Motoring

BRILLIANTLY CONNECTED

FROM SOPHISTICATED VOICE CONTROL TO PREDICTING THE NEXT GREEN TRAFFIC LIGHT, SUE COOKE TESTS THE MOST ADVANCED AUDI EVER

For the first time in a week I have a smile on my face and a feeling of excitement. The cause is the Audi A4 that I am road testing. Lockdown meant it had been a while since I had driven and that in itself was a reason for elation. But the Audi was the icing on the cake.

I slide into the driving seat which hugs and fits in all the right places, feeling snug in the quality cockpit with every highly polished button, easy flick lever and bright fluorescent instructions immediately ahead. I grip the flat-bottomed steering wheel and head out for the quieter country lanes. I have the all road quattro model and despite heavy rain and muddy tracks, the Audi takes every corner with precise steering, grace and ease. Hence the grin!

This Audi is gadget heaven and the most ‘connected’ model in the Audi range. The new

operating system is based on the third-generation modular infotainment platform MIB 3. Its hub is a large, 10.1-inch high resolution MMI touch display tilted slightly towards the driver in the centre of the instrument panel. It responds to fingertip inputs with acoustic feedback and permits free text input, replacing the functions of the previous rotary/pushbutton control on the centre tunnel console. I find the natural language voice control is quite adept at understanding many of the reportable phrases I use in everyday speech!

GREEN LIGHT

Ok, it took me a while to get my head around some of the systems, but one of the most exciting (sorry but anything is exciting after being stuck inside the house for weeks on end) is the traffic light

information function. By networking with the urban infrastructure, the car receives information from the traffic light central computer via a server so that the driver can choose the speed to match the next green light. Audi says it promotes an efficient driving style along with a constant flow of traffic.

I remember being blown away on seeing the Audi headlights at the launch of the R8 some years ago. Audi was the first manufacturer to introduce innovative headlights and continues to be groundbreaking. Matrix LED units establish and track multiple road users and illuminate the appropriate corridors of lights either side of them to maintain maximum visibility without dazzling others. The quattro all-wheel drive makes light work of even the roughest terrain helped by underbody protection and wheel arch trims and a wider track. Ground clearance is raised by 35mm.

GADGETS GALORE

I could wax lyrical for endless paragraphs on the exceptional technology. But suffice to say that the A4 Allroad is everything you would expect to find from Audi. And when stationary, sitting in interminable traffic jams, what better pastime than

FACTS AT A GLANCE

Model: Audi A4 Allroad quattro estate Price: £44,100 otr Engine: Sport 45 TFSi quattro S Tronic Performance: 0-62mph in 6.1 seconds and on to a top speed of 154mph

CO 2 emissions:

154 g/km

to play with the innumerable gadgets – in safe circumstances, of course.

Until 30 September, Audi is offering a new retail Solutions PCP offer. Audi covers the first three months of payments with up to 5.2 per cent APR representative. The Vorsprung durch Technik brand will also provide deposit contributions of between £700 and £16,000, and any existing offers that were already available at Audi centres will continue.

The new A4 Allroad quattro combines the latest brand’s exterior design with efficient TFSI and TDI engines that adopt mild hybrid (MHEV) for the first time. Excitement guaranteed! ■

SHOWROOM

Birmingham Audi, 780 Stratford Road, Shirley, Solihull, B90 4BQ. Tel: 0121 746 5500 www.listers.co.uk/audi/birmingham