2008 Audi A4

The interior

More space, comfort and sporty elegance – the ambience on board the new A4 is bright and spacious. It meets you with distinguished visual details; as usual in an Audi, no compromises are made in the quality of workmanship, and the controls can be understood and operated intuitively. Once you take a seat inside the new A4, you experience a typical Audi effect – a feeling of being absolutely at home from the very first moment.

The front seats also are equipped with many pleasant features. In addition to the bottle holders in the large door pockets, there are two more cup holders on the center tunnel, a holder for sunglasses, a parking claim ticket clip and a large glove box.

For the front seats there is a center armrest that can be moved forward and back and varied in height, and it includes a storage compartment and two 12V power sockets. The thickly padded armrest element is of particularly generous dimensions because the new electromechanical parking brake eliminates the need for the conventional handbrake lever.

Perfect integration: The front seats

Audi offers standard electrically operated front seats, including adjustment for seat height, forward/back movement, and seat-back angle. The four-way driver lumbar support is operated electrically as well. There is also a memory function available, along with seat heating that can be controlled in six stages – a typical Audi feature. The sports seats have boldly contoured side sections for firm support. The angle of the seat cushions can be adjusted and extended forward.

Driver orientation: Centered around the person at the wheel

The cockpit has a definite bias toward the driver, so that all functions are turned toward the person behind the wheel. The center console is inclined by eight degrees toward the driver. Complex graphics and the clear layout of the various zones communicate the athletic power and lightness that can be felt in every aspect of the new A4’s character.

In many details, the new A4 has the sophistication of the A8 luxury sedan. All switches, for example, have short travel and lock into place when a defined amount of force is applied to them. The rotary knobs move as smoothly and precisely as the mechanism of a fine watch, and their ‘click’ is the sound of pure technical perfection. The instrument cluster, although it is a completely new development, presents the classic Audi design elements.

In every Audi A4, a 6.5-inch color monitor is standard; it is located in the upper part of the center console and is therefore extremely easy to see. This large display screen displays information from the audio and air conditioning systems as well as from the CAR menu, where the customer can configure many functions of the new A4. The large switches and pushbuttons of the standard audio system “chorus” with CD drive and MMI operating logic are ideally accessible just above the automatic climate control system – also standard – in the center console. With the optional DVD navigation system, a seven-inch color screen is provided, and MMI controls are behind the shift knob.

Advanced comfort: The electromechanical parking brake

Close to the MMI buttons, there is another large switch that controls the new electromechanical parking brake, which is another luxury-class solution that simplifies the center console. Like the conventional handbrake, the parking brake’s function is to prevent the car from rolling away. If the conventional brake system should fail, there is also an emergency brake function integrated into the electromechanical parking brake with a retardation rate of eight m/s2, scarcely less than a full brake application. In addition, the integrated drive-off assistant supports the driver when the car is set in motion.

The standard climate control system in the A4 is an entirely new development. Compared to the previous version, it provides 10 percent more cooling power and still yields 20 percent higher operating efficiency. As an option, a luxury version is available, where the comfort climate control regulates the air temperature, airflow volume and air distribution in three separate zones.

The new remote entry key for the A4 has no projecting teeth. To start the engine, it is pressed into the ignition lock. It stores service information and warning messages that simplify and speed up the reception procedure when the A4 is brought in for service. There is also the luxury option of the advanced key. This key stays in the driver’s pocket, and the engine is started and stopped using a start/stop knob on the center tunnel. The lock system releases the locks by a sensor as soon as the driver touches a door handle, or the tailgate release button locks again if the sensor in one of the four door handles is pressed.

In the headlights as well, Audi offers various upgrades. The xenon plus headlights are the high-tech solution, which includes dynamic range adjustment, raising the beam at speeds above 120 km/h (74.56 mph) for highway driving.

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