The loaner Toyota Celicas I used to get at another dealer actually felt comparable; maybe a little more body roll, though, and the steering being too quick for the chassis. And the next time you hear somebody complain about Porsche's electromechanical steering, have 'em drive an A4! It was sooooo nice to get into the Boxster again. Its dashboard is a paragon of logic by comparison.

I actually didn't find the car all that bad -- I had one for a couple of years, and I presently drive an A6, which has much more vagueness to it. But in reality, in defence of Audi, the car, particularly in non-sport form, is pretty much not a sports car, but rather a sporty sedan with few claims to be a sports car that the Boxster is. I actually found the A4s steering to be fairly accurate, and pretty good feel. I have an '03 Boxster, and it has absolutely awesome steering, but ti should.

What did you find so weird about the dashboard?

Red fluorescent digital center display; two big simple round instruments to each side with classic typography, markings, and lighting. The stylistic differential makes the mental processing difficult when observing one type of display versus the other. Aesthetically, that center display just doesn't belong there, and looks like some ad hoc 1980's HiFi display.
Other than two mult-function round knobs, and one incongruously small power/volume knob, nothing tactile for operating the climate control and/or audio controls. Having to take one's eyes off the road so as to poke at exactly the relevant button arrayed by quadrant around the round knob.
Do I recall correctly that the two systems' modules have overlapping functions?
The dash air vents' iconography isn't intuitive. Does that triangle/arrowhead mean this way is less air, more air, on, off?
Having to push in the lock/ignition key in order to be able to pull it out.
Maybe it's the turbo combined with the automatic (CVT?) but the throttle response is nonlinear: nothing and then boom!
The steering is vague, has no road feel, and at interstate speeds requires constant corrections to keep the car from wandering. (Not sure if this had e-steering.)
The shift lever with plus and minus markings... is it a sequential shifter? What's "S?"
The relationship between yaw and roll is nonlinear. Even as a sporting sedan I expect more sporting behavior, and it doesn't say much to me if the first comparison that came to mind was a Celica, a car with a different purpose and probably demographic. BMW never came to mind.
If I had concentrated on being more analytical when operating it, I probably could've come up with more here, and've been more articulate.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/09/2013 07:54PM by Laz. (view changes)

What's interesting (as an Audi owner and Porsche owner) is the vast differences between Audi models.

With Porsche, there are some decent similarities between models, and the driving experience will bore this out, yet there are enough distinctions to make each model 'lovable' in its own right.

With Audi, the differentiation gap is enormous. We've owned two A8L's, granted their biggest sedans, with plenty of power. I find the fit and finish quality superior to MB and have for years. We owned MB's too until '06. When I drop off for service, I usually get a 6, but sometimes the 4 is all they have. It's nothing more than a VW Jetta in better clothing (we own a Jetta too - one of my 3 kids drives it, and it's damn nice for the money).

But when you move from the A4 to the A6, then a 7 or 8 series with Audi, it's like comparing chicken salad to chicken $hit. Really.

Baffles me but I understand the economics of it. The A4 is nearly all plastic everywhere, and is not easy to use the instrumentation, is not intuitive, and is just blase to drive. The 6 is better, but nothing like the 7 or 8.

What's even nuttier is that MMI display from a few years back, with red lettering, is the primary go to head unit for Lambo. So just imagine you plunk down a few hundred grand, and get into a cockpit with a 6 year old POS head unit....

Oh well.

If you really want some Audi fun drive an S8. R8, sure - but they won't loan that and you won't see many on the floor. S8 is one kick ass sedan, and has about all the goodies you'd want.

Thanks for your input, Eric. The engineers and designers have access to any car they want to study. It amazes me that they'll deliberately choose setups that don't "function" better. Does it cost more to have an air vent slat control like Porsche's or Honda's? Is coming up with something that's different for the sake of being different at the expense of ergonomic "logic" the way to go? With all Audi's racing experience, including street-based vehicles, you'd think they could better tune the mechanicals or pick better parts off the shelves--- the Volkswagen group is a huge resource in and of itself.

I just moved out of a 2011 A4 and am driving a 2013 A6, and they are, indeed, mass market cars. Highly competent, comfortable, and the A6 is remarkably luxurious, well put together, and quite handsome. I found the last series of A6s quite nose heavy, but the current model, in which I have the lowly 2.0T seems lighter in the nose, likely because the engine is a bit lighter, and probably tucked further back. Also due to the new European pedestrian impact requirements, there is more 'air' in the nose, and combined with more aluminium in the structure, the car seems lighter than a 5.0m car should be.

I'm with Grant on this -- the cars are designed for the luxury market -- I think the S and RS series are interesting cars, but they're taking what is primarily a luxury sedan, and adding performance 'go-fast' engineering into it. The inherent numbness remains, while the car goes faster, and is sprung stiffer. Unlike the Boxster, which is pretty much all about handling given it's engine layout, suspension and setup.

The A4 was a very nice Volkswagen -- my car before it was a Passat, and the Audi had some nicer plastic in it. The A6 is just a little nicer again, and has, at least the way mine came, a pretty much luxury saloon feeling. I didn't get it as a road rocket, and I find the interior relatively well sorted out. The A4 was a bit less well sorted, largely because it was an evolution of an older design, and seems a bit out of date -- the car is now almost six model years old, which is an eternity in car design. Strangely, I sit in the new 981, and it feels very Audi-esque -- and it kind of (for me at least) takes away from some of the rawness that I love about my 986.

The 2.0 is indeed much lighter than the previous iron-block, bigger motors.

Also, around (dont hold me to this) 2010 Audi redesigned the center torsen differential to move the motor back 4-6" relative to the front axle center line. It was a BIG step forward. Since my cars are from a previous decade, i don't have first had experience, but it is reputed to make quite a big difference.

In many audis i prefer the smaller, lighter motor for this reasons. Perfect example: B5 (1998-2003) A4/S4 where the 1.8t was a better choice overall than the 2.8 V6 - lighter, more compact, easier to service, better fuel economy, and much easier to hot-rod (turn up that boost!).

Grant

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

I've owned a wholebunch, from a 1984 4000 quattro (neat stuff in the day) to a 2000 S4 to my present DD - a 2002 S6 avant.

All really good driver's cars, within the weakness of beign a) sedans and b) nose-heavy cars with too much weight in front of the axle.

I can speak best to the S6 avant. Ok, its nto entirely stock, but its still a very comfy ride. I do have ST coilovers, lowered, and -1.75 deg caber all around. But even on 16" street tires it is a very enjoyable car to rive on the track. I've done VIR, Pocono, many solo events.

Now, these are nto sports cars. The steering feel, the abiltiy to turn in fast, etc is vastly better in a boxster. Then agin, the boxster is also better in these regards than a 911, whcih is an Audi backwards, physics-wise (motor mostly behind rear axle, more weight).

I also drove a bunch of new S and RS audis on track at Montecello (MMC). Yea, they are a little soft, yea they have so little NVH that they are a bit numb, but they are very capable, predictable, and pretty darn fast. (note: i hated the RS-TT, buti digress).

But these cars are designed for different use cases, different target audiences, different expectations, etc. Just as a good track car is not a great road car, a great sports car is not a great luxury sedan.

BTW i sometiems have more fun pushng the "big pig" as i fondly call the S6 Wagon on track than a real track car. It makes me think ahead and be smooth. This says that it MUST communicate pretty darned well.

Dont knwo much abotu the recent, more mass-market cars.

Grant

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com