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Old 23rd January 2014, 02:25   #1
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My White Knight: '14 Audi A4 TDI 177 BHP with Drive Select

DISCLAIMER

I haven't written like this since after college and its been a while so please bear with me and forgive me if i don't make any sense sometime.

Blitz in german means Lightning. Since there may be other white knights I'll just add Blitz to mine. Hope thats fine!!

Introduction

A luxury car had been on my radar since a very long time. I knew I would buy one sometime in my lifetime. Of course I had to be realistic and also practical (read bugetwise). Couldn’t just go and buy something so expensive that I would finally have to sleep in the car!!!

Whenever I used to travel with my wife or my parents, I would always show them an Audi or BMW that zipped past us .Or for that matter I would even let one pass me up if it came from behind so I could admire it even more. (Actually nobody even cared. And if my Dad indeed mumbled something, it was probably cause he felt he felt all my admiration talk needed some consolation, since the ladies never understood what all the fuss was about.)

Sometime in August 2013

One day during dinner, Dad said we have too many cars at home. Why don’t we dispose a few cars and get something nice like a BMW or Audi or something. Every one at home said good idea. I didn’t even bat an eyelid. Ha ha I knew my dad too well. I didn’t even bother to get into that conversation. I knew this would come to bite me!!!

About a week later, Dad again came to me with the same proposal? Finally he asked me why wasn’t I interested? Other kids would have probably come with TD cars the very next day!! Finally I told him, Ok, I will arrange everything on one condition. Don’t say “No” when the deal is almost done!! ( Well, he finally said No when the deal was almost done, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise)

A little intro about our current garage

1)2004 Toyoto Corolla – What a car!! Amazing performance and reliability. Proabably costed me about only 50K in 9 years of ownership and that too cause of an alternator ac coil. Clocked only 61k at the time of disposal.

2)2008 Maruti Swift VDi- I just love this car. Amazing engine grunt at less than 6 lacs. Can hold its own against even powerful and bigger cars. Currently clocked 41k on the odo. Can park anywhere even in tight spots very easily. Still looks like new so planning on keeping it for quite a long time.

3)2010 Toyota Innova V 7 seater- Already a Toyota fan. Wanted to buy the Fortuner, but finally went with the practicality of the Innova. Finally 7 seats have become a liability. Nobody wants to be in the back seat. Clocked 17k at the time of disposal. Not remembering spending much on servicing at all !!!

4)2013 Honda Brio Vx AT- Great fun and ease to drive in the city. Front seats are too spacious and ergonomic. But engine grunt disappoints for fast overtaking maneuvers.

5)Maruti Omni- We have always kept a Omni from the nineties. If we sell it, we buy another one and so on. Its used for everything from hauling gas cylinders, coconuts, office errands, home errands, you name it. My dad likes it so much he says he’s buying 10 Omnis if Maruti decides to stop making it.



The Search Begins…..

Firstly I decided I will be impartial. Will evaluate and do all analysis only after TD’ing all cars concerned.

Filled up the online TD request form on BMW and Audi websites. Both called within 4-5 hours promising sales officers would be in touch.. Talked to both the sales officers, and once they knew some of my friends were their customers, they were willing to dance since they knew they might have a deal!!! Gave appointments for TD to both guys within a week.

The wait for TD was the time to study. Office time was used creatively -10% for office work. 90 % on car data crunching. Read every article on BMW and Audi on T-bhp. But couldn’t find much info on the new 177 hp A4 with drive select. A big thank you for all the ownership reviews and comments out there. As a informed buyer those reviews really help.


The BMW Xperience

I decided to start with the ULTIMAT3 since if it’s a beemer it should be a sedan. And also since I’m a huge BMW fan!! Asked the sales guy to bring me a Luxury Line model. By this time BMW had quietly added much more features into the luxury line from the Luxury line plus version making it more value for money than previously.

The sales guy turned up with a flashy red sportline model …yeah RED!! SPORTLINE!! As he came up the driveway I saw my dreams go up in flames!!! No way my Dad was going to like the dull drab interiors. After all that’s where you sit after spending close to 40 lacs right?

As far as a big budget car purchase goes…its always a family affair…I had studied enough of Philip Kotler’s marketing management and behavior to know that and what’s going to come next!!!

The BMW TD car!!
My White Knight: '14 Audi A4 TDI 177 BHP with Drive Select-bmw1-large.jpg

Went for the TD with my dad and brother in law who happened to be at home that time. Loved it. JOY is BMW. Sheer driving pleasure especially in Sport Plus mode. Actually a bit scary too with the limited roads we have and practically no traffic discipline!! Kept reminding dad Luxury line is fully beige interiors with more luxurious looks and so on.

We all like a lot of things about BMW. So to keep it short will mention in key points what I didn’t like.

-Sales guy was not informed at all. I knew more than him after just reading T-bhp
-Went for TD at 2 clock. Air con wasn’t working properly. All of us were sweating. Finally I found out recirculation mode was off. Sales guy didn’t even have a clue.
-Sportline with black interiors was a turn-off. I was impartial. But Dad, Mom, Wifey, Grandmother was not impressed.
-Sport seats are good. But not good for people a bit on the heavier side.
-No cruise control. I’m sure its not very practical. But still.
-No Naviagtion, Rear View Camera. Only on the topmost end model I guess.
-Rear leg room was more than good. But the high transmission tunnel would be bad for the 5th person.
-Too low slung for our comfort. Ingress and Egress were a bit difficult for my Mom and Grand mother.
-RFT’s kept playing on my mind. Took it through a real bad patch of road and wasn’t really impressed with the ride comfort though that particular area.

After the TD, told the sales guy I will get back to you after testing Audi. He said he will make his boss call and talk to me.



The Audi Experience

The Audi sales guys sure knew his salts from his sugar. He came to my home 2 days after I filled out the online TD forms. I told him just bring me the car. I was very particular I needed to TD the 177 bhp A4 with drive select. No way I was going to pay so much for the same 144 bhp jetta engine.

The sales guy left me thick booklets for the A4, A6, Q3, Q5 to read if I had free time. Told me frankly Audi is no BMW. Not to expect Ultimate Driving Pleasure, if that’s what I’m looking at. However Audi offers Sporty Luxury at its best and has a spare tyre!! Chatted some more about cars and also found out we had a few common friends.

The Audi TD car!!
My White Knight: '14 Audi A4 TDI 177 BHP with Drive Select-audi-td2-large.jpg

By the time the car came for the TD, I knew practically every feature gradewise/optional/ and even between different segments. Also since he had met me before a rapport had been established. Bonus point to the sales guy!!

I was planning to buy the Premium model which comes after the business edition model. There are two more higher models than Premium namely Premium Plus and Navigation.
I felt the two higher models are not VFM for the higher cost charged.

TD car which came was Navigation even though I had requested Premium. Sales guy said he will explain which features are missing as the Premium TD car hadn’t come back yet and he can bring it around another day. I was good with that since it had the same engine.

TD was good. Sporty Luxury is not an understatement. Interiors are top notch. Drive select offered Individual, Dynamic, Comfort, Auto and efficiency options. Booklet says 0-100 km in 7.9 sec. That’s fine by me. There is no road to take my car above 90km for more than 1 minute in my town unless its 3 AM.

Also there’s a sport mode in every drive select mode where you can just toggle the gear lever down. When this is activated gear indicator on the DIS ( driver information system) changes from D to S(1,2,3 gear number and so on). Correct me if I’m wrong but being a Multitronic CVT does it really have gears? I am still under the impression it does not, but maybe to give you that sporty mental feeling when you see the gears!!
Ride comfort was good. Normal seat offered good comfort. Rear seat comfort was good with transmission tunnel a bit high but not as high as BMW. Tri-zone Ac , Cruise control, motorized sunroof lots of stuff for the gadget freak in you. Spare tyre a boon!!

Will list out what I didn’t like in key points.

- MMI button is on the central console ( MMI button near armrest comes only on Navigation model)
- No Navigation in Premium Model. (Navigation comes only in the topmost model which is too much expensive)
- No seat memory and side view mirror memory (Again only on Navigation model)
- No keyless entry and go.


After the TD, I ask the sales guy to give me a week’s time to sit on it. Meanwhile he told me in detail the ex-showroom price, tax amount (by the way is on the discounted price, I know there is a separate forum on this), Insurance and the discounts. I also told him he would have to take or help in exchange/sale of our Innova and Corolla if the deal goes on.



The Mercedes Experience

I have several friends who own Mercedes and been in several of them. Though I was impressed by the ride comfort which is unparalled, lack of gadgetry was an issue in the C class. And if it was a Merc, it should be nothing less than an E class.

However taking the advice of my brother in law, I filled up another online TD form for Mercedes. Received a call within 10 mins. Boy was I impressed!! A pleasant lady asked me for my requirements. I requested for a C class test drive preferably on a Sunday if it’s possible, otherwise with an appointment of two days notice.

Never heard from them since and Merc dropped itself out of contention. Well no worries.

AND SORRY GUYS....NO TD PIC SINCE THERE WAS NO TD GIVEN!!



Had to let go off these two beauties who served us faithfully through all these years.
My White Knight: '14 Audi A4 TDI 177 BHP with Drive Select-corola-front1-large.jpg
My White Knight: '14 Audi A4 TDI 177 BHP with Drive Select-innova-1-large.jpg

Closing the deal…

Remember the Bite me part earlier? Remember the impartial part?

Everyone agreed Audi was the car for us. Also Dad had a thing for Audi (partly due to Ravi Sastri winning an Audi long time back). I loved the BMW but after factoring in various reasons and requirements I had to grudgingly accept we as a family were more Audish than Beemerish.

Then suddenly the final price rocked the ladies in the house first. Suddenly everyone started thinking what else one could buy with that kind of money. Appreciating assets…Land, Flat, Villas…you name it!! I knew it would come to this. By the way this happens every time in my house when an avoidable/unnecessary expenditure is about to occur. I knew all I had to do was to sit tight and tide over it.

So I told the sales guys the deal was currently off since Dad was not too favorable at this point of time. Since we had mentally decided on Audi and I had a good rapport with the sales guy, I told him I was a potential buyer and keep me posted of any good deals, so I could work my magic on Dad.

Got myself updated on the deals every month and December was the sweetest. Turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Ultimately saved a couple of lacs more since I waited till December. Remember money saved is money earned!!

Finally booked the A4 177 bhp with drive select in the second half of December. The sales guy had sent me a ready reckoner brochure which showed a new interior colour chestnut brown which was so new that even the sales guy wasn’t even aware of. I love the saddle brown interiors plus white combination of the BMW 3 er so much that I booked the A4 with chestnut brown interiors and Ibis White exterior without even seeing it.

Only glitch was I had to make full payment in December itself to make myself immune from the impending price hike and it would be invoiced in December 2013 itself. And I did make full payment. As you all would have read in the forum, Audi due to its large number of bookings in December extended price protection to all prior bookings and Invoice was made out only on the date of delivery.




Day of Delivery

My sales guy informed me the car would come to the dealer by Jan 8th. Asked him if its possible to get it by Jan 10th, since that was my wedding anniversary. He said he would try, and delivered.

On that day as we had planned earlier, my sales guy came by about 11 AM and picked me and my dad in his car and drove to Ernakulam which is about an hour and a half from my place. We stopped for an early lunch at my insistence ( it is my humble experience that car deliveries never take place at the said time and no matter how much ever they take care something always always goes wrong.)

Reached the showroom by 1.30 PM. Our car was scheduled for an early slot but was not even in the showroom. There was also some video filming by a car magazine (Autocar/ Overdrive..not sure which). They had seven deliveries that day and once the customers started trickling in for deliveries, they got rid of the filming.

Since our car was left out on the road, it had some dust on it. I mean who would leave a car scheduled for delivery after washing it just out on the road. Then I noticed the mudflaps ( cost almost 11 k) which I had ordered and made payment for were not fitted. But that turned out to be another blessing in disguise.

I noted there was an A6 on the showroom floor awaiting delivery with mudflaps which wouldn’t even last 6 months on Kerala roads with the kind of ground clearance after those mudflaps.

A wait of almost 1 and half hours. By this time all the papers were signed, the GM of the showroom swung into action, made sure the car was cleaned up properly, offered me a complimentary wash and wax polish the next time I bring the car to the showroom .

Keys handed over. Photo clicked. A flower boquet was given. Also a Cake. We got inside and after a small prayer, we zoomed off!!!

My White Knight: '14 Audi A4 TDI 177 BHP with Drive Select-audi-cake-large.jpg













THE BLITZ WHITE KNIGHT……


The shining white knight streaks through like lightning pampering its occupants in sporting luxury. The sunroof compliments the white exterior contrastingly. I must say Ibis white is the best colour for the A4. No wonder you can see so many white A4’s. Those oh so classy looking daytime running lights and wide grill with the four rings looks so gorgeous you need to be standing outside to see and enjoy it.

The chestnut brown interior looks so fabulous and adds to the interior ambience. With the rear sunblind and rear seat side shades pulled up, it gives the car a full dark sunfilm paper effect.

I wouldn't have bought it if it wasn't for the new 177 hp engine and the Drive Select Feature. I was very particular if I was buying an Audi it would be with the drive select.

DRIVE SELECT

In the Premium model, Drive Select offers only Auto, Comfort and Dynamic modes. There is a mode called Efficiency listed in the user manual. However I couldn't find it in mine. Must ask Audi about it.

The top end Navigation model offers an additional mode called Individual where you can set it by your requirements.

This is the best feature I like which keeps me happy while driving. In town I use comfort. The steering is so light that turns are a too much of a breeze you need to be careful not to bang into something

As soon as I hit the curves, I go into Dynamic which is the sportier mode. Here the steering and suspension tightens up, engine gets sportier and more louder. Even the exhaust note changes.

Only thing is while changing the modes, you need to lift your leg off the accelerator so that the engine also responds to the mode change.

ENGINE

The engine is the 2.0 TDI with 177 hp on tap. The engine is quite a soundfull when you start her up but slowly settles down. Personally the fired up engine is quite nice to hear, reassuring you that your money is well spent The cabin is well insulated and once you start moving you can hardly hear the sound.

Gently pressing the accelerator, the car moves sluggishly till it reaches about 15km/hr. After that its like lightning!!For powerful cars maybe its like a safety feature not to smash into your own wall or something. I felt the same way when i TD'd the BMW. Similar gentle pressing on the Brio AT would probably have me mow down my mom's lawn!! Simply engaging the D mode and releasing the brake is quite enough to get the Brio moving.

Power is not an issue at all, whether its the city, highway or the twisties. You don't really need to move into sport mode, but I find myself always using the sport mode to get that feel of sudden acceleration.

Driveablity is also quite good that you don't feel like driving a big car even in the city. Only until you are about to park!! The A4 is almost as big as the Passat, so need to keep an eye out for suitable parking spaces. Its not too difficult but you need to be a bit careful about not nicking the front bumper and its sides.

EXTERIOR

I would say the exterior of the Audi is the standard of the subtle swagger. The paint and finish looks fantastic. Ground clearance is a little less under the front bumper and behind the front wheels compared to near the rear wheels.
The engine hood or bonnet is so long that you really need to be careful not to scrape the bottom of the front bumper.

Xenon headlights really light up the road. The rear LED lamps look really bright enough to cause discomfort to the car behind it.

The five spoke alloys look really cool, but I have oil stains/ Brake dust coming on to them.

The rear view mirrors stick out. However these can be folded from inside while encountering narrow roads. This can also be set to auto fold while locking the doors.

INTERIORS

In an Audi this is the place to be. Fully premium inside out. Especially the new chestnut brown interior. The materials, fit, finish is exceptional. The switches, a/c vents, gear level all feel top notch.

The multi function steering is a delight to hold. Multiple functions can be viewed on the Driver information system. The soft rollers on the steering wheel can be used to scroll up/down the options and pressed to select.

The handbrake is incorporated as a button which takes a little time to get used to, but frees up a little space for two cupholders and a mobile phone holder. Door pockets are also quite small. Inspite of the A4 being longer then the Innova and corolla which I previously used, interior storage space is limited.

The front seats have a net cover on their back to keep magazines and booklets. I would have preferred closed covers which could hide the things stored as this would look more neat.

The Audi concert music system is pretty good. Sound quality is way better than on my previous cars. It has a single CD slot and a single SD card slot. Audi MMI cable needs to be used to connect other devices like phones, Ipods, USB etc. The port for the MMI cable is in the illuminated lockable glovebox.

Even the vanity mirrors for both front seats have lights when used. Classy!!

The glossy central console is prone to dust particles. A wipe cloth needs to be left in the car which is ever handy.

SAFETY

I have so far counted 8 airbags. Funny these things are not emphasized in their booklets or their websites. One on the steering, Passenger gets another one. Two each on the front A pillar. Another two on the front seats by the side. Another two on the side of the rear seats taking the tally to 8.

Stability control which can be switched off via a button. I cannot see why anyone should switch it off.

Seatbelts if not used causes a warning sound to emit. This occurs even if the driver wears it but not the passenger, which to me is quite frustrating since my two year old daughter sits in the passenger seat with my wife. However I have found out that the beeping stops if you can withstand the shrill beep for more than five minutes, which by the way is pure torture. Once the beeping has stopped, any sudden braking causes the beeps to start again.

CONVENIENCE

Dual zone ac at the front works perfectly while the backseat has their own ac controls.

The MMI rests on the central console on the Premium model and is quite simple and easy to use.

The phone pairing with bluetooth works seamlessly and the voice quality is outstanding.

Rear electric sunblinds which automatically goes down if reverse gear is engaged. Rear side sunblinds are manual however.

Fully electrical seat adjustment with lumbar support. Finding the right position is easy.

Cruise control, Parking plus system and colour driver information system really adds to the convenience. However rear camera system is really required for absolute peace of mind as visibility of the rear is poor.

However the parking plus system is pretty accurate. The front sensors can be manually activated at slow speeds for negotiating those tight turns without nicking the front bumpers.

Motorized sunroof with tilt and slide function looks good but completely useless. Unless early morning or late evenings, at all other times i found it too hot to even slide the false roof/sunroof interior cover.

With the car setup option on the MMI, a wide variety of settings are possible by which one can customize the car to one's liking. For example, on pressing the unlock button on the key fob more more than 3 seconds, all the windows or any of the selected windows can be rolled down or up.

RIDE QUALITY AND OTHER ASPECTS

The ride quality is fantastic compared to the other cars in my garage. The ride quality is linked directly to the Drive Select feature which as I have mentioned before can be altered on the go.

Comfort mode offers the best plush ride while the dynamic is the mode for the spirited one. In dynamic the steering weighs up nicely, the suspension tightens and engine responds to the slightest nudge in the accelerator. 177 hp means the power is always there at your disposal. You are never left wanting for power but still a slight nudge down on the gearshift to activate the sports mode and you are good to fly.

Having said all that, even on twisty roads I find myself switching to comfort mode after driving sometime on dynamic mode. That's how good comfort mode is.!! After all the sports mode can be activated on any of the drive select modes.

Grip levels are excellent but not in BMW territory. Audi compensates by offering a more plusher ride.

While taking the TD, I was asked to take one side of the car out of the tarmac and drive on the edge of the road while keeping the other side firmly on the smooth roads to check out the comfort levels. Also I was asked to take it upto 100 kmph and to pull the handbrake. The stopping power versus comfort and control were impressive. But I will not be trying the above two tricks in my car.


LIGHTS

The lights are very powerful and light up the road and force you to dip them every time you pass someone as you can visibly see the opposite vehicle in discomfort under the bright lights.

However in dipped mode, I felt the lights are inadequate if travelling at high speeds, as it narrows your field of vision.

Put the lights in Auto mode and it has coming home, leaving home and automatic lights on sensing feature.

LIKES AND DISLIKES

LIKES
-177 hp and Drive Select
- Very driver oriented console with a slight tilt towards the driver in typical Audi fashion.
-High interior quality with all the parts exuding a rich premium feel.
-New chestnut brown interior does not soil easily and looks ultra premium
-Ashtrays and sunglass holders open softly.
-Driver information system gets you all the information you need including music tracks, telephone logs of your phone and all other info onto your screen apart from showing on the MMI screen.
-Rollers on the steering wheel work precisely helping you to select required options on the Driver Information System. These gently light up night too.
-Tri zone A/C
-Cruise control & Motorized Tilt/Slide sunroof
- Automatic rear sunblinds and manual rear sunblinds
-Chestnut brown interior. With the sunblinds pulled up, it gives a dark sunfilm paper effect making the occupants not very visible from outside.
-Spare Tyre was really a factor.
-Fully electric seats.
-Auto fold mirrors.
-All doors have puddle lights.
-Interior footwell lighting for all seats at night when doors are opened.
-All windows one touch auto up and auto down
-Remote opening of boot at night results in coming home lights coming on.

And so many other things....

DISLIKES

-Full MMI near the armrest, Rearview Camera, Keyless entry, Seat & Sideview mirrors memory and navigation & DVD player would have been nice. But these are there on the higher variants which are costlier. Would have gone for next higher variant inspite of the price difference, had they offered me the same discount but that was not to be.
-Ground clearance especially under the front bumper.
-Service package not comprehensive like BMW.
-Door backpockets made of net making items stored in it visible. Also don't think it will last.
-Remote boot closing would have been nice.
-No adaptive and auto dimming lights
-Door pockets not too large.
- Unwanted attention. People staring at the car's front end while travelling makes you wonder if everything is ok


PRICE
Model: A4 2.0 TDI 177 hp with Drive Select.

Ex- Showroom- 29.95 lacs after discounts
Road Tax - 4.492 lacs
Insurance- 44 k after No claim Bonus
Extended warranty- 45 k
Fancy Number- 10 k

Total Cost: 35.432 lacs

Accessories planned in the future.
Front Grill to be painted glossy black ( had asked them to do it but there was a slight communication error)- 10k
Chrome strips on the front grill.- 10k

Usage Pattern

The Blitz White Knight will only be used for drives considering the occasion. It will not be used as an town roundabout since the smaller cars in the garage will be used for that. Since I live in a town, it will be more a mix of the town and the twisties than the occasional highways.

Considering the Innova had done only 17 k in 3 years, I will definitely try to take the A4 above this mark since its definitely a pleasure to drive her.

So far I have burned up 650 km on the blitz white knight. The onboard computer shows a mileage of minimum of 11 and maximum of 16 km per litre depending on driving style.



Enough with the ranting. Now let the pictures do the talking.

My White Knight: '14 Audi A4 TDI 177 BHP with Drive Select-a4-front1-large.jpg

Attachment 1195194

My White Knight: '14 Audi A4 TDI 177 BHP with Drive Select-a4-front4-large.jpg

My White Knight: '14 Audi A4 TDI 177 BHP with Drive Select-a4-front-6-large.jpg

My White Knight: '14 Audi A4 TDI 177 BHP with Drive Select-a4-side1-large.jpg

My White Knight: '14 Audi A4 TDI 177 BHP with Drive Select-a4-back2-large.jpg

My White Knight: '14 Audi A4 TDI 177 BHP with Drive Select-a4-back3-large.jpg

My White Knight: '14 Audi A4 TDI 177 BHP with Drive Select-interior-1-large.jpg



Also attaching the latest ready reckoner for Audi fans to drool over
Audi Product Reckoner MY14_Ver 2.0.pdf

This is really required to understand anything at all. Don't know why but BMW, Audi and Merc websites have really less info about their products compared manufacturers like Honda, Toyota, Maruti etc..

Some more snaps...

DRL's during night.
My White Knight: '14 Audi A4 TDI 177 BHP with Drive Select-drl-nite2-large.jpg

My White Knight: '14 Audi A4 TDI 177 BHP with Drive Select-drl-nigth-large.jpg

Rear LED's during night.
My White Knight: '14 Audi A4 TDI 177 BHP with Drive Select-backlight-large.jpg

Interior lights during night. Looks and feels nice. Every button lights up softly so there is no fumbling at night.
My White Knight: '14 Audi A4 TDI 177 BHP with Drive Select-night-int-large.jpg

Ashtray and dual A/C control buttons.
My White Knight: '14 Audi A4 TDI 177 BHP with Drive Select-ashtray-large.jpg

Key fobs.
My White Knight: '14 Audi A4 TDI 177 BHP with Drive Select-1-key-large.jpg

Immense Boot space.
My White Knight: '14 Audi A4 TDI 177 BHP with Drive Select-2-boot-large.jpg

Spare Tyre.. but no alloy though!!
My White Knight: '14 Audi A4 TDI 177 BHP with Drive Select-4-stepeney-large.jpg

Side view mirror controls, power window controls and boot release button.
My White Knight: '14 Audi A4 TDI 177 BHP with Drive Select-9-front-door-large.jpg

Fully electric seats with lumbar support.
My White Knight: '14 Audi A4 TDI 177 BHP with Drive Select-10-electric-large.jpg

Hand brake is a switch which is very convenient. Below is the Auto-Hold button for which seat belt must be worn to be activated.
My White Knight: '14 Audi A4 TDI 177 BHP with Drive Select-22-gear-shift-large.jpg

Parking Plus system display.
My White Knight: '14 Audi A4 TDI 177 BHP with Drive Select-42-parking-plus-large.jpg

Tyre pressure chart readings.
My White Knight: '14 Audi A4 TDI 177 BHP with Drive Select-11-tyre-pressure-large.jpg

Rear aircon control. Plus there is a power socket underneath for your laptop/phone/Ipad/Ipod.
My White Knight: '14 Audi A4 TDI 177 BHP with Drive Select-6-rear-ac-large.jpg

Rear sunblinds really a boon since sunfilms are banned.
My White Knight: '14 Audi A4 TDI 177 BHP with Drive Select-8-side-binds-large.jpg

MMI screen showing FM radio and Dual zone A/C reading.
My White Knight: '14 Audi A4 TDI 177 BHP with Drive Select-40-dual-ac-large.jpg

Motorized sunroof in action.
My White Knight: '14 Audi A4 TDI 177 BHP with Drive Select-29-sunroof-half-large.jpg


My max upload limit of 30 files is over. Some pics would not rotate right how much ever I tried. If it did some others would turn left. Dont know why So kindly bear with it.

Hope this would be useful for any new buyers out there looking for the new 177 hp with drive select as there is no other thread on it.

Thank you for reading through if you reached till here

Last edited by GTO : 14th February 2014 at 15:28. Reason: No more than 2 smileys / post please. Thanks!
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Old 13th February 2014, 11:36   #2
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re: My White Knight: '14 Audi A4 TDI 177 BHP with Drive Select

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Initial Ownership Section. Thanks for sharing!
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Old 13th February 2014, 13:22   #3
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re: My White Knight: '14 Audi A4 TDI 177 BHP with Drive Select

Wonderful review there microaubin. Made for an interesting read. Rating it with a well deserved 5 stars. Very good pics too. Couldn't stop drooling at your ride the other day when we met. Indeed a wonderful car. Lovely interior trim too. Enjoy your ride and drive safe.
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Old 13th February 2014, 13:34   #4
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What a beautiful car this! Congratulations on your new ride!
BTW what about the corolla and the innova? How much did they go for?
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Old 13th February 2014, 17:51   #5
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Good review. I guess we might have almost met at the showroom because I was there for the delivery of the same model with the same offer but beige interiors for a friend of mine and that too in the first week of January. Completely agree with you on all aspects and yes I also found memory seats and rear camera a big miss. But in my personal opinion I found the sports mode to be an overkill especially from passenger point of view ( the jerky whips of power), but it is a driver's dream all the way and the weighing up of the car is phenomenal. Wish you lots of happy miles and dsg to save your left foot in ernakulam.
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Old 14th February 2014, 12:41   #6
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re: My White Knight: '14 Audi A4 TDI 177 BHP with Drive Select

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Completely agree with you on all aspects and yes I also found memory seats and rear camera a big miss. But in my personal opinion I found the sports mode to be an overkill especially from passenger point of view ( the jerky whips of power), but it is a driver's dream all the way and the weighing up of the car is phenomenal.
Thank you. Rear camera would have been a real mind comforter while reversing though the current parking plus system works really well. I would have gone for the S line model (almost 2.5 lac more) which had all these features had they offered me the same discount. But they were offering me only 1 lac discount which would have then been a real stretch!

And yes the sports mode is an overkill even from the drivers point of view since there is no real shortage of power in normal modes but its a real joy to feel and play with!!


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What a beautiful car this! Congratulations on your new ride!
BTW what about the corolla and the innova? How much did they go for?
Thank You. Corolla went for 3.60 L while the Innova went for 11.60 L. Might have got a little bit more for the Innova had I holded on but decided today's money is more valuable than 1 month later.

Last edited by microaubin : 14th February 2014 at 12:45.
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Old 14th February 2014, 16:50   #7
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Yeah it was strange from their part that as you go up among the models the discounts seemed to come done. Power delivery is so butter smooth and gives you the confidence because it just seems so unhurried. God ,talking to you ,I wanna go visit my friends house soon 😜
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Old 17th February 2014, 17:30   #8
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re: My White Knight: '14 Audi A4 TDI 177 BHP with Drive Select

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Yeah it was strange from their part that as you go up among the models the discounts seemed to come done. 😜
Yes, I too find that strategy really weird. Having been used to rear view camera in the Innova, I was willing to pay the extra amount for the S line (Premium Plus) model, but the huge difference in discount is baffling. The sales guy says there's pretty much no real discount on the Q7. Imagine

Funny thing is that I haven't seen any A4's in S line trim on the roads except their test drive models. However S line badges are available for 7k a piece.
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Old 17th February 2014, 19:16   #9
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re: My White Knight: '14 Audi A4 TDI 177 BHP with Drive Select

Nice review. Congratulations on your purchase. Wishing you many kilometres of fun packed driving! How do you find the ground clearance on speed breakers when the car is fully loaded with luggage and people?
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Old 18th February 2014, 13:22   #10
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re: My White Knight: '14 Audi A4 TDI 177 BHP with Drive Select

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Nice review. Congratulations on your purchase. Wishing you many kilometres of fun packed driving! How do you find the ground clearance on speed breakers when the car is fully loaded with luggage and people?
Found out ground clearance is a bit low as last week I had to fully load the car with luggage. The scraping of somehwere down the underbody was directly felt in my stomach.

The underside of the front bumper looks frighteningly low, but I have been very careful so far.

On a brighter note, flipped down the rear seats and found out the A4 could swallow more luggage than an Innova!!
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Old 25th February 2014, 18:24   #11
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re: My White Knight: '14 Audi A4 TDI 177 BHP with Drive Select

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Found out ground clearance is a bit low as last week I had to fully load the car with luggage. The scraping of somehwere down the underbody was directly felt in my stomach.

The underside of the front bumper looks frighteningly low, but I have been very careful so far.

On a brighter note, flipped down the rear seats and found out the A4 could swallow more luggage than an Innova!!
Yeah, thats my only worry for this otherwise fabulous car. Since we almost always travel with full load luggage and 4 pax I'm a bit worried on how The A4 would treat our lovingly designed speed breakers

Btw, Whats the fuel economy of your white knight?
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Old 25th February 2014, 21:59   #12
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re: My White Knight: '14 Audi A4 TDI 177 BHP with Drive Select

about the ground clearance and the low thing, the bumper is frighteningly low but the good thing is when the car is loaded the car doesnt bog down a lot, its pretty minor the change in ground clearance. I have 2 huge speed breakers in college where a fully loaded swift and even a innova scrapes but Audi passes it in flying colors without taking the car to the side. i was pretty surprised with that
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Old 26th February 2014, 14:39   #13
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re: My White Knight: '14 Audi A4 TDI 177 BHP with Drive Select

Many congratulation for the A4 and thanks for the nice review.
Wishing you many happy luxurious miles with the car.
Enjoy your ride and drive safe.
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Old 26th February 2014, 20:17   #14
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re: My White Knight: '14 Audi A4 TDI 177 BHP with Drive Select

Nice detailed review. Gave me a good picture of the whole process.

BTW, from what you mentioned, it looks like your wife sits in the front passenger with child in lap and seat belts not worn.

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Seatbelts if not used causes a warning sound to emit. This occurs even if the driver wears it but not the passenger, which to me is quite frustrating since my two year old daughter sits in the passenger seat with my wife.
Isn't that dangerous ?. That too with airbags.

Even if seat belts are worn, it is not advisable to hold a small child in the lap because of the airbags.
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Old 27th February 2014, 10:55   #15
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My Blitz White Knight: '14 Audi A4 TDI 177 BHP with Drive Select

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Originally Posted by slackyboy View Post
Yeah, thats my only worry for this otherwise fabulous car. Since we almost always travel with full load luggage and 4 pax I'm a bit worried on how The A4 would treat our lovingly designed speed breakers

Btw, Whats the fuel economy of your white knight?
My sincere apologies about the speed breaker since it was actually a dip/chappath kind of thing. I happened to travel again day before yesterday on the same route and noted the location.

Also need to be careful and really slow down while coming down bridges.

On board computer shows fuel economy as 14.1 kmpl on long trips(read 60kms one way) while 8.6 kmpl in town (read 2-3 km one way)
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