Test drive Audi A4 B8 since 2007 sedan

All photos of Audi A4 B8 since 2007

Bundesliga

A test with such a composition of participants is traditional. Only generations of cars are changing. So which of the Germans plays more in the initial business class? Anatoly Fomin was looking for an answer. Photo: Alexander Kulnev.
Football was not invented in Germany, but in the south and southwest of this country there are many worthy teams. And there they produce the best cars in Europe, which are very respected in Russia. In a football match, only two teams can converge, and three will play in ours.
Munich Bavaria
The most famous team and a repeated champion. Cars in Munich are being built according to their canons, without looking back at the rest. Treshka, although it appeared three years ago, still looks fresh.
A long hood shifted behind the front axis of the engine, perfect weighting 50:50. The rear -wheel drive, the suspensions clamped, powerful reptile stabilizers are all sharpened under high -speed turns, and not under the broken, but straight, like the October railway, Russian magistines. Even the wheeled niches seem to mock the modest wheels 205/55R16, which recently considered quite worthy of a speed car. Put 225/45R17 in front and 245/40R17 behind this is the real size for such a car!
Let under the hood a modest 2-liter engine, only 6 hp. more powerful than two years ago. Peppy acceleration mainly the illusion caused by a rigid hydrotransformer of automatic transmission and its quick switching. Unfortunately, BMW rivalry ends along with the first gear. On imitation of overtaking, he also grazes an excellent reaction of the box will not replace the extra 50 N.M.
And on winding tracks, BMW is able to show the stern and more powerful rivals. True, the driver will require skills above average in order to cope with a predictable, but sharp machine. BMW has the most sensitive steering, although from the stop to the stops of the full three turns. With disconnected DSC, you can allow light sliding even on rough concrete, however, realizing that a spectacular and quick way to go through the turn is not the same thing. Therefore, it is better to train with an electronic insurer, he stops choke the engine only when slipping is minimal. Does the electronics interfere? Learn to choose the trajectory and stop the interference in time to inhibit. Checked.

Leather seats are not the most successful option in high -speed turns. Moreover, in the test BMW is not sports, but ordinary chairs with small lateral support. They are designed for a medium -sized driver and complexion, while adjustments allow you to sit down at the wheel and those whose growth exceeds 2 m. The back invites two passengers from behind; For a short trip, you can fit the three of them even to men larger than average.
Stuttgart from Stuttgart
This star team is no less known. The new generation of compact Mercedes is distinguished by a bold and bright design. Sometimes too brave: the line of junction of the hood and wing the stylists clearly defended in a difficult fight against technologists, because such a conjugation is difficult to make perfect. We will look for the courage in the cabin in the unrequent technical and technical units of Avantgarde. Simple, elegant, high -quality. Although the tactile exam is not kept by all the elements of the interior hard insertions of the head restraint and doors in the premium class look unsolved.
The tall driver unexpectedly upset the rear passengers, lowering the seat pillow of his legs now nowhere now. Remember the wonderful rear head restraints of the previous C-class? They could be laid by clicking on the button, providing an excellent review back. I also remember the mirrors of that machine, lowered below the usual and not at all closing the review at the intersection. The new Mercedes has these branded features, but completely standard.

Suspensions for Russia are even pleasing with low-profile 17-inch tires that the smoothness of the course is such that it becomes scary for the wheels would not be inadvertently on the pits, but if you still take into account the Zhigulevsky road clearance and real protection of the motor compartment, then a country picnic can be safely followed by parking lots without fear of leaving aerodynamic elements on the primer.
Of course, the Russian suspension could not but affect the controllability of the steering wheel at the Mercedes and was so damped until it is completely isolated, and then the car is clearly delayed with the reaction. If you apply a noticeable delay in shifting the gears, the desire to drive, despite the frisky and vocal motor, passes quickly. But I pleased ESP unexpectedly by a free attitude to the desires of the driver. On dry asphalt in a tense bend, it does not at all seek to completely strangle the engine, on the contrary, it allows you to balance a noticeable insufficient rotation with traction. Damn a pleasant sensation!
Ingolstadt-04
Audi-A4 waved a giant: the car is only a little inferior to A6, more than a Mercedes by 122 mm, and BMW is 183 mm! The heroic -sized 245/45R17 (they are noticeably larger and in the outer diameter), the newcomer bent the polygon scales nearly 1.6 tons. With the declared capacity of 160 hp Does he not shine with a sprinter? But up to 160 km/h, Audi confidently kept the first place in acceleration, losing to a more powerful Mercedes only after. The reason is called multitronics The latest version of the variator with a chain transmission perfectly imitates the operation of the eight -speed (!) Transmission, allowing the engine to give all the best. It is difficult to expect records in braking from a car with front -wheel drive weighting, but Audi tried here, barely passing 37 m from 100 km/h.
Audi Ride Control innovation indicated by the Comfort and Dy-Namic buttons on the central console in the lever. There is also Auto position. Differences not only in damping shock absorbers, but also in the settings of the power steering, and in the variator operation a comfortable car with a light and not loaded feedback by the steering wheel by pressing a button can be turned into a collected and slightly shaking sports car. In comfortable mode, the audi reacts to a sharp turn of the steering wheel with a noticeable delay, after which the roll and skids follow, in the dynamic it is a very agile and not at all frightening car. The highest grip qualities of tires, a large base and track make the machine very stable and easy to drive.
The rich interior is pleasant to the eye and hand, and sports seats can be considered a standard. There are enough places in front and behind the extra 50 mm base of Audi lost to the rivals in maneuverability and fitness to bad roads. Alas, large wheels turn to a small corner, it does not go out on a 12-meter road. Another disadvantage is more serious: having three areas of individual adjustment, Audi's climatic was the most noisy and the least effective.

Judge for soap?
It is curious to compare the fuel efficiency in the formal suburban cycle of the place were distributed predictable. Audi 7.4 l/100 km, BMW 7.5, Mercedes 8.5. But on a real test route, the data turned out to be turned upside down: ahead of Mercedes, followed by Audi and only then BMW. You can’t blame the driving style - both drivers and places in the column changed
In our match, Ingolstadt-04 defeated both Bavaria and Stuttgart. The game was good! Indeed, in football, as in the development of cars, the played team is often more important than a star player. We evaluate the car according to the totality of properties, and not by individual outstanding parameters. The best striker or goalkeeper does not mean victory yet
BMW 320ia
The fifth generation of the third series was presented in 2005. They produce sedan, coupe, station wagon, convertible with bodies.
Basin engines 4, 6, 8-cylinder, 2.0-4.0 l (136420 hp), 4- and 6-cylinder diesel, 2.0 and 3.0 liters (177 and 231 hp. ).
Gearboxes 6-speed mechanical, automatic.
Basic, Business, Business Plus, individual configurations.
Price in Russia 1 040 0001 582 000 rub (for BMW-320)
+ Elegant appearance and interior, spacious interior, excellent chassis, powerful brakes, fast automatic, relatively moderate price.
- Average dynamics, a rigid suspension with limited energy intensity, lack of a spare, a small road clearance, there is no transformation of the trunk.
General assessment 7.9
Still elegant, fit, sports. But against the background of updated rivals, it looks pale. The interior magnificent with its laconicism already seems poor.
Mercedes-Benz C200 Kompressor
Presented in 2007. They produce a sedan and a station wagon with bodies.
Benzine engines 4, 6, 8-cylinder, 1.86.3 l (156457 hp). Diesel are not yet supplied to the Russian market.
Automatic gearboxes 5- or 7-speed.
Classic, Elegance, Avantgarde, AMG-SPORT configuration.
The price in Russia is 1 261 7001 801 900 rub. (for C200 Kompressor)
+ Fresh design, powerful engine, large road clearance, excellent comfort and energy intensity of the suspension, a full -fledged reserve.
- inconvenient adjustment of the front seats, a slow gearbox, significant rolls, limited visibility back, high price.
General assessment 8.2
The magical word compressor turns a comfortable sedan into a good sprinter. But in other sled disciplines, he loses. The interior is not that pumped up, but not perfect.

Audi A4 1.8T
The 2008 car is produced with bodies sedan and station wagon.
Benzine engines 4, 6-cylinder, 1.8 liters with turbocharged, 3.2 l (160 and 265 hp), diesel 2.0 liters, 143 hp.
Boxes are mechanical 6-speed, automatic 6-speed, variator.
Individual configurations
The price in Russia is 1,152,0001 800,000 rubles.
+ A painful and economical engine, a comfortable suspension with sufficient energy intensity, good dynamics of acceleration, small fuel consumption, a rich and spacious interior.
- A large turning radius, small road clearance, high price of additional equipment.
General assessment 8.5
A beginner with huge ambitions and excellent data. It conquers the interior and outstanding sled qualities combined with excellent comfort. Tandem motor-koroka sample for imitation.
Blow or do not blow what is the question
European insanity on CO2 emissions requires reducing gasoline consumption. With partial loads, this can be achieved only by reducing the working volume of the engine. To maintain power and dynamics, you can not do without a boost and direct injection. Mercedes and Audi chose different paths: the first preferred a drive supercharger, disconnected at low speeds, the second more attractive from the point of view of thermodynamics of a turbocharger. The Audi motor with the same volume has a large torque at low speeds. It is clear that the atmospheric 2-liter Valvtronik BMW, losing very little in power, cannot compete with them by torque 25% less. The company has a new 2-liter atmospheric with direct injection, surpassing the current both in power and in economy. But cars are not supplied with him to Russia, and most importantly, he still loses to the depressed engines. There is no alternative to them.
Anatoly Fomin: Victory is not accidental. Audi-A4 surpassed rivals not only in size, but also with indicators in all disciplines from sled to comfort and equipment. And if BMW losing looks natural - he is the oldest car in the test, then he was waiting for a stronger performance from Mercedes. However, it is possible that in more charged versions, places would be distributed differently.
Anatoly Fomin