We were spoilt for choice recently when two new Audi A4’s landed at the offices for us to run the rule over.

The new model has recently hit the showrooms in a fanfare of publicity that started last year and replaces the outgoing model that was originally launched in 1994. That sold over 300,000 units and in Audi’s words the A4 has "become a brand itself".

Although change is inevitable, especially in light of recent BMW 3-series and Mercedes C-Class updates, it isn’t always easy to improve something as popular as the A4.

In a previous life I worked at an Audi dealership on the workshop side of things so I know to some degree the reliability and build quality that represents the A4, so I was interested to know just what Audi had been up to with their best seller.

Obviously, the styling is the first thing to hit you. The lines have been smoothed out , the wheel base extended, it has been lowered and widened to give an altogether much sleeker, stylish look. Other innovations on the body side are the introduction of a much lighter body shell with improved strength and a larger boot space.

As stated earlier, we received two diesel derivatives of the new A4 and by far the best seller of these will be the 2.0 TDI. With a starting price of £23,940 it represents the best value in its class being £850 cheaper than the 3-series and £1,300 cheaper than the C-Class.

On the road the handling is superb, the ride comfortable and the performance constant throughout the whole of the gearbox range, but then so was the outgoing model, so there are no real surprises. Improving on such a high base level without driving price and emissions through the roof would doubtless prove tricky, and as the old saying goes "if it aint broke…"

What they have done though, besides the styling changes, is to make improvements to the interior. The seating has been redesigned to offer more comfort to passengers, and the rear legroom and boot space are best in class.

Audi Drive Select is a new option, and offers three settings to suit your driving style - comfort mode is self explanatory, while automatic mode creates added safety and dynamic mode should suit the boy racer within.

On six-cylinder models there is also an option to upgrade Drive Select with dynamic steering and damper control.

Also new to the A4 is Lane Assist and Side Assist. Side Assist warns of vehicles in your blind spot when changing lanes while Lane Assist offers variable levels of vibration to wake you up should you nod off at the wheel and cross over lanes.

One other new thing that is standard to the model is the handbrake switch on the gear lever fascia, now I have to say this is the one thing I don’t like. It is a little bit fiddly and gimmicky for me but then nothing is ever going to be perfect is it?

I also took the 2.7 TDI Multritronic out for a couple of days and this all singing and dancing model ticks all the right boxes if you want luxury, power and exhilaration, but with the aforementioned virtues comes a price tag of over £30,000. So although this model will sell, it seems Audi will be pinning their hopes for volume sales on the entry level petrol and diesels at £22,590 and £23,940 respectively.

Verdict
Audi shouldn’t be too concerned about watching the order books fill up.