[gungax]

Likes

--Silent and smooth engine with good fuel economy.
--Good quality and plush interiors with minimum chrome.
--Properly insulated cabin. Outside noises sound far away.
--Audi Virtual Cockpit- the best iteration of a digital instrument cluster.
--Spare wheel has its own space, leaving a huge boot for luggage.
--Comfortable suspension that does not compromise on handling.
--Small steering wheel, weighs up nicely in dynamic mode.
--Audi phone box actually increases mobile coverage in rural/ hill areas.

Dislikes

--No rear-wheel/ all-wheel drive even as an option.
--No Audi pre-sense. So no increase in power from the Mild Hybrid System.
--Strictly average sound quality from the 10 speaker system.
--Android Auto / Apple Carplay is wired only. No use of the wireless charging pad.
--Car is front heavy. Can be easily felt at high speeds if boot is empty.
--Gearbox is slow in Comfort and Eco mode. Changes to fast shifts in dynamic mode.
--No ventilated seats (not offered in this class). No perforated leather on the seats.
--Small horn is hard to reach and requires a hard press to work.




Background

My old ride: The 2014 Santa Fe, was a beast of a car. The complete disconnect from the road by the suspension and the steering means this car can be driven for hours without fatigue. The engine is a sleeping monster, once a driver learns to compensate for the slow auto-box, this car can easily keep up with the likes of 520D. I have also manged to keep up with the legendary 530D on our roads.

My profession: I command cargo ships and specialise in Car Carriers. Over the years I have worked closely with Daimler/ Mercedes, VW, BMW, Ford and all the Japanese brands. I get to see the latest and greatest of their cars (not all the time, we do second-had runs too).

Usage: Predominantly highway runs with occasional city use. So a boot is needed. Spare wheel is also important.

Decision making: As my old ride is a large and fast SUV, many cars feel super slow to my perception. I rarely drive my father’s Creta or my wife’s i10 as they are just too slow.
Any car we purchased will be looked after and driven by my wife as I am out at sea half the time, so her liking the car is important.


Decision to buy a mid-size sedan from the four rings:

I always wanted my next car to be European. I have been looking, in passing, at new cars for a few years.
In 2018 with a budget of 60 lakh in Bengaluru, I was getting an AMG C-43 within my budget. Since the Santa Fe was only 4 years old, I decided to postpone a car purchase.
In 2021 with the same budget of 60 Lakh, I could not get an ordinary C class or the 3 series before discount!
Spoke to the family, if this trend continues, even the base Germans will not be affordable in a few years. So with the BMW 3 series or pushing budget to a Volvo XC60 in mind we started our test drives in September 2021. I first tried the pre-owned route, since wife has to take care of the car, these were quickly dismissed.

[Before I go into the test-drives I want to say that in Bengaluru, every showroom I visited, we were attended to immediately and all question were answered. Once we walked out of the showroom only followup as per my request were done. We felt welcome every where we went. This is different from our Nexa/ Honda/ Hyundai experience from 3 years ago. ]

First stop- Mercedes Benz (wife wanted to try GLC): The test drive of the GLA was nice, my kid loved the sun roof. I liked the engine. The digital instrument cluster is probably the sharpest I have seen in this segment but the car is too small. Wife did not like the ride and found the interiors basic for rear passengers.
Then I sat in the C class. Seating was almost go-cart style with only a little height adjust available. Looking at the interiors I was like “Are you kidding me!”. I carried the latest C class to china in March 2021, and that model ‘maybe’ will come in 2022. The boot can’t even take one large suitcase with the spare wheel. Did not do the test drive of the C class. I had a similar reaction in the GLC. Since I recently did a Daimler run, I have seen the latest Mercedes in March 2021 going to China and these outdated cars will still be sold in India well into 2022. So no Mercedes for us.

Next stop BMW: After the Mercedes experience, the 3 series interiors came across as basic. The digital instrument cluster is digitised just to tick off someone’s checklist, it would have been better looking with a physical cluster. OK so these are not what makes BMW famous. Let’s do a test drive.
Drove the 330Li. After the diesel Santa Fe, this car did not impress. I repeatedly confirmed with the SA sitting beside me if the car was in sport mode.
So if the 3 series petrol was not as good as the car we were replacing, then we would have to look at X3 or 530i. My wife’s old company used BMWs for office pickup/ drop and my wife flatly refused to consider X1/ 3 and X3. She finds BMW to be uncomfortable for passengers on city roads and bumpy highways.
Still wanting a BMW, I requested for price list for the 3/ X3 and 5. Sales rep kept pushing for the 330Li with long waiting for regular 3 and 5 series. No discounts on any of the cars. Eventually the difference from the Audi was just too much to ignore.

Volvo: The following weekend, I took a long test drive on the S60. This is a very comfortable car with usable ADAS. The car drove itself in Bengaluru traffic with SUVs squeezing in front and no lane markings.
The XC60 is a completely different car. Opulent interiors with proper massage seats (not like Mercedes) and excellent sound system. Got a good offer on the outgoing diesel model. New 2021 petrol model has at least 2 months waiting after launch and no Android Auto/ Apple Carplay! Only Android head unit. Without Apple Carplay, for me the car is out. With Siri, I listen to and respond to email/ SMS/ What’s App etc. without taking my eyes off the road.
Special mention to Yesudas and his boss Arun at Martial Motors Bengaluru. They attended to all my request, got the car to my place and spent hours with my wife answering all her questions.
Unfortunately my wife was not keen on an outgoing diesel model of the XC60 which will be a headache to re-sell like I was experiencing with the Santa Fe. These cars, no matter how good, get no attention in India.

The next day my wife told me she had arranged for me to test drive an Audi A4 and the car will be at our home first thing in the morning.
Before the car arrived, I quickly opened the A4 – 2021 thread on Team BHP to check for any complaints. Only got pages of sweet discounts on the forum.

The test drive was good. The car was peppy, comfortable and boy the virtual cockpit looked nice. Seating position was also the highest compared to 3 Series, C class and S60. I clearly told the SA that any car with the term “DSG” attached to it gave me the creeps. (yes yes I spend too much time on team-bhp.com ). He told me Audi uses a different drivetrain and I should search for Audi DSG not Skoda DSG.
The A6 was also discussed but no Quattro there so even if it was cheaper than the 5 series, the BMW was a better choice.

Back home, the last-price OTR quoted by the Audi SA was far lower than any price we had heard for weeks!

We finally decided to purchase a 50 lakh mid-size sedan to replace our SUV and then next year purchase a Thar to have a SUV sedan balance in our garage.
My kid was OK with the small sunroof of the A4 because I have a strict ‘no sticking head out of the sun roof’ policy.

Delivery Experience:

Once we had decided on the A4, the showroom had trouble confirming the colour we wanted. By mid-October, most of the discounted A4s were sold.
My wife insisted on Blue outside and Beige inside. They finally offered Blue exterior and Tan interior, which we accepted.
Two weeks after the initial booking, we took delivery of the A4 in Navarra Blue with Okapi Brown interior.
We decided to take a loan instead of paying upfront. The loan process was smooth and showroom representative handled everything.

[gungax]

The Exterior:

The exterior design of the 2021 A4 leans more towards a sporty and aggressive stance, especially in this blue colour. The older versions of the B9 were more business-like.

This is for me personally, my first non-silver car. The blue is much harder to clean and scratches are more easily seen. After delivery, during the drive from the showroom home, I had a few tiny heart attacks with the 2wheelers and autos coming so close to the car. As soon as I reached home, called up Carsbuddy at Koramangala and booked a slot for full PPF by Xpel the very next day! Also got ClearPlex on the windshield.

New DRL design are similar to Audi’s more expensive offerings and do stand out different from the older models.

The bonnet is designed to have a gap when fully shut. It looks like it’s open to the untrained eye.

LED headlights have a good throw and are surprisingly better than the projectors on my Santa Fe.

Wipers can’t be seen in the pictures as they rest below the level of the bonnet. Car cleaner can’t pull them outwards in this position. The wipers can be set to maintenance mode in the MMI, where they stand upright on the windshield. At this position, the wipers can be pulled outwards.

The dummy round plastic caps at the bottom where other cars have fog lights is a complete waste. If Audi doesn’t provide radars for the Audi pre-sense system, at least give us fog lamps there.



The rear looks smart and the aluminium accents around the twin exhaust and bar in-between are actual metal, not plastic with metal coating.



Side profile is very simple made bland by the five spoke alloys. Personally I don’t like the mirror-like chrome finish on the door handles. Brushed aluminium finish would have looked more premium.
Side skirts are standard and they prevent slush from being splashed on the doors by the front tyres. Although Audi sells mud flaps for the A4, SA advised to first use the car in the rains and then decide as the mud flaps will reduce the ground clearance of the car and will break off if they hit the road or a speed breaker.



Although the car looks low in pictures, the height is sufficient for most roads. I have driven the car to Ooty/ Coonoor, done multiple trips to Chennai and taken the car on Bengaluru roads which are at various states of disrepair. Never touched the bottom.
Due to shorter wheel base compared to other large sedans, this car is very comfortable over the large Bengaluru speed breakers. Never needed to do the sideways climb which I see some cars doing. I have not driven this car any different from the Santa Fe on the same stretch of roads.

Outside rear view mirrors are auto-dimming and heated too. This is a completely underrated feature. Helps in keeping the mirrors clear during the rains.

The boot is large and square shaped, makes it easier to carry large suitcases. Capacity is 480 Litre.



The spare tyre has its own slot within the body of the car unlike the other Germans. The standard and 12V lithium batteries sit below the tyre. I have used the space around the tyre to place a tool box and the towing belt. The air compressor is in the right side compartment of the boot.




The engine is a VW 4-cylinder, 2Ltr, turbocharged petrol engine. Max power of 190 hp @ 4200-6000 RPM and Max torque of 320 Nm @ 1450-4200 RPM. This engine is longitudinally mounted. The above figures clearly shows that the 12Volt Mild-Hybrid system does not provide power to the engine, only start-stop. With the mild-hybrid system the engine power should be 201 hp.



This engine bay has a lot of exposed wires with only inner coating on. The tough fire proof coating stops much before the coupling connections. A rat hazard is a concern. Also long term reliability of these connections is a concern as the inner coating is open to heat and vibrations inside the engine bay.



All four wheels have a plate on the inner side of the brake rotor (disc). A google search names these plates as ‘dust shields’ or ‘backing plates’. There is too much contradicting information regarding these so will not go into details.





The Interior:

This technology edition gets piano black on the doors, dashboard and centre console. It looks nice but is a scratch magnet. At the time of writing this review, I can see on the Audi website that the technology edition now gets dark wood finish similar to 2022 models in North America and Europe.
The Okapi Brown interior comes with grey roof lining and black below the dashboard.
The touch only MMI screen looks like an afterthought but the positioning is closer to the steering wheel making it easier to use than the ones integrated into the dashboard.
The MMI has many features regularly used hidden inside very deep sub-menus. Only one of those functions can be assigned to the programable button on the steering wheel.

The drive select buttons are designed for left hand drive cars. For our right-hand, the buttons are furthest away from the driver to the left and can be dangerous to use when the car is moving. Imagine me trying to change drive modes at triple digit speeds. I have to lean over to the buttons and look up at the MMI.

Seen in the photograph below are two car seat gap storage boxes. Since I am used to Hyundai SUV levels of storage options, I was surprised to find no practical storage in the centre console.



AC controls get their own buttons and display. They look and feel premium. The four dummy buttons on the outer side of the rotary dials are a reminder that some markets get heated and cooled seats, we don’t.
The AC cooling is adequate. With the shade of the sunroof open and outside temperature at 34 deg, the AC was struggling to maintain 23 deg inside.



The square depression replacing the MMI controls can’t hold a phone or wallet.


The slot for the key doesn’t even hold the key if it has a keyring.


The space below the USB/ 12v socket is so small my Android phone doesn’t sit properly.


Audi phone box with wireless charging actually works to increase the mobile signal reception (tried on Jio and Airtel). Unfortunately due to wired Carplay, the wireless charging is unusable and you have to ensure the phone is sitting flat on the pad without the wire in between for better signal reception. Wireless charging pad can be switched off or on from the MMI.



There is sufficient space in the rear for two adults. The centre floor has a large hump and the seat is hard, so third passenger will find it uncomfortable.



12v charging socket and 3rd zone climate control at the rear.


Front passenger seat is electric with no memory function. The front driver seat gets 2 memory function. These also remember the position of the rear-view mirror. Also seen are the ORVM controls. Keep the selector wheel on left mirror to lower the left ORVM when reversing. Keep it all the way left to retract the mirrors. Keep it all the way right to heat the ORVM.
The door lock/ unlock button have a red indicator light in the middle. This and the blinking security red light are the only indicators when the doors are locked. When the car is stopped, any passenger opening their door will unlock all the doors.



Interestingly, the user memory on the MMI also remembers the seat and mirror position apart from last drive mode, ambient lighting used and other customised settings. I have not tried the “comfort key” function so don’t know what is saved through the individual keys.



There is an indicator for passenger air bag on/off above the IRVM. Unfortunately the key slot to turn off the airbag in the glove compartment is missing. I wish this was there. Since I am used to European cars, there are many uses for this.



Ambient lighting in the night is basic but looks nice. Contour lights do not extend onto the dashboard. Every button, knob or roller selector is illuminated.




My favourite feature of the A4 has to be the virtual cockpit. Even my wife prefers the Speed/ RPM as small circles so we can see a lot more information. The maps here look cool but the navigation guidance is useless due to no updates and there is no option to get google maps on this screen.





Audio System:

Audio can be played by USB, Bluetooth or Android Auto/ Apple Carplay. The system does a good a job to separate Bass, Left, Right and Centre. The sound quality is tuned towards the midrange and once setup properly it will be sufficient for most. Since I am coming from a high-end install on my last car, I find the lows are not low enough and the highs are not high enough.

The box pictured below is located in the left compartment of the boot. This is where the amplifier should be, however this turned out to be something else.



The large box inside the glovebox actually houses a component that drives the 8 speakers on the 4 doors. There is a fibreoptic cable from this device to the amplifier for the sub-woofer which is placed on the left of the rear parcel tray. (perforation on the right of the parcel tray is dummy). The location of the amplifier is unknown to me and I will pursue it only after warranty expires.





The Drive:

Coming from a fast diesel SUV this is a mixed experience.
The engine gives all it’s torque at low RPMs so the acceleration does have that push into the seat feeling. With a claimed 0-100 at 7.3 seconds, this is not a slow car.

I found the car handles very well, especially after coming from an elephant of a SUV. I tend to dart through traffic on the highway and have to keep reminding myself to drive cautiously.
The drive is most comfortable in ‘Comfort’ mode. I tried ‘Eco’ mode once and almost hit oncoming traffic. The car did not respond when I pressed down on the accelerator.
Dynamic mode is the most fun to drive. RPM remains above 2000 most of the time and the gear box turns into a quick shifter. The user manual also advises to use Dynamic mode for engine breaking as the gearbox will keep shifting down and maintain RPM above 2000.
I have not used the paddle shifters yet. I am used to upshifting and down shifting gears using accelerator input alone. In sports mode, leaving the gearbox to do it's thing is sufficient in most cases.

The car is definitely front heavy with the boot empty. Since all my spirited driving is intercity with my boot full and me alone, the car has a balanced handling.

The suspension feels hard in slow moving city roads especially after experiencing the same roads on a SUV. However, as speeds increase, the comfort increases. I have to keep reminding myself that although I can’t feel the road, my low profile tyres can.

The car is rock steady on the highways even at high triple digit speeds. Although I will never reach the claimed top speed of 241 km/h, due to this high top speed, the car handles more sane highway speeds with absolute confidence.
The missing body-roll on the highway and on the hills has really made my wife fall in love with the car.

The engine stop start system works as intended. If I am stuck in crawling traffic, I switch it off.
This car also has the engine stop-start at highway speeds! The first time I saw the engine RPM needle fall to zero I was doing 80 Km/h. My heart skipped a beat because having the needle at zero previously meant that the engine has stalled. If the start-stop system doesn’t engage in the highway due to low battery or AC struggling etc., then the car goes into coast mode where the RPM falls to around 800 and display only shows 'D' without a gear number if there is no accelerator or break input from the driver.

Fuel economy: I have got a minimum of 10 Km/L in Bengaluru traffic and a Maximum of 17.5 Km/L on a busy highway. With spirited driving on the highway, the milage showed 13.5 Km/L. Fuel used until now has been Shell V-Power only. Still looking for a reliable bunk near my place for XP95.



Accessories changed:

Got the front puddle lamps changed to the Audi logo.



Changed the peddles to the steel sport type. Although I am not into chrome, this definitely ups the premium look.





myAudi Connect:

The car does not get any connected car tech. The biggest loser of offline only is the onboard maps.
myAudi Connect is essentially an ODB dongle with features similar to other ODB based vehicle tracking system.

The app is to be installed on only one phone. I requested for multiple phones, but Audi replied that it’s not possible.

I once setup alerts in case the car is started by hotel valet. The car was in the basement and when the valet got the car to the lobby there was no alert. The car must be in an area of good mobile signal for the system to work properly. I was told that the dongle has a Jio SIM card.






Conclusion:


The Car:
We purchased the Audi A4 purely on the merits of the car and our requirement.

I am not brand conscious and actually dislike all the attention my Audi is getting. None of my family / peers said anything when I purchased a 40 lakh Hyundai, but the 50 Lakh small sedan from Audi is a big deal!

The car makes three people with completely different criteria happy. That’s the magic here. No other car we saw could keep all three of us happy.

Why a Sedan:
The natural replacement for my Santa Fe was the Citroen C5 Aircross. Looking for something different this time around, I realised that SUVs charge a whole lot more than sedans just for size and added ground clearance. The Q5 is more expensive than an A6 but has an interior almost identical to the A4.

Eventually, I am glad I went back to a sedan. There were very few times in the 7 year ownership of the SF I needed its SUV ground clearance. The car was mostly driven with only one person onboard and only 3 times in seven years we filled it with people and luggage.

The sedan’s, no body roll keeps my family happy.
The sedan handling took me back to my college days when we used to learn to do donuts in the closed parking lot.
The fun and excitement of the open roads stays alive. Its good to mix up the motoring experience with different types of cars.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[JoshMachine]

Let me be one of the first to congratulate you on buying this lovely car .
Guess yours is the first of such ownership reviews from all the recent A4s that have hit the forum.

Liked the crisp manner and some of the details that you went to, to help understand the beauty of the A4 B9.
That car in Navarra Blue with the Okapi Brown interiors is a smashing combo!

I have some queries and observations, that I would like to post based on my own test drives, and would like to know more about your experiences.

Originally Posted by gungax

--No Audi pre-sense. So no increase in power from the Mild Hybrid System.

Didn't quite understand the relation between the Audi pre-sense tech and the increase in power from the mild hybrid system.
They are totally different, right? I thought the pre-sense was all about driver assist tech to enhance safety.

--Android Auto / Apple Carplay is wired only. No use of the wireless charging pad.

By wireless charging pad, you mean the phonebox below the center arm rest?

I assume you might have already tried to connect the wireless Android Auto/CarPlay option and also know that this topic has been touched upon briefly in the other A4 thread, but I came across this good article and thought of sharing here:

https://www.wheelsjoint.com/wireless...ow-to-connect/

The above site provides info for both wired and wireless connectivity, citing some specific OS version mandates in the mobile phone to be able to connect wirelessly.

Just wanted to double-check with you if the in-car WiFi hotspot (seen in international variants) is really required for the wireless connectivity?
Is the WiFi used only to establish a connection between the car infotainment and the mobile phone?

There's the Audi Tech Tutorial also on Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpN8a2bWlho

He told me Audi uses a different drivetrain and I should search for Audi DSG not Skoda DSG.

Yeah, I think its a S-Tronic DL381-7F in the A4 B9.
The regular or the infamous DSG is the DQ200.

Back home, the last-price OTR quoted by the Audi SA was far lower than any price we had heard for weeks!

If you don't mind, possible to share the pricing structure alongwith the various components?

The dummy round plastic caps at the bottom where other cars have fog lights is a complete waste. If Audi doesn’t provide radars for the Audi pre-sense system, at least give us fog lamps there.

I have heard some niche FNGs can retrofit fog lamps here, pls do check. But you are right, there could be radar systems that may be sitting behind the round caps.



This link mentions the round caps as optiona parts that can be replaced potentially:https://sendparts.eu/en/modules-and-...-a4-b9-8w.html

The engine is a VW 4-cylinder, 2Ltr, turbocharged petrol engine. Max power of 190 hp @ 4200-6000 RPM and Max torque of 320 Nm @ 1450-4200 RPM. This engine is longitudinally mounted. The above figures clearly shows that the 12Volt Mild-Hybrid system does not provide power to the engine, only start-stop. With the mild-hybrid system the engine power should be 201 hp.

Can you share some experiences with the hybrid system, specially with the fuel efficiency and coasting / ride experience on city roads?

The drive select buttons are designed for left hand drive cars.

I think the position of the drive select buttons are universal. I was seeing the "CarWow" review of the UK Audi A4 (similar to the Indian right-hand steering), and it showed the buttons on the left side.

Audi phone box with wireless charging actually works to increase the mobile signal reception (tried on Jio and Airtel). Unfortunately due to wired Carplay, the wireless charging is unusable and you have to ensure the phone is sitting flat on the pad without the wire in between for better signal reception. Wireless charging pad can be switched off or on from the MMI.

Yes, this is quite a nifty feature from what I have seen on international reviews. Glad to see the near-field coupling setup with the car antenna is working in the Indian setup.

The location of the amplifier is unknown to me and I will pursue it only after warranty expires.

As per this diagram (for both the standard and the B&O sound system), the subwoofer is on the left of the boot, and the amplifier should be just adjacent or rather "inside" the felt lining cover?

Fuel economy: I have got a minimum of 10 Km/L in Bengaluru traffic and a Maximum of 17.5 Km/L on a busy highway. With spirited driving on the highway, the milage showed 13.5 Km/L. Fuel used until now has been Shell V-Power only.

Those are very respectable numbers for a 190 hp, turbo-petrol setup!

Again, congrats for the lovely car. Keep us posted with more updates!

[iceman7]

Originally Posted by gungax

Dislikes

--No rear-wheel/ all-wheel drive even as an option.

I clearly told the SA that any car with the term “DSG” attached to it gave me the creeps. (yes yes I spend too much time on team-bhp.com ). He told me Audi uses a different drivetrain and I should search for Audi DSG not Skoda DSG.

Congratulations on the purchase. I picked up a pre-loved A4 2.0 TFSI quattro a couple weeks ago, so I am discovering my Audi just as you are. Will post the review soon.

Addressing some of your observations -

1. ]I don't think the A4 is made in the RWD configuration. They are either FWD or quattro. I doubt if Audi got the A4 quattro to India
2. There is a difference between the DSG used in VW and the one used in Audi. Difference comes from the fact that the engine is longitudinally mounted in the A4. This is the first thing I checked when I picked up my A4. Here is a link which talks about it - https://www.myturbodiesel.com/thread...for-dsg.16441/

[Porcupine]

Hearty congratulations on your new ride! Enjoy it in the best of health!

What and amazing review. I saw one of these in the flesh just the other day, and the car definitely has a more premium look than its predecessor. Even that interior looks plush and premium!

[fluidicjoy]

Heartiest congratulations on your new car!

Originally Posted by JoshMachine

I have heard some niche FNGs can retrofit fog lamps here, pls do check. But you are right, there could be radar systems that may be sitting behind the round caps.

I believe the Audi A4 comes with Audi's Matrix LED Headlight, which incorporates Poor Weather Lighting right into the headlight assembly, thus not requiring a dedicated Fog light. The Tiguan Facelift also has a similar headlight technology. I've driven a VAG car with an IQ Light setup, and it really does well to inspire confidence on night drives, even in foggy and rainy conditions.



As for Driver Safety, I doubt Audi India has brought in any Radar based safety features on this vehicle, but it would have been a great gesture.

[gungax]

Originally Posted by JoshMachine

Didn't quite understand the relation between the Audi pre-sense tech and the increase in power from the mild hybrid system.
They are totally different, right? I thought the pre-sense was all about driver assist tech to enhance safety.

I read some where that boost from the Hybrid system is only available if pre-sense is installed.
With regard to stop-start, at a traffic light, the system re-starts the engine if the radars detect the vehicle in front moving forward. Without the radars, we have to press the accelerator or the brake to restart the engine.

I have checked inside the Engine bay and found only caps there. No connectors or wires.

Originally Posted by JoshMachine

By wireless charging pad, you mean the phonebox below the center arm rest?

I assume you might have already tried to connect the wireless Android Auto/CarPlay option and also know that this topic has been touched upon briefly in the other A4 thread, but I came across this good article and thought of sharing here:

These are exactly the articles and videos I followed but no joy. On further checking I found that both Android and Apple use Bluetooth + WiFi for wireless to work due to the large data transfer required. My MMI unit doesn't have any type of WiFi.
The Android system is even more complex and compatibility is sketchy. Hence you find some cars with wireless Carplay but not Android Auto.

Originally Posted by JoshMachine

Can you share some experiences with the hybrid system, specially with the fuel efficiency and coasting / ride experience on city roads?

On highways, found the hybrid system will only engage in 'Comfort' and 'Eco' mode. Initially every small coasting will engage the hybrid system, even if its for a few seconds. The consumption can show 20 Km/L at this stage. I have found that after a few hours on the highway (about 3-4 hrs), the hybrid system doesn't activate any more. This may be because the battery is low and requires me to brake more times to charge it up.

In the city it's similar. At home, start the car and pause to do something (may be looking at the phone) - the hybrid system will shut off the engine.
Initially every time you coast the brakes to come to a stop the engine is off from the coasting stage itself. If you stop in quick succession the engine will remain on.

I find the suspension to be stiff on city roads and when I'm alone. But that's just because I am coming from a SUV. My friends tell me it's just fine.
With 2 or more passengers onboard, bad roads can't be felt and it takes a conscious effort to ensure the car is slow over large bumps since you can't feel them.

Originally Posted by JoshMachine

I think the position of the drive select buttons are universal. I was seeing the "CarWow" review of the UK Audi A4 (similar to the Indian right-hand steering), and it showed the buttons on the left side.

Yes, button position does not change. This is unfortunate since most A4s sold all over the world have two dummy buttons to the right.

Originally Posted by JoshMachine

Yes, this is quite a nifty feature from what I have seen on international reviews. Glad to see the near-field coupling setup with the car antenna is working in the Indian setup.

I too was sceptical and did not find any improvement in the city. However the route up the hills to Coonoor was completely different. I was surprised to see usable signal where previously there was none. Even enroute to Chennai, the signal remained almost full all the time.

Regarding the wireless charger when using Android Auto/ Apple CarPlay

In the photograph below, there is a USB-C socket. This USB socket can be used for Android Auto/ Apple CarPlay.
However, if the phone is connected using a wire and then it's put on the wireless charging pad, the phone is supposed the prioritise the wired charging. Hence the pad is useless.
In my case, the iPhone would get very hot. So I turned off the charging pad for my profile. Now the iPhone is fine. I use my Android phone by Bluetooth but it doesn't have wireless charging.
My wife only uses bluetooth so in her profile the charging pad remains on. Unfortunately the wireless pad is under the centre armrest, so to see the screen of the phone she has to keep taking it out.

Originally Posted by JoshMachine

As per this diagram (for both the standard and the B&O sound system), the subwoofer is on the left of the boot, and the amplifier should be just adjacent or rather "inside" the felt lining cover?

The picture I show in my review is the only thing "inside" the felt lining. In the picture shared by you, as you can see a "Audi Sound System" doesn't show any amp module.

My information regarding the unit inside the glovebox is from personal experience. I had actually gone to upgrade my system and long story short, we were left scratching our heads and I returned with a bit more information but no new system.
The glovebox has to be removed since it overlaps the two slots for the "DIN release keys". The unit inside has fans for cooling and looks similar to a single DIN audio system.

Originally Posted by fluidicjoy

Heartiest congratulations on your new car!
I believe the Audi A4 comes with Audi's Matrix LED Headlight, which incorporates Poor Weather Lighting right into the headlight assembly, thus not requiring a dedicated Fog light. The Tiguan Facelift also has a similar headlight technology. I've driven a VAG car with an IQ Light setup, and it really does well to inspire confidence on night drives, even in foggy and rainy conditions.

Audi doesn't call them matrix LED. There is a button which is supposed to mitigate reflection from a wet road from disturbing oncoming traffic. This may be part of the Poor Weather Lighting.

[BullBoy07]

Congrats on the new Car !

The EA888 engine is sweet. My observation with all the new A4 on this forum is how Audi is maintaining it's footprint in the Indian market despite the fierce competition.

I really found your professional expertise very interesting !

Cheers,

[gungax]

Originally Posted by BullBoy07

Congrats on the new Car !
The EA888 engine is sweet. My observation with all the new A4 on this forum is how Audi is maintaining it's footprint in the Indian market despite the fierce competition.
I really found your professional expertise very interesting !
Cheers,

Thank you.
Although I have made a long writeup on carrying cars at sea, my company's social media rules are vague at best. If I can sort it out, I will post it.

In the meantime, my colleagues and I are proud seafarers who actually "Love cars & Live cars" and I can answer any questions privately.

[fluidicjoy]

Originally Posted by gungax

Audi doesn't call them matrix LED. There is a button which is supposed to mitigate reflection from a wet road from disturbing oncoming traffic. This may be part of the Poor Weather Lighting.

Yes, my apologies. Looks like Audi offers LED Headlights with Signature DRLs in India. I think my confusion arose from the Audi Matrix LED lighting videos I had seen a few years back on a few other Audi models. I really wish European car makers offered us more equipment considering the prices we pay.

In the US, the top spec has something which they call a Matrix-style LED Headlight System (PR no. 8IY), but it seems that is also perhaps not a true Matrix diode array. I am attaching photos I found on the Audi US site.





As for the Poor Weather, it seems that the car would enable both its Cornering Lights to serve as Fog lights for poor visibility due to Snow and Ice, and this would work with the Poor Weather button on the Headlight Assembly. The Night Vision assistant button is not present on the Indian spec car.

[ruthwik6]

Originally Posted by gungax

These are exactly the articles and videos I followed but no joy. On further checking I found that both Android and Apple use Bluetooth + WiFi for wireless to work due to the large data transfer required. My MMI unit doesn't have any type of WiFi.
The Android system is even more complex and compatibility is sketchy. Hence you find some cars with wireless Carplay but not Android Auto

There are off market systems that turn a wired car play into a wireless one, used the below one in a Volvo for year.

https://cplay2air.com/

[Aditya]

Exceptional, unbiased & detailed reviews of cars that don't have an official review have started going to our homepage reviews box. It's the ultimate stamp of trust from Team-BHP (as a platform) because lakhs of visitors every month check out reviews from there & make purchase decisions.

Your review has also gone here. Thank you so much for sharing .

[cpabhijit]

Congratulations on your Blue beauty. It looks ravishing in that shade.

Originally Posted by gungax

There is an indicator for passenger air bag on/off above the IRVM. Unfortunately the key slot to turn off the airbag in the glove compartment is missing. I wish this was there. Since I am used to European cars, there are many uses for this.

Did you check on the passenger side A pillar (inner side with the passenger door open)? On my Karoq, the key slot to turn off the passenger airbag is positioned there.

[Shivam]

Congratulations on your new wheels. Looks great.
Have a few questions:

* How does a shift from SUV to Sedan feel like on driving for longer times? Is it as comfortable?

* The fuel economy: In today's post covid scenario, 10+ kmpl is reasonable, but can the same be expected once the full fledged traffic is back in Bangalore?