Test drive Audi A4 B8 since 2007 sedan

Do not create an idol

The world around us is beautiful, which is changing all the time. And there is nothing permanent in it, as it cannot be unshakable authorities. This was proved by the meeting of the new Mercedes C180 and Audi A4.
One of my colleagues loves to often repeat that there are, they say, cars, but there are - Mercedes. And he, they say, like Caesar’s wife, outside of suspicion, that is, competition. Another, who still considered the crown of the car creation of Subaru Outback, where, of course, he himself drives, there was enough minutes to drive the brand new C180 to say that every self -hearing man who respects himself should only go to Mercedes. And now he has a dream, the second. And everything was so, but only until the time, until the new Audi A4 appeared.
Hot star. If you want to get a detailed description of the appearance, salon, options and equipment, postpone this magazine for a short time and contact ## 6 and 12 for the past year. There, our correspondents described in great detail and in detail each of these cars separately.
You can, of course, speculate on Lee Mercedes young and whether Audi has matured, but another thing is important: both manufacturers made an attempt to expand the circle of potential consumers of A4 and C-Klasse. Only if Mercedes, as one of my colleagues rightly noted, was concerned about the search for new customers among those who are not for 30, then Audi, on the contrary, seems to seek new adherents above this conditional age border. To understand this, you carefully look at the photograph. And you will surely notice that almost as much as you feel better and seemed to revive the appearance of the new C-Klasse, A4 appearance has salvated and serious.
 
 
The other side of this medal, in my opinion, is more intriguing. If so far in the unwritten tablet about the ranks of Mercedes and Audi have occupied close, but very different positions, now, with the new four, the Bavarians are already open to the battlefield.
Combat order. Assessment of the appearance of any car is a purely subjective subject. There are objective factors determined by a simple majority of users - how comfortable it is inside the machine and how convenient its salon is. As for A4, when choosing the best option, a version with electric seats was preferable. The mechanical version suffers from a decent drawback - vertical adjustment raises or lowers only the back of the pillow. This is not very convenient. And there is no adjustable lumbar support. Although the ability to fit the steering column both in height and by departure allows you to conveniently get a job in this suit. And in the C-Klasse version that I visited our test, the adjustment of the seats turned out to be combined: there is an electric drive of the back and height tilt, and the angle of inclination of the pillow and longitudinal movement is proposed to be carried out manually. The lumbar support in this version is also absent here, but, of course, there is an adjustment of the steering column in two planes. However, the form close to the ideal form of seats largely compensates for many shortcomings.
 
 
Planting behind the wheel in the new Audi is very specific. Due to the raised, compared to Mercedes, a window line and a higher torpedo, it seems that you are sitting very low. A concave form panel of devices, the edges of which smoothly go into the sheathing of doors, creates something similar to the right oval, inside you are. And gives rise to light analogies with the aircraft of the future. This impression intensifies in the evening, when the white-moon lights of the devices light up, and the arrows, displays and keys of additional equipment begin to glow red. In Mercedes, everything is much more traditional. As always, convenient, logical, of course, but - usually. And pierced by the spirit of heavy monumentality of the brand. Even the revolutionary, by the standards of the Mercedes conservatism, torpedo is more likely to remind of some Japanese car than to cause particularly enthusiastic emotions. However, this does not affect neither ergonomics nor visibility.
 
 
Very wide medium racks annoy much more, and this applies to both machines. When leaving the road at an acute angle, you have to either lean forward to the mirror, or to turn your head back to the crunch of vertebrae and look through the left rear window. The inevitable, apparently, body stiffness and safety Audi and Mercedes.
Against the background of the calculated and almost perfectly verified ergonomics of both machines, some nuances cause bewilderment. Well, why do you need such a tough and high side of the central console in Audi, which is sadly sadistic on your favorite bone under the right knee? Why is the brake pedal so high? Growth diseases? Maybe. But they are known to go. It is much more complicated if there is no strength or desire, to get rid of the old and outdated traditions, such as a really inconvenient corporate, multifunctional, steering wheel lever Mercedes. Or a cruise control lever over it, on which you stumbled your fingers whenever you want to turn on the turnover. Or the control buttons of the superman -functional computer on the steering wheel - as if the driver will in motion change the delay in turning off the headlights, intraspilleous lighting, the algorithm of the central lock, the parameters of the instrument panel, and so on.
FATHERS AND SONS. In the already published descriptions of these cars, there are often analogies with a costume from an expensive tailor. Assessing the behavior of C180 and A4 on the road, it is difficult to resist the temptation to take advantage of the same technique. The difference between them is approximately the same as between a strict, binding tailcoat and elegant, stylish, moderately a strict business suit, which is equally suitable for both official meetings and friendly parties.
The 2-liter motors of Bavarz and Schwaba are completely identical in their main characteristics. If we abstract from what is due to objective differences in the type of drive, then we liked the Audi behavior much more. It is more dynamic, the steering wheel has a high sensitivity and a distinct reactive effect in the entire range. The motor allows you to shoot with the start with the start, and at the same time it is elastic enough to provide a comfortable ride in the city without unnecessary shutter jackets. But its character is completely revealed when the tachometer arrow exceeds the 3,000th mark. All this, along with the correct suspension, which provides excellent terminal stability in both straight, and in gentle roundings, and in risky turns, creates a feeling of merging with a car that enjoys the driving process.
C180 remains faithful to himself - a comfortable and prestigious means of movement. Of course, reaction, controllability, stability - everything that has created the glory of the brand is present. But it is unlikely that Mercedes can surprise someone. Audi - undoubtedly like a more driver. Even the compact C180 is initially focused primarily on a comfortable, safe and prestigious movement from point A to point B. as well as demonstration to others to the status of its owner. A typical example of the German Ordnings, where everyone acts strictly within the framework of the role assigned to him. Perfection in Mercedes is a thing, perhaps, stable, but too monotonous, and therefore boring. Strength turns into weakness. And the modern and fashionable A4 looks more progressive against the background of C180. Which makes it, coupled with the price, a very serious competitor to the automobile master. Especially in Russia, where Audi does not pretend to be the prevailing, very specific image of Mercedes.
 
Text Andrey Timofeev, photo Alexey Ilyin

 

A source: "Autopilot"