Editor’s Note: Challenges Magazine test drove the new Audi A4 from Guanajuato, Mexico, to Mexico City. It was a five-hour trek, testing most of the luxury sedan’s driving, entertainment and comfortability features.
Photos and Review By Anthony Martinez Beven
Overall, the new Audi A4 is a fantastic luxury package, from the sporty, sleek exterior and spacious interior to the state-of-the-art entertainment system. It can easily accommodate a single lifestyle or a 4/5 person family.
I was tasked with driving the new A4 from Mexico’s mountainous region of Guanajuato to Mexico City, which is typically a four-hour drive but on the day of the test drive ended up being about a five-hour drive due to an accident on the expressway. As a result, we had to take the scenic route through beautiful and historic towns, like Queretaro, San Juan del Rio and Toluca.
This was actually better for the actual test drive, because I was able to truly test the drivability of the car on both the expressway and highway. The vehicle offers great control, stability and handling through beautiful but hilly terrain, as I mentioned. And, when I say hilly that includes roads with sharp twists and turns, and traffic that travels at high speeds.
Most important, for me at least, is the technology. I love music. I love BlueTooth. I love heat when it’s cold. I love air conditioning when it’s hot. The A4 offers all of this and more.
You can plug a smartphone into the USB port, which is accessible from the center compartment and then connect your phone and music from the center driving panel. It’s more than convenient. One really cool technology feature is a virtual cockpit, which uses Google Maps for data, so you will never get lost on the way to your destination.
Another feature that I look for is acceleration (it’s the 16 year-old kid in me, I think). This vehicle offers excellent acceleration for the speed demons on the road, or the drivers who prefer to steadily reach speed limits and set a ride to cruise control for an easy drive.
A feature, which is important to me and probably every driver out there, is fuel efficiency. I’m surprised to say that this vehicle made a five-hour drive starting with a full tank of gas and ending with just under a half a tank. Had I paid for the gas, and I owned the vehicle, I would have done a happy Mexican hat dance. Nonetheless, I was impressed.
Other notable features of the new A4 include: spacious seating and huge trunk space for luggage; electronically adjustability for seating and three-zone climate control; several different drive modes; and smart safety features, which can detect pedestrians or help with parking.
All of these are standard package features. Did I mention that a sunroof is part of the standard package, too? Oh, yeah. It is.
According to AutoWeek, the new A4 starts at a base price of around $37K-$38K for front-wheel drive and about $40K for all-wheel drive.
