Test drive Audi A4 B8 since 2007 sedan

Logistics

It is not easy to create a universal thing: after all, it must satisfy several, sometimes mutually exclusive requirements. Mikhail Gzovsky got used to the role of a picky buyer of the station wagon. Photo by the author and audi.
A couple of hours on the platform of the Austrian city of Enbach, waiting for the express from the Italian Verona to the German Munich, suggested: how small Europe is! You can cross two boundaries in just six hours. Malfunction trains flashed by, which are very curious to look at. Platforms with a neatly laid forest were replaced by others with loaded trucks and coal; followed by tanks with fuel, wagons with new cars, mail
Getting acquainted with Audi A4, I recalled trains more than once. It seems that the station wagon on the basis of A4 is built on a similar principle: the maximum practicality, convenience, accuracy. In the language of transporters, this is called logistics.
The choice of five gasoline engines with direct injection and the same amount of turbodiesels with a capacity of 120 to 265 hp.; three gearboxes; front or four -wheel drive; The widest list of options, including very curious and at first the impressions of the 160-horsepower modification of 1.8 TFSI. The engine, along with diesel engines, should become a hit in Europe, but in combination with the variator. Such a version will appear at the end of the year, but for now the motor is combined only with mechanics. The 1.8 TFSI motor with a turboponer has a characteristic capture of 3000 rpm, and the maximum 250 N.M, achievable at 1,500,500 revolutions, provide even confident traction. But not more.
The controllability of the front -wheel drive in the serpentines did not present surprises: you forget that you are going on a station wagon, which, it would seem, should not be so willing to dive into a turn. But the car successfully finds the clutch with the road, warning of the developing demolition of the front axis of the squeaks. Gas discharge and logical screwing into the turn. The all -wheel drive version gave more vivid sensations.
But before the curious options: Drive Select and Dynamic Steering devices. The first coordinates the operation of an electronic gas pedal, adaptive transmission, shock absorbers and a power steering steering wheel. The driver selects one of the three modes with the Comfort, Auto or Dynamic buttons. And having entered the MMI system, you can separately configure each of the parameters. Choose a comfortable suspension, but a dynamic steering wheel.
Dynamic Steering device their answer BMW. Engineers from Ingolstadt used a wave gearbox and an electric motor, smoothly changing the gear ratio in the steering mechanism. Dynamic Steering reduces the number of rpm of the steering wheel when driving in the city and in the parking lot to two, while the amplifier helps the driver more actively. With the increase in speed, the gear ratio decreases, the reactive force on the steering wheel grows. But the most interesting thing is that Dynamic Steering is paired with a stabilization system. At critical moments, ESP does not use the brake to correct the trajectory, but the steering! All this arsenal managed to try out the most powerful advantage of 3.2 FSI Quattro.
I met a 6-cylinder engine on the A5 compartment. Surprisingly, the station wagon does not want to give in to the coupe in sled aggression! Full -wheel drive allows you to clearly register arcs in those areas where the front -wheel drive car has already sought to get off the intended path. The Tiptronic six -speed machine has become even faster, thanks to a reconfigured electronics and an improved lubrication system.
At high speeds, go to Audi A4 is very pleasant: the frontal resistance coefficient of the machine, compared with the predecessor, is lower by 0.02: CX \u003d 0.31. In combination with a reduced level of noise from the engine and additional sound insulation of the bottom, this turns A4 into one of the quietest cars of its class. In terms of controllability, noise and vibrations, the avant is not inferior to the sedan, which we talked about (ZR, 2007, No. 12).
And the most valuable in the station wagon, of course, is the trunk. You feel convenience already at the opening stage: the door swims up soundly up to 189 cm high (the lifting angle can be set if the ceiling of your garage is lower), obeying the electric drive, is also closed automatically. The threshold is covered with a stainless steel lining, and the loading height is small. The trough on the floor is double -sided. The wrong side is finished with plastic very practical for transporting wet things. You can even order a 220-volt outlet in the salon, is it worth talking about hooks, nets and fasteners for bicycles?
On the longitudinal grooves on the floor, two types of fixers with a hard cross -member or stretch tape move on the floor. With their help, you distribute and fix the lug more rationally. On the mountain roads, the devices would help to fly a camera and packages with press films throughout the trunk. Here it is car logistics!
I went out of the town of Enbach safely. The car clearly stopped opposite the place marked on the platform and left for exactly the schedule. Great! But still, the train that day I would prefer Audi-A4 AVANT
Audi A4 Avant, for the sake of practicality, did not sacrifice either the style or sled qualities.
Mikhail Gzovsky

 
 
 
 

Source: The magazine "Driving"