Audi A4 Test Drive

Audi A4 Observations From the Driver's Seat

Peter Frey / The Test Drive Guy

You don't tend to think of cars as time machines, but the top-of-the-line Audi A4 we used for the video test drive made me feel thirty years younger the instant I sat in the racing-style bucket seat and grabbed the fat racing-style steering wheel.

Granted, this was no ordinary A4, which is an ideal daily driver with a good dose of Germanic character and impressive mechanical credentials.  They all come with, at minimum, a turbocharged 4-cylinder engine, Quattro all-wheel drive, power glass sunroof, good seats and a good audio system with satellite radio.  Not a bad basis on which to start building? and build you can.

The particular A4 that I found so transformative was also so totally out of the ordinary that it's not even possible to create by checking every option box on the Audi.com web site.  But no doubt the Braman Audi sales guys know how to do it.  Beginning with the 'basic' 2014 2.0T Quattro Tiptronic, they added Glacier White Metallic paint and the Prestige option, a laundry list of options that includes an absolutely astonishing Bang and Olufsen audio system (14 speaker, 10 amplifiers, 500 watts), as well as navigation system, back-up camera, etc., etc.

The S Line interior package includes that flat-bottomed steering wheel (with paddle shifters) I found so enchanting, as well as Alcantera sport seats and brushed aluminum interior trim.  The Sport Package includes special suspension tuning that, truth to tell, makes the car ride a bit like a race car, but WOW!, what a blast to be able to go around corners that fast!  And then the Black Optic Package includes titanium-finish 19-inch wheels and high-performance tires, as well as gloss black interior trim.

Add it all up and you get the kind of car that you don't just want, you lust for it.

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