Drive: 2006 Audi A4 Avant FSi CVT

Tom

TIMETOATTACK
Helmet Clan
Jul 6, 2000
5,562
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Kuala Lumpur
<a href="http://www.zerotohundred.com/newforums/showthread.php?p=1887311"><img border="0" src="http://www.zerotohundred.com/features/audi_a4_avant/banner.jpg" width="500" height="150" alt="Drive: 2006 Audi A4 Avant FSi CVT"></a><b><br>Cents and Sensibility.</b><p><b>Audi A4 (B7) Avant 2.0FSI CVT<br></b>Story by: The Necessary<br>Photos by: Tom</p><table border="0" width="600" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="table1"><tr><td><font size="4">I’m really not sure what this car wants to be. </font><br><br>Looks wise, the new, current, generation of Audis look fabulous; retaining all the precise lines and good proportions that have graced Audis since the all conquering Ur-Quattro of the ‘80s (and probably before- but hey, I was born in the late ‘70s), and now, since Audi poached formerly of Alfa designer Walter de’Silva (where he penned the very beautiful 156 facelift and 147), he’s added a big dash of arrogance to the design of Audis by incorporating that big, bad, f*ck off grill to that previously staid face. To my eyes, at least, it works wonderfully. It’s a thoroughly overused cliché, but heck, the new Audis do look like bodybuilders in Armani suits; well tailored, classy, but you know he’d break your arm if you piss him off.</td><td><table border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="7" id="table2"><tr><td>For enquiries or test drives, please contact:<p><b>Euromobil</b></p><p><b>Contact:</b><br>03-7688 7688</p><p><b>24Hr Audi Assist<br></b>1-800-88-1788 </p><p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.audi.com.my">www.audi.com.my</a></td></tr></table></td><td valign="top">&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><br><a href="http://www.zerotohundred.com/features/audi_a4_avant/front.jpg"><img border="0" src="http://www.zerotohundred.com/features/audi_a4_avant/front_B.jpg" width="600" height="399"></a><p>At least that’s what it looks like it’d do…<br><br>Because this, this A4 Avant 2.0FSI, is a contradiction; a total miasma of opposing principles.<br><br>You get into the car, hey, it feels great; simple (that’s a good thing, BTW), well laid out controls. Good minimalist design at its very best. Looking at the centre console, it almost seems like a Swedish architect designed it! The buttons feel good (One button for each function: good. One twiddly knob that controls 76 + 2 functions: no good), the signal/wiper stalks click nicely and accurately, the graphics are bold, intuitive… and yes, the build quality is deserving of its reputation. The sound system sings loud and clear, but I’m no ICE expert, so my ears may be woolly. However raise your gaze and probing hands above shoulder height and what do you see? Cheap looking and feeling sun visors, interior lights and A/B/C pillar/roof linings.<br><br>Never mind that (though particular note must be made of the excellent amount of elbow room!), let’s kick the tyres, start the fires and see what this baby can do! A twist of the key, the starter motor cranks over a couple of times and the engine fires up. Actually, “fires” might be too dramatic a word. But then again, it probably is in the case of most, if not all, modern German cars. Prod the throttle a couple of times to judge engine response, and one of the two things that struck me were, firstly: how all engines with an electronic throttle make both my cable actuated throttle cars feel unresponsive, and secondly: how meaty the pedal feels; especially when you slip off the throttle to engage the comparatively very soft brake pedal, so that you may shift the CVT transmission into “D”.</p><p><a href="http://www.zerotohundred.com/features/audi_a4_avant/rear.jpg"><img border="0" src="http://www.zerotohundred.com/features/audi_a4_avant/rear_B.jpg" width="600" height="399"></a></p><p>CVT transmissions are odd, especially to a stick and third pedal kinda guy like myself. No doubt, CVTs are the future, but right now, as I floor the throttle on the A4 and the CVT transmission holds revs steady at 5800rpm (of a 6000rpm red-line) to wring out maximum power from its 2 litre 4 pot, it all feels a little sterile. Sure, it’s efficient, but it lacks the drama of a rising engine note that accompanies cog swapping in normal autos and manuals. It lacks that jerk between shifts that makes you go- “Ho-Ho-Ho, I’m too fast! Too furious!”. It just goes… and goes… and goes… bit like how I’d imagine warp drive on the Enterprise to feel like: gets you there ASAP, but unless the Borg are on your tail with a Cube that goes faster than your Warp 9.8, it gets a little boring.<br><br>Not that you’d get anywhere near Warp speeds in this car. On an imaginary, clear, straight and private road, I could only get the Avant up to 180km/h before my imagination ran out, and it took a looong time to get there. It’s actually rather impressive from nought to 70-ish km/h, pulling with conviction and definitely impressing your relatives and friends as you bolt from junctions and toll booths. From 70-ish till 140-ish, your grandparents would still be mighty pleased with the change of pace, but from 140-ish to 180, you best be prepared for a chorus of “Are we there yet?” emanating from your inner consciousness, and any wannabe Takumi Fujiwara’s riding shotgun.<br><br>Engines-wise, the B7 chassis has to accommodate displacements from 1.8 to 3.2 litres and power ranging from 130bhp to 250bhp. Logic would hence dictate that if you were an engineer constrained by cost, you’d probably design your chassis to handle 190bhp and hence over engineer slightly for 130bhp, and under engineer slightly for 250bhp. Alright, I know that’s a very simplistic reasoning, but spend a couple of hours driving the 130bhp 2.0 around, and I think you’d soon come to the conclusion that I did; Audi engineered this chassis to take 500bhp!</p><p><a href="http://www.zerotohundred.com/features/audi_a4_avant/front_corner.jpg"><img border="0" src="http://www.zerotohundred.com/features/audi_a4_avant/front_corner_B.jpg" width="600" height="399"></a></p><p>Of the three major controls in an automatic vehicle, that is; steering, throttle and brake, only the brake pedal feels like it belongs in the 2.0FSI Avant. The steering is heavy and weighty, which to me is mighty reassuring. The throttle is firm, and has a nice, long travel. The steering seems to be set up for some seriously high speed work, where a sneeze and a light steering could conspire to put you off the road, whilst the throttle seems to be asking; do you really want that much power? Both feel like they were lifted straight off the 4.2 litre RS4 (not that I’ve driven one), never mind the 3.2! <br><br>… And, the ride at low speeds is one that grandma would detest. It is sports car firm, and it transmits more information than expected about the worsening condition of roads around KL to occupants who expect to be cosseted. To be fair, though, the “thumps” that this Audi makes over potholes, manhole covers and broken pavement are “expensive thumps”. It feels solid as anything this side of a block of wood, and there’s no rattling, no sensations of flexing, no metal-on-metal sounding “clunks” that make you go “OUCH!” Just firm dampening and rock solid body control. <br><br>… But, when the speeds creep up on the highway, you finally realise why the ride was so bad at low speeds. The A4 tracks really well, never once feeling float-y, fidgety, or out of depth, even when nearing the double ton. It feels like it could do this all day, and all night, and with the fuel sipping FSI engine, it probably can! What all this gives you is a seriously relaxing and stress free drive. Just try not to lose too much momentum…</p><p><a href="http://www.zerotohundred.com/features/audi_a4_avant/side.jpg"><img border="0" src="http://www.zerotohundred.com/features/audi_a4_avant/side_B.jpg" width="600" height="399"></a></p><p>With the 2.0FSI, this chassis has so much in reserve; it’s literally and figuratively fool-proof. God knows I tried to kill Tom and myself, but the car handles benignly at high speeds and is equipped with very pessimistic traction/stability controls that intervene even before we got close to the outer limits of the tyres adhesion. And despite the 2.0FSI trying valiantly, we were never going to go fast enough to kill ourselves anyways. All that actually makes the car very confidence inspiring to drive, you can drive pedal to the metal virtually everywhere, and you know the chassis can take it without complaint. But too much safety is dull, right?<br><br>So, there I was musing about these apparent contradictions, whilst the throttle was buried into the mat and the Audi was slowly piling on speed. Who would buy this car, I asked myself as I dispatched a chicane with nary a lift on the accelerator. Who would need this much composure, when there really isn’t that much power after all? Then, it hit me, the true meaning of this vehicle, that is.<br><br>Statistics show that we car enthusiasts, as I’m assuming you are because you’re reading ZTH, are in the minority. Fact of the matter is, finances rule for the vast majority of car buyers. What else can explain the world-wide sales and success phenomena that is Toyota, and the decision by Honda to not produce replacements for the NSX, DC5 IT-R or S2000, but instead concentrate on profit generating City’s, Civic’s and Accord’s?</p><p><a href="http://www.zerotohundred.com/features/audi_a4_avant/interior.jpg"><img border="0" src="http://www.zerotohundred.com/features/audi_a4_avant/interior_B.jpg" width="600" height="399"></a></p><p>This car is for the upwardly mobile with an interest in things not automotive. With the cavernous boot space provided by the estate (OK, OK, Avant) body, this baby will take in flat pack furniture, a couple of bicycles and enough groceries for a week. All at once.<br><br>Alright, so the spec sheet’s a little bare, with notable exceptions being Xenons and a sun-roof. However, it’s well built, and more significantly, it’s well built in Germany. Allow me to go on a little rant: to those who think their CKD cars are the real thing, that’s like me saying that Nasi Lemak cooked by a German using ingredients imported from Malaysia is the real thing. Bollocks! I love it when people reason that “the engine and transmission are imported from Germany, good enough what”; in that case, good luck to you when the local content bits of your car fail, let’s see how the car functions without them, and they make up (correct me if I’m wrong) 60% of your car. Furthermore, the knowledge that pedantic and fastidious Germans stuck your car together is very comforting, don’t you think?<br><br>Most importantly, it fulfils all criteria deemed necessary to the upwardly mobile non motoring enthusiast: neighbours will think it’s faster and more expensive than their Camry’s, check; it’ll keep the two kids, mommy and daddy safe, check; it’s fuel efficient, check; you don’t have to go to some specialised mechanic in the depths of Sugai Besi to check out that weird noise, check; gives you a reason to say “vorsprung durch technik” without looking too silly, check.</p><p><a href="http://www.zerotohundred.com/features/audi_a4_avant/gauges.jpg"><img border="0" src="http://www.zerotohundred.com/features/audi_a4_avant/gauges_B.jpg" width="600" height="399"></a></p><p>For the asking price of around rm250k, you try finding yourself another CBU estate with this level of build, refinement and exclusivity. <br>&nbsp;</p></td><td valign="top">&nbsp;</td></tr></table>
 
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biz-da-tech

500 RPM
Senior Member
Jan 21, 2006
520
8
1,518
i drove a4 2.0t i reach 180 ez only. top speed 245 but my baby sound stil can go more. n dis avant same type or not. cuz da price u said it, its kinda lot diferent den mine. my car now stil cost 265k 4 brand new. wan to know wat diferent?
 

boggysv

2,000 RPM
Senior Member
Sep 7, 2004
2,025
4
3,138
tom, necessary,

ever got to ask the sales person at EM why dont they want to bring in the turbo advants?
especially the B6 avants...the most beautiful of them all :)
 

biz-da-tech

500 RPM
Senior Member
Jan 21, 2006
520
8
1,518
who ever can post the rs4 bodykit pic :P heheh i wish i can hav some idea mayb can mod mine :P
 

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