head-up display that come in the ($2100) Technik package. Being able to select the nav screen so you get the map front-and-centre (with other instruments such as tacho and speedo pushed to the sides of the cluster) is a great idea.

The HUD also gives next turn info when you’re in nav mode. The centre infotainment screen can also be set in nav mode, so with the Technik pack there’s no excuse for missing a turn.

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The rear seat is sculpted for two outboard occupants, but not so much that child seats would lean into each other at a perilous angle like in some cars. There are two ISOFIX securing points on the outboard positions and three top-tether securing points on the seatback.

There’s good head and leg room for those who get to look out the window, while the short-straw centre occupant is perched on a firm seat that feels more chiropractic than back-breaking like some. While the centre tunnel is high (to allow for the quattro drivetrain, though the FWD we drove first shares this feature) the occupant in the middle still has ample foot room either side.

Those in the back seat get two vents in the rear of the centre console, storage bins in the doors, netted pockets on the front seat-backs and a fold-down centre armrest that reveals a storage tray and cup-holders.

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Once you’ve stuck your foot under the back (or pressed the button on the tailgate, key or dash) the electric tailgate opens to reveal a squared-off load space. The swept-back fastback concession to styling of course reduces the capacity to load up to the ceiling, and so some bread-box styled SUVs win on that point. And the rear seat does not fold completely flat.

Yet the Avant’s cargo area has some nice touches, such as the cargo side wall handles to drop-down the rear seats, LED strip lights also on the side walls (plus an LED light on the inner tailgate) and a reversible floor section that becomes a recessed water-proof floor to stow wet gear (and hide the 19-inch steel space-saver spare). The Avant also scores a netted cubby, a shopping bag hook and an elastic strap to retain gear on each side wall.

The Avant’s storeroom is capped off with a cargo net and an electric cargo blind (the latter raising when the tailgate opens, to make storing gear easier).

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The 2.0 TFSI drives much like the A4 sedan – there's plenty of power and torque and the engine is also quiet and smooth. The seven-speed dual-clutch auto is unerringly fast to change gears and there were no unseemly characteristics such as lurching or shift-shock.

The new A4 seems to have ride and handling very well sorted. Composed and supple over bumps, direct and responsive steering and a flat cornering attitude are its strengths.

When given a bootfull at lower speeds though, the front-drive 2.0 TSFI did suffer a small amount of torque-steer. Nothing unruly, and you can forgive it that for its otherwise docile ride and sharp handling.

The Avant we drove didn’t suffer any extra road noise for having the extra open space behind the back seat. The only time it did become noisy inside was when cruising on a concrete freeway section and on coarse-chip bitumen, but even that wasn't unbearable.

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Driving through into darkness gave us the opportunity to test out the A4’s optional Matrix LED headlights. The LED segments account for oncoming and leading traffic, shutting down segments that could dazzle other drivers. It was unnerving to pass oncoming traffic on high beam, but you could see the segments shutting down as cars passed. No-one flashed their lights in annoyance so you can only assume it works.

Where it didn’t work so well was when following some cars. One old ute had chalky, unloved matt paint on the tailgate. The Matrix lights carefully shaded the tail-light areas and blasted light down the middle of the ute.

Another vehicle ahead had a left tail-light out and the Matrix lights only blocked out light on the left part of the car when it ‘saw’ the reflector on straight sections of road. On tight, twisting roads, the cornering lights weren’t really up to lighting the way. Perhaps they’re more intended for lighting up 45 degrees to the side when entering a dark driveway, not a 90-degree bend.

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Despite these flaws, there’s no argument the extra light thrown at the road sides helps give context and, when not interrupted by other cars or confounded by sharp corners, the Matrix lights throw a clear, wide and long beam down the road.

We didn’t get much time in the 2.0 TFSI quattro, but the extra 45kW/50Nm punch its engine offers over the front-drive 2.0 TFSI certainly made it more lively.

The quattro system was put to test when we accelerated at full noise from loose gravel onto a paved road and it spun the tyres for only a split second and then gripped hard. Not bad.

The A4 Avant is proof positive that a well-sorted passenger wagon can run rings around a boofy SUV and sip less fuel while doing it. Not that many are listening though.

While some of the Avant’s new technology such as the Matrix headlights is not perfect and road noise could be better suppressed on some surfaces, the A4 Avant has taken all the new sedan’s goodness and added a healthy dose of practicality to it.

2016 Audi A4 Avant 2.0 TFSI pricing and specifications:
Price: $63,900 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 140kW/320Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch
Fuel: 5.6L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 129g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star ANCAP

Also consider:
>> BMW 3 Series Touring (from $65,300 plus ORCs)
>> Mercedes-Benz C-Class Estate (from $63,400 plus ORCs)

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Written byPhilip Lord
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Our team of independent expert car reviewers and journalistsMeet the team
Expert rating
84/100
Engine, Drivetrain & Chassis
17/20
Price, Packaging & Practicality
16/20
Safety & Technology
18/20
Behind The Wheel
17/20
X-Factor
16/20
Pros
  • Great road manners
  • Sophisticated controls
  • Responsive, smooth powertrain
Cons
  • Cabin noise on some road surfaces
  • Matrix headlights good but not great
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