The recently revised Audi A4 range doesn’t have a diesel version listed for now. But you have the choice of buying used a late-model diesel, or waiting until early in 2021. Here we offer our opinion on whether the new diesel is worth waiting for.
If you are planning to buy a new Audi A4 within the next three or four months, you had best be a “petrol-head”. The revised A4 range, coinciding with a stylish new facelift, currently lists only petrol-engined models.
The post-September 2020 Audi A4
Launched in early October, the latest Audi A4 rendition sees the company’s mainstay sedan model adapt the latest corporate frontal styling that has been a feature of other models in the range of late.
This means that the single-frame grille is now broader and flatter, and new headlights are one of the main features. All A4 models now get LED headlights, but they come in three grades. The top-grade LED lights are known as Matrix LED units and feature a fully-automatic high-beam function.
New wheels feature on the A4, and the car now comes in Standard, Advanced and S-Line trim levels. Inside, there is a new MMI touch screen, and Audi offers a new Technology Package, which includes navigation MMI Touch and full functionality with the Audi Connect system that provides real-time on-line connectivity.
The latest engine line-up.
Until the first quarter of 2021, Audi is offering just three turbocharged petrol engines in the A4 line-up. Their power outputs range from 110 kW in the 2,0-litre A4 35TFSI through 140 kW in the 2,0-litre 40 TFSI model to 260 kW in the Audi S4. The turbocharged V6 in the S4 displaces 2 995 cc and produces 260 kW and 500 Nm of torque.
A feature of the two 4-cylinder engines in the latest line-up is that they now include mild-hybrid technology. These employ a 12-volt system, which reduces fuel consumption, and Audi claims benefits as substantial as 0,3 litres/100 km.
If diesel is your flavour, then the A4 35 TDI produces 110 kW and 320 Nm of torque. This is, in fact, a substantially lower output than the diesel engine used in the A4 range prior to October 2020, which made 140 kW and 400 Nm. However, despite less power, you still retain the 5.0l /100km claimed fuel consumption.
Or you can buy a used Audi A4.
You need look no further than AutoTrader to find a host of A4s for sale. We currently list some 568 New and Used Audi A4 examples in our “Buy a Car” section. Of these, there are both petrol and diesel examples of the A4, ranging from all-but-new 2020 models to examples built way back in the late 1990s.
So which is best: a petrol or diesel Audi A4?
The diesel Audi A4s have much to recommend them. The latest versions, sold new until September 2020, are nearly as quick as off the mark as the 40 TFSI turbo-petrol models, with a 0-100 km/h acceleration time in the mid-7-second bracket. Their top speeds are also rated as substantially higher than some of the turbo petrol models!
We don’t have any experience of the upcoming diesel engine, but it is interesting to note that its power output is some 30 kW down on the recently-discontinued diesel. And torque is also some 80 Nm down on the our-going diesel engine.
In the petrol engine’s favour, fuel consumption figures on the latest TFSI 4-cylinder engines from Audi are a lot closer to the diesel league. The official consumption average for a 35 TFSI engine is listed at 6,1 litres/100 km.
In this scribe’s opinion, I would go for the 40 TFSI petrol engine. It is a very refined free-revving unit, rated with an overall consumption figure of 6,3 litres/100 km. I believe that there is a definite swing back to petrol engines nowadays. If you keep a car over a long period, then a petrol engine is the better bet, as far as reliability and servicing costs are concerned.
The Audi A4 has refinement as one of its key notes, and a car of this nature deserves the smoother running characteristics of a free-revving petrol engine, even if there is a fuel consumption penalty.
Keyword: Which Audi A4 is better: petrol or diesel?