Local Life - St Helens - March 2018

58
Test Drive
Audi A4
Avant 3.0 TDI quattro 218PS
by Tim Barnes-Clay
Fitted with a 3.0 litre V6 engine, the latest Audi
A4 Avant becomes almost too powerful for
its own good.
Don’t get me wrong; the diesel lump is a real pearl,
but there’s no way it returns the claimed 57.6mpg
when riding on 19-inch wheels. I found the car
thirsty, and mid-30s was more realistic for me
when driving two-up, with no luggage, on a mix of
motorways, A and B-roads.
The A4 estate model that Audi sent me came in
top S line trim, and starts at £38,895, but with a few
thousand pounds of options thrown at it, my test
car was waving a £46,395 price-tag.
You get a lot of kit for the cash, though and Audi is
well-known for its upmarket, understated interiors
that are both perfectly finished and intuitive.
This A4 doesn’t dissatisfy; it has upscale materials
everywhere and a straightforward, intelligible
dashboard arrangement. Technology is plentiful,
too. It includes: a reversing camera, parking sensors,
three-zone climate control, heated electric seats,
and a powered, hands-free boot.
The A4 Avant is among the best-looking estates on
the market in Britain. It’s undeniably classy, and the
large 3.0 litre diesel engine is so smooth that it feels
more like a hard-hitting petrol unit.