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Audi A4 test drive: “Four Rings” on Russian roads

In two weekends, the test Audi A4 has passed more than one and a half thousand kilometers, and along roads of different quality. Below are some impressions (subjective) from this trip.
For the test, the Moscow representative office of Audi allocated the A4 1.8 TFSI model, which I took in the Audi North Auto Center. The car was quite simple (for Audi) configuration, but it was interesting to see how the engine, automatic transmission and suspension were behaved on Russian roads.
Let's start, nevertheless, with the driver's workplace. In general, I liked it. The best words are deserved by the developers of the chairs. You feel very stable on them in steep and fast turns, although not to say that it was a sports type of bowl. No, seats and backs are quite flat, which allows you to change the pose within a fairly wide limits, and this is very important on long trips. The adjustment range is sufficient, they are understood intuitive.
I was pleased with the adjustable background of the lower back is also a pleasant thing for many hours of auto industry. In general, after half a thousand kilometers of mileage, I got out (and not crawled out) from the car and went (and not subsided), without feeling any discomfort in the back and this is far from always.
But the steering wheel left an impression that you could not call beautiful. His knitting needles are located, in my opinion, not quite successful. Hands above the upper pair of spokes high (in relation to the axis of the steering wheel), hands under the lower knitting needles are low. The only acceptable position of the left hand is higher, and the right is lower (approximately 10-4), but at the same time the rudder of the steering wheel is asymmetric.
For information support, Audi designers deserve a solid five. The dashboard is simple, informative and easily readable. The multifunctional indicator in the center of the panel gives enough information, and control of it (on an additional left -wing steering wheel switch) also practically does not need the instructions of the instructions, everything is clear and so. Similarly, the management of the receiver with the CD player and the climate control system is built in a similar way. You click on the desired key, the rotation of a large Werner allows you to select the desired mode, and the fixation of the selected is carried out by a simple press on the vernier. There is nowhere easier.
The most kind words deserve a multifunctional display over the central console. It is large, with bright and clear colors, is practically not subject to light and reads well.

The rearview mirrors are good. Their curvature is selected in such a way that, on the one hand, it does not form the dead viewing zones, and on the other, it distorts the distance not too much. As a result, to evaluate the distance before the external mirrors running behind the machine (after a short period of addiction) is enough. The inner mirror is also successful: at first I was going to lower the rear seat head restraints, but was convinced that the review was good without it.
Okay, we got a job at the workplace, we will start. The key in the literal sense of the word on the Audi no keychain is inserted into a niche closed by wings, and the systems come to life. Now click on the keychain and the engine starts. To stop it, it is enough to press the keychain again, and the car will only be de -energized after extracting the key from the nest. There is also the ability to start the engine of the engine using the button on the central console if the keychain is in the cabin.
By the way, now the vast majority of AUDI models have a pezhonly option of the trunk can be opened remotely, with the help of the same keychain. And it’s not such a diet when the hands are busy with luggage, this option is very useful.
The pedals are quite informative, their rigidity is just right. Here is a platform for the free left leg, in my opinion, a somewhat unnatural angle of inclination. However, it is not necessary to keep her leg firmly on her.
The parking system for parking works properly in the rear -view mirrors, you can not even look (excluding particularly complex cases). The steering wheel at first seems soft - the immediate reaction of the car to its movement is not. However, as speed rises, control becomes clearer.
The operation of automatic transmission does not cause complaints. Auto mode for movement in the city is quite enough (I admit, I didn’t even turn on the Comfort mode). Switching is smooth, without jerks, and it is almost imperceptible.
However, on the highway of this mode, the ovens is clearly not enough. But everything is corrected by pressing the Dynamic key dramatically changes the nature of the checkpoint. The first gears are slipped quickly, and at the highest steps, the switching automation works only after the engine is promoted to 5 thousand about/min. In this mode, you can already go to overtake, even on a tightly clogged highway, the danger does not threaten to hang next to the overtaken machine.

True, after the transition from Auto to Dynamic, it seemed to me that fuel consumption has grown markedly. The full tank (63 liters) was enough for about 500-520 km. However, this is a pretty decent result, especially when you consider that I was moving at speeds, noticeably and very noticeably exceeding the BDD prescribed by the rules (may the traffic police forgive me!).
However, no matter how good the Audi A4 automatic transmission was, the right hand still involuntarily twitched to switch the transmission. Nevertheless, an experienced driver can provide better dynamics than automation. Even the selective automatic transmission mode did not help some thoughtfulness still preserved. However, even the best (and expensive) machines are not delivered from it.
Exceeding the speed made it possible to test in combat conditions and the brake system. On the Novorizhskoye Shosse, the left far row in front of me was suddenly blocked by the overturning SUV that went to overtake. In addition, Lexus hung on my tail, walking at the same unreasonable speed.
I had to put pressure on the brake strongly, but at the same time to look in the rear -view mirror would not remember me a trunk. There was ... Clear operation of the brake pedal allowed to level speeds with a walking machine at a distance of less than a meter, if possible, without stressing the rear driver. In this case, no jerks, departments, and other minor troubles were observed. So for the Audi A4 brake system also receives a solid five.
However, in the above case, not only the brake system, but also the course stability system (ESP) worked well. I had the opportunity to check her work in other conditions. As you know, on domestic tracks (despite the presence of a solid coating), ruts are formed over time - they are pushed by heavy trucks due to the low quality of preparation of the pillow of the roadway. Usually, these longitudinal waves are not felt in the movement, but when overtaking, when the car is diagonally, they are able to spoil the driver's mood (especially at high speed).
Walking for the first time to overtake the trailer in the far section of the highway, I habitually grabbed the steering wheel tighter. However, nothing happened. That is, of course, the presence of these Danube waves was felt but only in the form of a very easy swing of the car. Audi A4 did not show any trend from the trajectory. The reverse reaction on the steering wheel was not felt, however, for this it is necessary to thank the steering amplifier and suspension.

The suspension has one feature to some types of obstacles, it reacts quite loudly. For example, having drove for the first time along the temperature gap of the bridge, I even shuddered slightly so loud was the suspension blow. About the same way, the suspension reacts to narrow transverse grooves, which, unfortunately, are enough on our roads.
However, the reasons for this sound are understandable. It was simply that Audi had several problems at the same time, in particular, to ensure the stability of the car and the strength of the suspension on Russian roads. And it is quite natural that for this it was necessary to pay some decrease in acoustic characteristics. Moreover, I repeat, this decrease refers to a rather narrow part of the frequency spectrum to the vast majority of types of obstacles to the suspension does not respond.

As for the rigidity of the shock absorbers, despite the comfort of the A4 movement, it was on top. The breakdown of the shock absorbers happened only once, and even then you can’t call the conditions for the suspension: a rather cool descent, then climbing the bridge (that is, centrifugal force is added to the mass of the car), and before entering the bridge a narrow but rather deep groove. Plus, the speed was 110-120 km/h. But even at the same time, the blow of the front shock absorbers from the stops occurred at the end, it was felt that they only slightly lacked the length of the course. So the next suspension is excellent.
Summary. I really liked the Audi A4 car. A friendly interface of auxiliary systems, comfortable armchairs, a powerful and acceptable engine, a fairly fast automatic transmission, good suspension, excellent stability and handling ... The list of advantages can be continued. The only minus noted is not quite a successful bagel. And even then this is very subjective to other drivers Audi can be quite by hand.
For the city, the power of a 1.8-liter engine (160 hp) is perhaps even somewhat redundant. In the urban stream, if the car stands out according to its running indicators, then only for the better. And on the highway, the Audi A4 leaves a very, very pleasant impression of the proportionality and balance of technical characteristics and comfort.