|
Stepping into the A4 is like stepping into a bank vault.
The stalks, switches and plastic pieces are all solidly put together and
even if the test unit is more than three years old, it still doesn’t have any
signs of aging and deterioration whatsoever.
The switches, which like most German cars, are quite illogical in their
placement when compared to their Japanese counterparts.
To this end, the A4’s center console feels overly cluttered with too
many similarly marked switches, which could confuse the driver easily. The gauges too are a bit of a weak point for the A4.
Though the speedo and the tachometer are large very easy to read, the
instrumentation is a bit too cluttered with unneeded information such as oil
temperature, voltage and a small clock. These
secondary gauges are placed too close to each other and aren’t distinct enough
to be read at a glance. The
steering wheel has excellent detailing and tries to emulate a MOMO steering
wheel with great results. In fact,
the Audi designers have been able to stuff the airbag into a small area of the
hub, with the result that the steering wheel looks sporty and is more
comfortable to drivers. The ventilation controls are another story however.
Being mounted low, they are easily hit by the automatic gearshift
selector, and the controls are too illogical for those accustomed to traditional
Japanese cars. In fact, it took me
a while to understand the concept of using the controls. Despite the pictographs
on the aircon switches, the system’s behavior was indecipherable and the
labels might as well have been in German. Bathed in red backlighting, the ventilation controls along with all the other gauges are cool to look at during the morning but could become a bit of an eyesore driving at night. However, when I learned how to use them properly, the A4 has an excellent aircon system. Despite being shipped all the way from the USA, this A4 still has adequate cooling power to fight off the mid-day Manila heat. The configuration of having three center vents plus one at each side makes sure that each passenger has an assigned air conditioner vent, thus eliminating the battle between who gets the cold air during the blistering heat waves. |
|
||||
