Test drive Audi A4 Cabriolet 2002 - 2005 convertible

Practical toy

Cabriolet from Audi
The prestigious resort, the seashore, the girl with the forms of Britney Spears, dressed only in a bikini, near the model appearance of the young man from the advertising video of Old Spice - this is the suitable surroundings for an open car. But idle life, as a rule, does not last long. Even the owners of exclusive expensive cars spend most of the time on ordinary trips along a wide variety of roads. And no one has canceled the vagaries of the weather yet. Therefore, manufacturers are trying to make convertible suitable for any operating conditions.
  The new Audi A4 convertible is from these. To remove a soft top or, on the contrary, return it to its place, it will take only 24 seconds. The process is fully automated. A person only needs to press and hold a button located near the gear lever. The rest will make electro -hydraulic drives: they will take side glasses, neatly turn the fabric in several techniques, open the hatch in the luggage compartment and pack the roof in a hard coffee. Fighting away from the sky above your head is just as simple - the automation will again perform the desired sequence of actions. Modern materials from which seals are made, a cloth roof, rear window, as well as high tightness of all connections guarantee reliable protection against wind, precipitation and dust. Moreover: the company claims that she spent a lot of time to adapt the convertible to ... winter operating conditions. The car is equipped with a powerful heater, the soft top is well held by heat, and the window built into the fabric is not afraid of scratches - although the ice from it is cleaned with a scraper.
In short, until the roof moved, the owner of Audi A4 convertible will drive a quite practical car. To pay for the possibility of unity with nature will have to only be reduced to 315 liters with the volume of trunk (in the A4 sedan - 445 l) and the tightness of the rear seats. Two passengers there, of course, will be accommodated, but they will remember more than once about the mother -in -law of the dawn of automotiveism.
But then the treasured moment came - the roof is composed in the summer heat. The first thing you pay attention to: in motion even at high speeds, the noise of the wind does not pester. In the cabin, it immediately becomes cool, but, despite the completely lowered side glasses, you almost do not feel drafts - in any case, in the anterior seats. If there are no passengers from behind, it is easy to eliminate the light breeze in the back of the head - it is enough to install a small grid on the frame. A simple detail, but how it helps - you can ride, enjoying fresh air, without the risk of breaking your hairstyle, and noise becomes even quieter. It is felt that they worked thoroughly on acoustic comfort and aerodynamics. The latter is confirmed by numbers. The location of the frontal resistance of the circus with a raised top is 0.3, with the folded - 0.33. Excellent indicators not only for a body of this type, but also for sedans or station wagons with all -metal roofs.
However, on hot sunny days in an open convertible it is uncomfortable. The number one enemy is a strong wind that saturates the air with dust. It will instantly tame a thick layer and a chic salon, and clothes, and the riders themselves. Salvation - to return the roof to its place and raise all the side glass, leaving not a single alkal. The creation of a cool microclimate necessary for passengers can now be entrusted to the air conditioner, which Audi A4 convertible, of course, is equipped.
Specific requirements are imposed on the passive safety of an open car. They are taken into account here. In addition to traditional belts, frontal and lateral pillows, the new audi is equipped with an enhanced frame of windshield and an active electron-controlled Roll-Over system with two retractable stops: they protect passengers when they tipsy of the convertible.
As for the drilling capabilities, a comparison begs here. The most powerful engineer engine based on the Audi 80, produced from 1991 to 2000, developed 128 kW. The novelty is equipped with V-shaped sixes: three-liter (162 kW) and 2.4 liters (125 kW). As you can see, the energy-power of Audi A4 is a convertible: even the weakest motor in the current line is almost not inferior to the top version of the previous generation. Sports ambitions of the model confirm the high angular rigidity of the body, properly configured pendants with parts made of aluminum alloys, low -profile tires with a dimension of 215/55R16, numerous electronic assistants (ESP, Brake Assist systems, etc.). Anyone who does not want to constantly work as a gear lever can choose a modification with an automatic unfinished transmission that allows and manual switching.
In general, a convertible from Audi is not only an adult toy, but quite serious, practical, and besides, an all -weather car.


Audi A4 Cabriolet
2.4 2.4 Multi- 3.0 3.0 Multi-
tronic Tronic
Gabarite, mm 4573x1777x1391
(d x sh x v)
Base, mm 2654
Track, mm 1523
front/behind
Worker
volume, SMZ 2393 2976
Power,
kW/L.S. 125/170 162/220
at rpm 6000 6300
Twisting 230 300
moment, N.M.
at rpm 3200 3200
Maximum 224 219 243 234
speed, km/h
Acceleration, from 9.7 9.8 7.8 7.8
0-100 km/h
Average consumption 9.7 9.6 9.7 9.7
fuel, l/100 km
Text, photo / Vadim Kryuchkov

Source: The magazine "Driving"