Photo courtesy of Audi
2006 AUDI A4 2.0T Interior.

Audi makes incredibly attractive, solid cars. I had the opportunity to drive the Audi A8 a couple of years ago and I truly enjoyed it. The A4 is much more affordable than the A8 and is still first class.

You don’t see the “gadget overload” in the A4 that you do in many other cars in the entry-luxury class. Features are not minimal though. Here are just a few of them:

• Navigation with maps that can be updated annually
• Heated seats
• 12-way sporty power driver seat (manual front passenger) including front driver/passenger 4-way electric lumbar adjustment and adjustable head restraints
• Red ambient LED lighting in headliner for front center console illumination
• Retained accessory power after key is removed from ignition
• Power windows with power retention, “one touch up,” “one touch down” and pinch protection for all windows
• Huge trunk
• Heated windshield washer nozzles
• Power outside mirrors with defog feature
• Foglights: 2 front, 1 rear

The Audi is very comfortable to drive. Tight steering, minimal road noise and the smooth ride make the Audi a top vehicle in its class. Edmunds.com says, “The A4 is luxurious, sporty, winterproof and a few grand cheaper than BMW’s 3 Series. As such, it’s one of our favorite entry-luxury cars.”

The only negative my family could come up with was that this model was a bit short on leg room once you add a car seat behind the passenger seat. If you are looking to buy an Audi and have small children, you might want to look at the A6 to get more room.

Prices for the Audi A4 2.0T range from MSRP $28,240 for a base 6-speed manual model to about $35,660 for a full loaded A4 2.0 T Auto Tiptronic® quattro®.

Safety Features:

• Anti-lock brake system with vacuum power assist, Electronic Brake-pressure Distribution (EBD) and hydraulic Brake Assist and disk wiping feature
• Multiple airbags: Sideguard™ head protection airbags for front and rear occupants, driver and front passenger dual-stage and dual-threshold airbag supplemental restraints with occupant sensors, driver and front passenger seat mounted chest side airbags
• First Aid kit located in rear center armrest
• Lower Anchorage and Tethers for Children (LATCH) in rear seats
• Child safety rear door locks
• Reflectors in rear of all doors
• Automatic door locking at 8 mph

Performance Features:

• Turbocharged DOHC inline 2.0 liter 4-cylinder with FSI® Direct Injection, variable valve timing and intake manifold
• Horsepower: 200 hp @ 5,100-6,000 rpm
• Torque: 207 lb-ft @ 1800-5000 rpm
• 0-60 mph in seconds: 7.1 (FrontTrak manual models), 7.3 (multitronic CVT with FrontTrak and 6-speed manual with quattro), 7.5 (6-speed Tiptronic with quattro)
• Top track speed: 130 mph*
• EPA fuel economy estimates (city/highway)*:
• multitronic: 24/32
• manual, FrontTrak: 23/34
• manual, quattro: 22/31
• Tiptronic: 22/30