Review: 2009 Audi A4

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In the fancier versions of the car, this morphs into a $2,450 S Line Package that also includes special exterior and interior trim and badges.

High tech options include a $2,950 Drive Select Package that allows the driver to adjust the car's steering dynamics and suspension damping, as well as a $2,100 adaptive cruise control system that senses other vehicles ahead and applies the brakes, if necessary, to avoid an accident.

The A4 comes standard with a full panoply of safety gear, including head-protecting side-curtain air bags. It earned the highest possible Five Star government crash test rating in all five categories.

However, I have a couple of gripes about the A4: If you go with the V6 engine, fuel economy drops to just 17 mpg in the city and 26 on the highway. Also, the car's styling is pretty nondescript. Its most distinctive feature is a grouping of high-density, Christmas-tree-style lights that form a sort of eyebrow over the headlights.

Behind the Wheel

The A4 isn't the fastest car in its class (that would be General Motors' new Cadillac CTS-V), but it's quick enough for most people. Top speed is governed at 130 mph, and in my test car the turbocharger kicked in with no discernible lag when I punched the gas. Audi says the A4 will accelerate from 0 to 60 in 7.1 seconds with the smaller engine (which is about what I got in my test car) and 6.1 seconds with the V6.

However both Motor Trend and Edmunds.com clocked the 2.0T quattro at 6.5 seconds, faster than Audi's rating. Times for the 3.2 quattro, meanwhile, are all over the map. Road and Track timed that version of the A4 at a respectable 5.9 seconds, while Edmunds.com clocked it at 6.9 seconds, which the reviewer deemed "not a competitive performance for this class."

The good news is that the A4 handles extremely well. It feels more balanced and solid on the road than the previous A4, and the optional Drive Select system, which allows the driver to choose among "comfort," "automatic" and "dynamic" settings, works surprisingly well. I tried it many times on the fly and switching to the "dynamic" setting always instantly and noticeably hardened the suspension.

I like the A4's interior better than the interior of BMW's 3 Series. The design is clean and understated. Controls are bunched in the center stack and there's the usual Audi central knob for controlling most functions via a video screen on the dash. There are also dedicated switches for many functions on the center console if you prefer not to use the knob. The wood trim (a $400 option) is available in ash or dark walnut, and the ash is a gorgeous shade of almond beige.

The front seats are roomy, but (as with other compact luxury cars) leg and headroom in the rear seats is tight. I'm 5 ft. 10 in, and my head was close to brushing the ceiling in the back seat. In the all-wheel-drive version of the car, there's also an annoying hump down the middle of the floor that makes the center rear seat impractical, except for a child.

The A4's trunk is huge. There's an optional pass-through to the rear seats for skis and other long objects, and the rear seats fold down independently in a 60/40 pattern. Heated rear seats are available as an option.

Buy it or Bag It?

For my money, the top choice among compact luxury sedans is still the BMW 3 Series (the 328i and 335i). The Bimmers are quicker than a comparable A4 and have rear-wheel drive (the preference of most driving enthusiasts) and sharper handling. However, if you care more about daily driving economy and comfort than performance, the four-cylinder version of the A4 is an excellent choice. It costs an average of $35,201, according to the Power Information Network, versus $41,737 for the six-cylinder A4 and $38,126 for a BMW 328i sedan.

Personally, I'd skip the base model A4 and go with the 2.0T quattro with either a stick shift (starting price: $32,675) or Tiptronic automatic (starting price: $33,875). Fuel economy isn't quite as good as in the base model but either would be more fun to drive than a car with a continuously variable transmission.

What makes the decision difficult is that there are numerous good alternatives in roughly the same price range, including the Mercedes C300 and C350, the Infiniti G37, the Acura TSX and Acura TL, the Lexus ES350, the Lincoln MKS, and the Cadillac CTS.

Of all these models, the ones I'd be sure to test-drive against the A4 are the Acuras. Like the A4 2.0T, the Acura TSX has a peppy four-cylinder engine and can be had with a stick shift or automatic. Like the A4 3.2T, the Acura TL has V6-power and is available with a sporty all-wheel drive system. Both Acuras also can be packed with high tech options—and for less than the A4.

Click here to see more of the 2009 Audi A4.

Thane Peterson reviews cars for BusinessWeek.com.

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