The Drive: Audi A4 Cabriolet

Audi A4 Cabriolet

As a kid, I loved Alexandra Day’s children’s books about a faithful, loveable canine named Carl. They’re sweet stories.

For some reason, thinking of the Audi A4 1.8T Cabriolet made me think of this title. The Audi is one heavy German dog of a car.

I mean, it’s a real dog.

Let’s start with the specs.

The A4 1.8T comes equipped with a little engine that hopes it can – a 1.8 Liter, 170bhp, straight four cylinder powerplant that powers something Audi’s marketing department calls “Front Trak”. To the rest of the world, it’s front wheel drive.

Dumcoff! You might call me. Why not drive the 3.0 Liter, 200 bhp, V6? That might be an intelligent choice on face value, but let’s examine the facts further.

The 170bhp 1.8T weighs a portly 3,680 lbs. The 3.0T comes with Audi’s Quattro system that adds an extra axle plus some parts which stacks up to a corpulent 4,023 lbs on what is a shortened A4 sedan.

A little division: 3680 / 170 = 21.6 lbs / hp
4023 / 200 = 20.1 lbs / hp

Add an $8,000 difference between the two’s MSRPs and you really have to wonder what in the world the folks at the Audi-VW group were thinking.

Fine, you might proclaim, not every car’s a sportscar.

I couldn’t agree more. There are wonderful cruisers out there that are able boulevardiers that should be left alone by the wolf pack known as the road-raging Automotive Press (Ford’s Thunderbird is a notable victim).

However, the Audi A4 Cabriolet is one taut looking car. It has smooth, aerodynamic lines, short overhangs, and tall 17 inch wheels that squish low profile performance tyres. Surely, this car should scoot.

Nope. It doesn’t. Audi’s own website pins both the 1.8T’s and 3.0T’s 0-60 times at an identically generous 8.4 seconds. Think 9+ in reality.

One cannot deny that the Audi drop-top is cute. Approach the vehicle from the side, rear three quarters, or rear and you’ll find a slick European cabriolet design that is as handsome as it is spirited.

Approach the front and the cabriolet is the last hold out of the Audi line to use the new “snout”. Love it or hate it, that snout is divisive – which seems strange considering the middle path of Conservatism that Audi designers usually trek.

Pull the pull handle of the driver’s door and it swings openly lightly. The interior looks quite sterile. This particular A4 is a particularly bland beige on beige with no wood trim – which meant more beige plastic. Still, the lines are nice and the interior appointments are first class Audi. It just comes off as first class 1980s or early 1990s Audi.

The automatic Tiptronic shifter stands out – it controls Audi’s terribly special Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT). CVT is supposed to be a replacement to the geared gear-boxes of ordinary automatic transmissions. The effect is supposed to be more efficient and seemless.To be frank the device doesn’t even register. I’ll get to why – later.

Start her up and those signature Audi-red instrument displays come to life. Press the button to unfold the top and it electrically drops away beneath a flat, tonneau cover in less than half a minute. It’s all very easy and quite painless. Drive forward and the suspension is definitely set to sport. Every bump is felt – though – mercifully, the brushed metal A-frame pillars are strong enough to curtail any hint of cowl shake.

There’s a selling point right there.

Turn the wheel in any direction and floor it. The traction control bites in to curtail wheel slippage and then after that, it’s all enthusiasm.Enthusiasm, that is, until you approach any speed above 40 mph or a moderate incline.

The handling maybe enthusiastic and low speeds, but the car starts to complain when you push it. Those low-profile tyres howl, the small but fat Audi fights the corners with body roll, all the while the little turbo wheezes away in asthmatic gasps for air. That’s the other thing; the turbo is a constant presence. That might be a sporty thing – were it the spirited sound of a Lotus Esprit’s intercooler spooling. But no, this turbo sounds distinctly like a Nissan Box Truck. Grating and intrusive. This car gets winded up the first hill.

The regular A4 sedan is a car that has accelerative verve and loves to chase BMWs in the turns. That couldn’t be further from the case with the heavy drop-top variant.

Drive onto the highway and cruise at a gentle 70mph. All is finally well. The Turbo isn’t gasping for the engine and special transmission have found their respective strides.

The seats are comfortable and supportive. There’s not a lot of legroom. But headroom certainly isn’t an issue now. One nice feature; the windshield is raked to give good visibility with the top up and is far enough removed from the front occupants to give a true open air sensation when the top is down.

The rear seats are for emergency use only. The A4, like many European convertibles, pretends to be a 2 + 2 when the case is uncomfortably otherwise.

Return the A4 Cabriolet home and ponder. It’s not a bad car. It’s just not a great car. BMW's 3-Series convertible costs just as much and wipes the floor with the Audi in every category save the understated conservative segment – which is only favorable to some.

But all in all, the A4 Cabriolet is simply a good dog.
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