Test drive Audi A4 B8 since 2007 sedan

Transformers

It’s great when there are several cars in your garage: a comfortable sedan, a sports compartment, an economical small -leaf. And what if you combine all this in one car that would be transformed by pressing one button. Fantastic fiction? I searched for the answer to this question with the BMW 320d, Volvo S60 T4 and Audi A4 2.0 TFSI Quattro.


Audi A4
The smallest sedan from Ingolstadt offers the widest selection of modifications: front and all -wheel drive, gasoline and diesel, variator, mechanics and robot. Five engines: 1.8 TFSI with two forcing options, our experimental 2.0 TFSI, 2.0 TDI, 3.0 TDI and flagship 3.0 TFSI. Full -wheel drive is available for all engines except the basic gasoline and small diesel. At the same time, all -wheel drive machines with 1.8 can be bought exclusively with the manual transmission. Prices are in the range between 1,160,000 rubles. and 1 990 000 rub. And our sedan 2.0 TFSI Quattro costs at least 1,614,000 rubles.

Outside and inside
All Audi sedans are one face. I have been traveling to A6 for a month and still I can’t find her in the parking lot the first time, taking for A8. The same thing happened with A4. I just could not understand what was standing in front of me: four or six, and from afar the sedan pulled eight!

But there are no complaints about the interior. Exemplary chairs, exemplary ergonomics, a delighting eye design, high -quality decoration materials, a verified force on all levers and twists is great! Of course, after many options, BMW Audi seems to be a poor relative, but this is only the first impression, because our A4 costs almost 2 million. Then why are there no active shock absorbers, rear -view chambers and hatch, not to mention active security systems and a towbar? In addition, MMI control is carried out by buttons located on the central console, and not on the tunnel, which is not as convenient as the IDRive controller for BMW. The Audi Drive Select mode control key is not very convenient. Again I want to be outraged by the lack of USB input. Instead of it, slots for SD cards. Who are they for?

At the back in Audi is a little closer than in a treshka and Volvo. The trunk is practically not inferior to BMW, while a dok is hidden under the floor, and convenient compartments with an elastic band and a mesh is hidden on the right and left.

In move
All VAG mass machines travel the same way. Equally good, the difference is only in the nuances. This steering wheel is familiar to me, empty and light in zero, and then sharply pouring effort. This informative brake pedal is familiar, this loving to quickly switch to the highest gears of the robot, this painful motor with a pleasant baritone. Be it Passat Alltrack, Leon Fr or A4, driving with this engine and this box always in high. A lot of traction, a lot of power, a lot of sound and no turbo.

Against the background of competitors in the Audi test, it seems the most balanced. The power of the motor corresponds to the features of the chassis. And the nature of the machine is a good compromise between sports and comfort. The suspension is energy -intensive, but not tough. It’s a pity only the rolls are great. The steering is something between sports and comfort in 320d. The robotic box is good with active ride, but in transition modes the robot grazes.

And what about the transformation? Is another car with a completely different character in the bowels of Audi? No, because our car had passive shock absorbers, so in general the character did not change, only accents. Drive Select allows you to aggravate gas response and change the box algorithm. But did the car lose because of this? And again not. On A4, it is comfortable on a bad road and interesting on good. Audi is good as it is. I do not want to turn it into another car.


Vakhtang Koltsov, PR manager
It happens that the car is continuing the driver. Audi A4 is just this case. The salon literally envelops and absorbs, in a good way. The machine gives comfort and a sense of safety, because even the adjustment handles are made of iron, and reliability is involuntarily felt. A fairly light steering wheel, of course, is for an amateur, but for urban driving and parking, this setting is very pleasant. The QUATTRO nameplate on the cover of the glove compartment pleases the eye and incites the gas pedal closer to the floor, even when snow and ice are under the wheels. But the rationality of the start/stop system is very controversial. I did not notice the savings, but making my way through the traffic jams, it hurt in the heart from how the engine was tormented, which starts up every second and stalls right there. This is a plus for the environment, but I’m not sure for the car.
 
BMW 320d
The new treshka debuted in our market a year ago with only two engines: a 320d two-liter diesel, like ours, and a two-liter gasoline turbo-four-four. Now the gamma has been replenished with gasoline 316i, 320i, 335i. All engines, except for the base, can be combined with all -wheel drive. The diesel is aggregated exclusively with an 8-speed automatic, and gasoline motors can work in pairs and with 6-speed mechanics. Prices start from the mark of 1,250,000 rubles. For 316i. The 320D we visited at least 1,475,000 rubles.

Outside and inside
Perhaps someone more likes the old treshka E90, but personally I am nicer than the new F30. A vertical grille of the radiator, frowning headlights, muscular hood evil!
Inside, the third series is now identical to the youngest one. The central console, a large and well -located display, is an excellent ergonomic deployed to the driver. You can only complain about seats that seem to push you out. But this is easily treated by adjusting side support rollers. But the hard plastic of the visor of the instrument panel or the sloppy casing of the steering column is already serious.

The back is unexpectedly spacious. After myself, I sat down with a margin and on the legs and on the head. Of course, the stock is a loud word, but a couple of centimeters of air still remained. The trunk is large, deep and correct, only in the underground there is not even a docking by the machine installed Run-Flat tires. But there are convenient departments on the side equipped with a mesh.
The tested machine was equipped, it seems, by all possible options. Some of them until recently on cars of this class were a curiosity: the rear view camera, heating the steering wheel, a full -fledged Idrive system, a projection display and even an electric power rod. True, all this raised the price to breathtaking 2,240,000 rubles.!

In move
Sasha, is the steering wheel always so empty? And shock absorbers are exactly in uniform? I did not pass even a kilometer in Tverskaya, and already in a panic called Tychinin, who lived with this three -year -old for a month. And there was a panic because of what: an empty and long steering wheel, rocking on the waves of the road surface, solid rolls, a gone gas pedal, a soft brake pedal is BMW? So there you can change everything with one button! Sasha instilled hope for me.

Indeed, one press is enough to transfer from the Comfort mode to Sport, and the car is completely changing! It’s hard to twist the steering wheel from the habit in the parking lot, unevenness, a minute ago dissolved somewhere in the suspension, now holes cause its flashes, as attached, follow every movement of the gas pedal class! The treshka puts, provokes and starts. A perfectly balanced chassis, an effort flooded, the collected suspension is called a 320d athlete only the motor interferes with the athlete. The two -liter diesel, in my opinion, was not too much successful. It seems that the power is in abundance, and the moment is great, but the vibrations are too strong when starting, too loud and unpleasant sound during acceleration. Yes, and Turboyam is too noticeable.

And if so, then maybe not rush and return the settings to the Comfort position? It's hard to believe, but BMW is now much closer to Mercedes-Benz. The softness of the reactions to the steering wheel and gas, the smooth and not too quick operation of the 8-speed assault rifle and the excellent smoothness. Of course, you won’t travel with the driver, yet the space is not enough behind, but such a BMW can safely recommend that lovers of a calm ride. But there is also the Eco Pro mode, in which the machine seems to be flocked into anbiosis.

Funny focus: You press the pedal almost half of the move and instantly let go, and the engine speeds do not think to change! And the car begins to command you. He translated the KP selector to Sport, and on the display under the tachometer a warning picture is lit back back! I pressed the gas on the floor and now the picture of the foot on the pedals with the arrow up they say, weaken the gas. But fuel consumption at an average speed of 28 km/h was only 8.0 liters per hundred! And when I took the car from Pacific, then with an average of 34 km/h the consumption and completely dropped below 7.5 liters! That's what diesel means!


Svetlana Bibichkova, PR manager
I have 320i of the previous generation, so I waited with great interest to meet with the new three. Even in sports mode, the car has become softer and is better for driving in the city. From the salon I expected more. The outrage causes the display: earlier the screen was harmoniously inscribed in the front panel, now it looks like a foreign object. I was pleased that the well -known pleasant beige color of the cabin was the same. The functions controlled from the steering wheel have changed. If the inconvenience of controlling the audio system can still be justified by unusualness, then the lack of regulation of internal air circulation never. The joystick of the gearbox makes you think twice before switching. But all kinds of options were awarded the car in full. Different suspension modes, rear view camera, projection display in general, a new upgrade of up to one level.
 
Volvo S60 T4
S60 in Russia is sold only with gasoline turbo engines: four -cylinder T3, five -cylinder T4 and T5 and six -cylinder T6. The flagship is all -wheel drive, the rest of the front -wheel drive. T3 is equipped with a 6-speed mechanics or a 6-speed robot, and the rest are only automated boxes. T3 with manual transmission at least 1,099,000 rubles, T6 2 029,000 rubles, and T4, as ours, 1,169,000 rubles.

Outside and inside
What a beautiful car! No wonder I always loved Volvo! My friend Ksenia works in a glossy magazine writing about weddings, and knows a lot about beautiful things. And she was not the only woman who liked the Swedish sedan. For me, so the S60 is metroxyal, the car lacks brutality. Another conversation, does she need her?

Looking at the salon, you understand is not needed. It is calm and comfortable here. I don’t even want to talk about ergonomics, but, alas, the conversation is not quite pleasant. The steering wheel adjustments are insufficient to push the steering wheel even more to move away from you. Not good seats: side support rollers are too soft and easily pushed in corners, the skin is slippery, the back is flat, and the headrest presses on the crown.

But the control of the multimediasista is the most convenient in the trio. Like BMW, Volvo loves to disdain, however, exclusively from taking security. The system of control of blind zones constantly lights its lights, the monitoring of the strip is squealing, and the system of warning about the collision and completely turns on color music, muffles the sound of the radio and buzzes heart -rendingly. All this does not annoy me, but passengers sometimes asked to turn off the systems.

The unconditional success of the Swedes system Volvo On-Call. The application is available for iOS and Android and allows you to control many functions remotely. Close/open the doors and windows, check the fuel level and mileage, turn on the pre -trial heat or find the car in the parking lot? No problem! And he actively used all this! It's a pity, you can not order the car to transform into a giant robot and clear the snow in front of the garage

In move
The first hours with Volvo did not cause anything but horror. I had to overcome the distance from the Kotelnicheskaya embankment to Baumanskaya, from there to reach Lipetskaya Street, and then be on Tver Boulevard. And for all this I had about fifteen hours! So I had to go actively. And this was given to the S60 with difficulty. The rolls, an unnatural force on the steering wheel, constant holes of the suspension, a sluggish and twitching robot, a non -informative brake pedal. I was disappointed. But everything changed the next morning, when I got into a warm car and rolled smoothly in the center. Silence, comfort, good dynamics and smooth volvo switching is comfort and safety.

Well, the answer to the traditional question: is the transformer before us? Judging by the possibilities yes. The driver can choose one of the three suspension modes, one of two boxes, and one of the three options for the steering wheel amplifier. That's just it is not possible to assemble another car from all this. This is the same S60 with her character that does not love racing. The steering wheel is either too empty or unnaturally heavy, so I have always traveled on average operation of the amplifier. The suspension is the hardest in the test, so I had to be content with a comfortable regime. Sport and Advanced scare the shocks in the suspension, and the rolls do not become less. The box is not as good as competitors in each of the modes.


Vakhtang Koltsov, PR manager
Personally, I am depressed by the view from behind. When was it visible for the Swedish car to look like Japanese? And here we see the American Honda Civic. It's good that inside Volvo is Volvo! Bright skin with fine work on seats, the same steering wheel, and all, in a good way, the jammole immediately puts everything in its place. No associations with cars of other brands, especially budget. Unlike German classmates, Volvo, according to the sensations, is much more solid, dimely. These are like children-sportsmen and grandfather-writer. S60 is just a thoughtful and cautious writer. So thoughtful that even the BLIS system indicator is inside, the rear view camera has a zoom, and if this writer himself stops too close ahead. But it was not without liberties. The transparent handle of the KP selector with a luminous scheme brings a stroke of frivolity to the image of the S60.

 
SUMMARY
Despite the fact that all three cars are close in characteristics, equipment level and price, their characters are very different. Volvo destiny who value design, comfort and safety above dynamics and handling. Audi is a successful balance between sports and everyday computer. And BMW? And BMW is a real transformer! Sportsup, a comfortable sedan and an economical small -leaf in one bottle. 320d is not a well -tuned car, these are three perfectly configured cars.

However, the calculation of points shows that Audi won. And the reason for her victory, or rather BMW defeat, was the 320th diesel engine. Having appeared in our hands 320i, which, by the time of the test, simply had not yet come to the press park, the victory would most likely remain with the Munich.

S60 took third place, losing BMW and Audi only 1 and 2 points, respectively. So all the conversations of the townsfolk that these machines are under -Premium can be considered stupidity. This is a real premium class, moreover, with its own unique character.
 

Source: Cars