Audi A4 Sedan Mild Hybrid

Cons

- Exterior looks bland - lack premium car feel

- Weird door handles that tilt up - just pure bad design what rubbish.

- Driver left leg is always hitting the left side.

- Interior looks and feels cheap - hard plastics abound

- Gear lever feels uncomfortable to use - even new Avante feels better. Ergonomics designer should be sacked

- Brakes are over-servoed. Feels powerful but difficult to modulate finely/smoothly. Brake pedal mounted too high vs accelerator pedal. Hard to switch from gas to brakes quickly.

- Steering too light and devoid of feel. Similar in weight to latest Avante.

- Signal stalk is placed too far from steering wheel - abit of stretch to activate.

- High beam - very very dim.... Why... Audi..

- High speed wallow and float - even along Bukit Timah Road - old cars like Civic FD / CL7 feel more planted.

- DSG hesitates when you floor from standstill - nothing - then boost & wheelspin & traction control.... An utter mess....

- Tons of turbo lag - engine doesn't pick up smoothly but instead has off boost on boost character

- Strong understeer - somehow the nose just stubbornly pushes for a small light car. Just not very entertaining to drive....

Pros

- Uber silent - v v v v little wind noise. 140kmh feels like 100kmh

- Fuel economy - but did you buy an Audi for this?

Looks subtle yet stylish enough. The drive is good and packs a punch when I need it. Comfortable and quiet at high speeds, the A4 is truly a joy to drive. Looking forward to more good years with it and glad I bought it before the COE climbed.

Having owned the car for 6 months now, I love everything about it. But my standards were not high in the first place as I upgraded from an Altis.

I enjoy my drives and when I want to kick it up a notch, I'll change it to sport mode. 😀

Collected the car in July 2021 and have been driving it almost daily for 5 months. My trips are always short distances (~5km) city driving but still able to achieve ~11.2mk/l mileage. Exterior makes the car look big and the interior is sufficiently spacious. The finishing are all quality and the HU is very intuitive and smart.

The front bumpers and grilles can be more aggressive. The rear makes the car look elegant.

I also hope the engine was higher powered. But the current 150bhp is sufficient for daily driving, Will consider the MTM upgrade in the future.

The face lifted A4 looks good, the exterior light designs are always a touch above its two rivals. The drive is good and sufficient for day to day, handling is great and since it's a front wheel drive, it's technically simpler and easier to handle.

I can't understand why the door handles tilts instead of pull, needs a slight adjustment but felt really weird to me. The main deal breaker is that this car does not have any modern safety feature at this price point. No BSM, AEB, whatsoever.

Deciding between the G3 and Japanese brands for a respectable sedan has been pretty tough. Infiniti is long gone from the mainstream luxury market. BMW's new 3 series, although now VES neutral, remains at the same price point. Mercedes Benz C180 is still of South African make. Effectively leaving the German A4 to take on the Japanese IS300.

The IS300 was clearly a winner. New design, honed at Shimoyama (the Japanese Nurburghring so to say), an output about 50hp higher than the A4 advanced, rear-wheel drive, Apple Carplay - overall a very solid proposition.

What I liked about the A4 was that it doesn't scream luxury - nor even attempts to be luxurious. It simply focused on engineering, technology and being well put together. Great fit, finish and was a lot more spacious than expected. The online configurator also provided plenty more options to consider vs C180. Luxury to Audi, it seems, is about having the freedom to choose.

Quietness on the A4 was top notch - even a tad better than the C180, which i expected to top the segment. Combined with the optional 3D 19sp Bang & Olufsen audio, it felt way more opulent than the standard 10 speaker systems in the other makes. Sadly, nobody really reviews how good the audio is - and I must say, this is probably the best in segment.

Surprisingly, the A4 felt a lot more punchier and faster than the more powerful RWD IS300. Something was v.Wrong here, unless Lexus had purposely made it relaxed for luxury reasons - turns out the 0-100 figures were almost the same.

The final verdict came not from under the hood or the interiors, but the boot. The A4 was decent enough to come with an electric tailgate while the IS300 screamed "Get a Camry". I could forgive the lack of electric tailgate if only the IS300 was less well behaved and punchier. Otherwise, a Camry Hybrid has all the Japanese luxury you'll ever need.

Does the A4 handle better than the evergreen 318i? Maybe not. Is it more comfy than the C180 - most definitely.

Overall, the cheaper starting price on the A4 also meant I could opt for higher specs and be comparable to an entry 318i. Otherwise, 318i vs A4 advanced - Tough choice indeed.