Test drive Audi A4 B6 2001 - 2004 sedan

The holiday of everyday life

Mosquires accustomed to counting convertibles something like sun loungers on wheels, this time will have to shust the tongue: the new Audi A4 Cabriolet is able to provide its owner not only tanning while driving ...
 
Undoubtedly, a convertible is a cult item. There are not so many connoisseurs of cars without a roof. Moments of joy with which the convertible pamper the owner in a fine day is not enough for a practical person. He is not inclined to draw the car with the adaptability of the prose of life, such qualities such as comfort, controllability, economy. But, it turns out, there are open cars that almost do not require such victims. An example of this is the Audi A4 Cabriolet.
 
The hot temperament of the new A4 Cabriolet is evidenced by its appearance: a powerful, dynamic hood, a wedge -shaped body shape and a fundamental stern, bristled by two outlets of the exhaust system.
 
The design of the convertible is characteristic of the majority of Audi Laconism. Down with embossed check -outs, long live smooth contours, elastic surfaces, sharply defined wheel arches. The aluminum frame of the windshield and the edging around the perimeter of the cabin emphasize the impeccable style of the car. With the fabric roof raised, its silhouette changes significantly, but remains balanced and dynamic.
 
The design of the salon goes well with the external design. A spectacular instrument shield with deep circles scales and a well -composed central console with three ventilation deflectors in the upper part create a single ensemble. There is no reason for reproaches and governing bodies. The A4 Cabriolet interior is traditionally high for Audi quality of materials and decoration.
 
The wheelbase of the model increased, compared with the previous one, by 100 mm. The space in the knees of the rear passengers increased by 66 mm, 52 mm increased in the shoulders, so that the convertible can be called a full -fledged four -seater car.
 
Luggage places also became much larger. With the roof raised, the volume of the cargo compartment is 315 liters, with a folded - 246. In the rear seat there is a hatch for loading long objects.
 
A4 Cabriolet salon meets the highest safety requirements. There are belts with pretensors, front and side air pillows, reinforced by high-strength tubular elements, a frame glass frame, which, together with the bars shooting for a split second from behind the backs of the rear seats, will protect passengers when overturning the car. Protective bars in the doorway (longer than the usual A4) in combination with lower and transverse power elements reliably confront the side impact.
 
A4 Cabriolet equipment providing comfort with comfort (such as separate and left-right halong of climate control) does not leave much to be desired and can vary in accordance with the picky taste of the owner.
 
The machine is equipped with a soft roof with an electro -hydraulic drive, which is cleaned automatically by pressing a button between the front seats. The process takes only half a minute. True, it is better for the rear passengers to get out of the car or at least bend, otherwise you can get a frame along the crown.
 
Regulation of the height of the compartment for storage of the roof (using a rotary, 180 degrees, lever in the trunk) allows you to take more than the cargo when riding with a raised top. Being lowered, it reliably protects against the influences of the external environment: cold, rain, noise, which, combined with the heated rear window, allows the use of a convertible in any weather.
 
The car body, thanks to an improved frame, more than half made of high -strength materials, has increased strength and is practically not inferior in its characteristics to ordinary, closed. For machines of this class, this is very important (a flimsy body - the scourge of most convertibles - inevitably worsens controllability and comfort).
 
In addition, the body is reinforced by a tough subframe and balanced with the cinema of the suspension (significantly lightweight due to the use of aluminum parts). That is why A4 Cabriolet is so naturally drawing a high -speed sinusoid on a winding mountain road. And super -precise steering is only a tool that helps the driver to carry out a conceived maneuver.
 
A rather stiff suspension helps to subordinate the trajectory of the roadway to its will (in front - McPherson, back - multi -frying), while the car has good smoothness - even on bumps there are no unpleasant sensations.
 
For the Audi A4 Cabriolet, two V-shaped six-cylinder engines were prepared by a 2.4 and three liters working volume. The first develops 170 hp, the second - with an aluminum block of cylinders and regulated phases of gas distribution - by 50 hp. more. The car is easy to climb and frisky with both engines (each of them is equipped with its own version of the power transmission), but the real sparkling of the nature of the convertible, of course, manifests itself with a more powerful - three -liter - engine.
 
A car is especially good, equipped with a 5-speed manual gearbox. His violent temper is fully controlled by the will of the driver, thanks to the impeccable operation of the clutch pedal and the box lever. And how willingly the engine is spinning! And how pleasant it sounds!
 
The most amazing thing is that a more powerful car eats no more than its relative - an average of 9.7 liters per 100 km. It is not at all superfluous, especially for the hot A4 Cabriolet, there are grip disk brakes and on -board traffic stabilization systems (with ABS and an assistant of emergency braking), electronic location of differential, anti -industrial control.
 
For the lazy, an automatic transmission is provided for Multitronic - in fact, a stranded variator, the wedge -shaped belt of which gave way to a steel chain (similar in shape). Instead of a hydrotransformer, in order to avoid losses for slipping, a multi -disc clutch with electronic control was installed. The variator, by effort on the gas pedal, is adjusted to the driver’s driving.
 
Another curious feature of the variator is the ability to electronic imitation of mechanical gear shifts. Go to one of the six imaginary steps and vice versa you can with a light push of the selector or using buttons on the steering wheel.
 
Being four in the car, enjoying the driving without a roof more expediently at low, up to 70 km/h, speeds, because With an increase in the pace of the rear riders, it begins to thoroughly blow. In addition, aerodynamic noise becomes too obvious. When there are two in the cabin, the run along the sea coast causes only positive emotions. Even hostiles that occur at speeds over a hundred vortex will not be able to overshadow the joys of living movement, since with the raised side windows and the protective deflector, the drafts inside the machine disappear. By the way, the deflector is folding and takes up very little space in a special grid on the baggage compartment partition.
 
With the raised roof, A4 Cabriolet is practically not inferior to high -class sedans (except that the doors is half as much), but due to its specific universality, it is suitable not only for festive trips, but also for all -season operation.
 
Our certificate
 
Audi has a rich history of convertible construction, rooted in the end of the twenties of the last century, when the first open DKW appeared. Among the many subsequent developments, such epoch -making creations of a company as the majestic Horch 855 (1938) or the sensation of the 60s are well known - NSU Wankel Spider.
 
After a strategic break from 1965 to 1991, the tradition of the company continued the Audi Cabriolet model, created on the basis of the popular eighty. Successfully combining sports, elegance and practicality, this car has established compromise standards of the segment, which significantly raised the sales bar. For nine years, 72 thousand such cars were produced.
 

Source: Magazine 5 wheel