New Car Test - Audi A4 Avant 2.0 Multitronic

7 November, 2002

Solidly built, high quality and practical - but it's not an inspired drive...

By Michael Knowling

A car's reputation is often a long way away from reality - in the case of the Audi A4 Avant 2.0 Multitronic, however, your initial impressions are quite likely to be on the money. Yes, this car is practical, beautifully built and solid but, no, its 4-cylinder engine doesn't offer much reward for anyone that loves to drive.

One of the first driving impressions of the Avant (which is Audi-speak for wagon) is it's a bit soggy at the controls - it's throttle response (using throttle-by-wire) is very dull and, in addition, the transmission is reluctant to kick down. It's only after a bit more exploring you realise there's a second phase of accelerator travel, which requires a bit more pedal pressure - these extra few millimetres of pedal movement tell the trans to shift back a ratio or two and, at last, you can accelerate away. Not at a great pace, mind you...

The 2.0 Avant's power-to-weight ratio is very pedestrian. The 5-valve-per-cylinder, DOHC, 2.0-litre four-cylinder - complete with its variable length intake manifold and Bosch ME7 management - generates only 96kW at 5700 rpm and has to haul a considerable 1365 kilograms. It is, however, a low revving engine that's optimised for useable torque - there's 195Nm available at 3300 rpm. This means the car feels relatively unfussed in light-to-moderate load ranges, but fill the cabin with people and throw some gear in the back and you'd better make sure there's plenty of space to make any highway overtaking manoeuvres.

On the upside, Audi's Multitronic CVT (continuously variable transmission) performs very well. The CVT serves to keep the 2.0-litre engine in its most efficient operating zone and delivers flawless gearshifts. Multitronic also brings with it a Tiptronic-style selector system where you can either select Drive or push-pull your way up-down through the gears. Even if you aren't keen on shifting yourself, this system makes it oh-so easy to drop back a gear or two when you want to rein back your speed while descending a hill. Our only criticism - which appears to be tied to the CVT - is a jerking action that accompanies very light brake applications while crawling in slow traffic.

Driving through the front wheels only, the Avant's electronic diff lock (EDL) maintains traction by braking the front wheels individually. With a decent amount of straight-line grip, Audi claim the car can run from standstill to 100 km/h in 10.5-seconds when drinking 98RON fuel - in the real world, however, we'd say you'd be looking at closer to 11-seconds. While it's a long way off being a speed machine, the 2.0 Avant's fuel consumption is quite impressive - we recorded an average 9-litre per 100 kilometres with predominantly urban driving. Oh, and - like many Euro cars - make sure you fill the Avant's tank with 95RON fuel or better.

With the front-end poised on aluminium wishbones, and the rear on an independent trapezoidal-link arrangement (with swaybars at both ends), the Avant 2.0 is a sweet, flowing handler on the open road. It doesn't have the grunt to make it truly exhilarating, but the chassis holds its line very securely. During tight manoeuvres, however, the longitudinally mounted engine hanging past the front axle line does cause some understeer. In any case, the Avant's electronic chassis controls step in to keep things tidy - its aforementioned diff lock, anti-spin regulation (ASR) and electronic stability program (ESP) virtually guarantees your Avant will stay pointing the right way, no matter how adverse the conditions or how silly you drive.

The brakes - ventilated front discs and solid rear discs working with ABS, EBD and brake assist systems - offer good pedal response and predictable stopping power. While the engine is hardly a fireball, there's absolutely no torque-steer to be felt through the rack and pinion steering; mind you, there's barely any steering feeling at all.

And now let's step aboard...

The A4's cabin is a little intimidating due to its relatively high sill line and bulky dashboard. While it's not exactly an airy ambience, there is plenty of passenger width and headroom in the front, though the centre console does come a bit close the driver's left leg. We often noticed our knee rubbing against the console. The Avant's standard Phoenix dark grey cloth upholstery is inlaid with Visier Grey aluminium highlights, which - although looking like off-cuts from an al-fresco dining table - adds some cheer to the otherwise drab colour scheme.

The Audi's fruit basket is stuffed with power front and rear windows, power mirrors, cruise control, immobiliser, remote central locking and adjustable angle headlights. The 10-speaker Chorus sound system sounds quite good up to moderate SPLs, except the rear speakers are a little muddy. The gauge cluster houses fuel level and coolant temp gauges, a 6400 redlined tacho and a 260 km/h speedo (which is marked in peculiar increments for Australian driving). Nestled between the tacho and speedo is Audi's driver information system (DIS) - this functions as the trip computer, and displays ambient temperature, radio/CD selection, gear position and more. The whole interior - from the trim fabric to the switchgear feel - is top quality.

Back seat occupants enjoy the benefit of the Avant's flat roofline, which provides good headroom - more than you'll find in the A4 saloon. Knee room is also quite generous, but foot space beneath the front seat cushion is limited. A couple of nice touches in the rear include the extensive first aid kit residing in the fold-down centre rear armrest and the reading lights mounted in the centre of the roof.

Turning to the bit that makes the Avant special - the wagon section - you'll find a very usable cargo area. Unlike many wagons where the rear suspension eats into the sides of the cargo area, the Avant maintains straight sides from the tailgate to the back of the rear backrests. While the cargo volume is very adequate given the size of the vehicle, the split backrests can be folded forward for even greater capacity. Furthermore, a large plastic tray can be found beneath the folding top layer of the cargo floor - this is ideal for transporting grubby items that are likely to soil the top fabric. A full size spare wheel lurks beneath the tray, plus you'll find a 12-volt power socket, load tie-down fittings, a retractable cargo blind and a partition to separate the passenger area from the cargo area. In all, it's quite a neat wagon conversion.

Audi marketing brochures tell the story of how the high sill line and the uncompromising lines give the Avant a "powerful appearance." No argument there - this is one of the toughest looking wagons on the market. Much of that credit must also go to the projector-style headlights, which perform very well in addition to boosting aesthetics. Unfortunately, though, the 2.0 Avant is lumbered with relatively high profile 65-series tyres mounted on 15-inch forged alloy wheels. Only the more powerful A4s get 16-inch alloys with low-profile rubber.

As you'd expect from an Audi, panel margins are tight and consistent and paint quality is exceptional.

Now then, how hard does the Avant butt heads with the opposition?

Well, at $54,250 (plus ORCs), the Avant 2.0-litre is one of the cheapest Euro wagons on the market. Only the Alfa Romeo 156 2.0-litre Twin Spark Selespeed and Peugeot 406ST HDi diesel wagon undercut the Audi (by around $2750 and $9250 respectively). Despite being one of the cheapest cars in its class, however, the Avant should be offered with 10 - 20 percent more power. There's absolutely no excuse for a 2.0-litre engine maxing out at 96kW in a 50-odd grand car - even a base-model Toyota Corolla 1.8 makes 100kW these days!

As it stands, the Audi A4 Avant 2.0 Multitronic is a high quality, solidly built wagon with good cargo space - but it's without a spark of excitement.