Words by: Aatish Mishra
New Audi A4 will be showcased at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2015, but they have already revealed some juicy details (and some pictures) of the car.
At first glance, you might feel that the car you are lookin g at is a facelift and not an all-new car. The changes to the exterior are not too extreme and the car does look a lot like its predecessor.
However, Audi claim that every panel on this car is new. It is longer by 25mm and wider by 16mm, and has a more prominent shoulder line giving it a wider stance. The headlamps and DRLs housed within them have been updated to look sharper. The unmistakable Audi grille has been updated as well and looks quite a lot like the one on the Audi TT. The car is based on Audi’s latest MLB platform, with a wheelbase of 2820mm, 12mm more than the previous one.
The car has grown on the interior as well — 24mm more headroom and 11mm more shoulder room will make it noticeably more spacious. Rear legroom has been increased by 23mm much to the delight of the chauffeur driven set. Despite increase in dimensions Audi has managed to cut down weight of the car by upto 120kg, thanks to lightweight construction.
Internationally, the A4 will be available with seven engine options— three petrol and four diesels. Petrol engines include a 1.4-litre 148bhp unit while the 2.0-litre engine has two states of tune – 190bhp and 250bhp.
One of these will probably replace the current A4’s 1.8-litre petrol engine. We expect a more powerful version of the current 2.0-litre diesel to continue being sold here. Audi claims that all their engines are upto 25 per cent more powerful, and upto 21 per cent more efficient.
The A4 will be sold with a newly developed manual gearbox on all engine variants, which might come to India at a later date. Standard will be the seven-speed dual-clutch S-tronic.
The suspension has been reworked completely. The new five-link axles are lighter and are designed to offer more comfort while being sporty. A new electro-mechanical steering system has been used to enhance the driving experience.
The A4 will hit Indian shores in early 2016, hot on the heels of the international launch and considering the current car has been around for a while now, this is one car Audi dealers will be keenly looking forward to.