Overview & Reviews

The Audi A4 holds the distinction of having single-handedly revived the Audi brand. Launched in the mid-'90s, the compact A4 quickly became a favorite among luxury car buyers thanks to its beautifully finished cabin, sharp handling and available Quattro all-wheel drive. Although the A4 has offered these core characteristics from day one, it has become increasingly polished and high-tech with each successive generation. No matter which year you're looking at, the A4 promises both engaging performance and suave style inside and out.

The sedan body style has been a constant for the Audi A4, but depending on the vintage, you may also find wagon and convertible variants. Turbocharged four-cylinder power is typically found under the hood, yielding both reasonably spirited acceleration and satisfactory fuel economy. In road tests, we've consistently praised the A4's refined character, with more recent plaudits going to its spacious backseat, which has adequate room for full-size adults.

User Reviews:

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  Fun car, but build quality needs improvement - 2011 Audi A4
  By audis4driver - April 16 - 9:05 am

  This is my first Audi, and in general I am impressed. Its a fun car to drive. The gas mileage is outstanding, while the engine is responsive. I think it is one of the better looking cars inside and out in the segment. However, Audi really needs to step up their build quality. I do a lot of driving and rack up miles quickly. Right now I have 15,000 miles on the car and there are rattles everywhere. Most recently on the side of the dash by the drivers side door a piece of plastic came lose. I was told by my dealer that integrity issues are only covered up to 12,000 miles, and they wouldnt fix it under warranty. Really disappointing and a good way to kill a customer relationship.

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  Understated sports/lux sedan - 2010 Audi A4
  By 95814 - April 8 - 10:38 am

  I feel that the A4 slots nicely between the soft C-Class and business-like 3-Series and provides the driver with a nice balance between luxury and performance. I replaced my A3 with a 2.0T quattro Premium Plus with the sport package because I love this engine. Some people may turn their noses up at a four-banger but theres plenty of torque to merge onto the freeway and to pass, with decent mileage to boot. Ive never been in a situation where I said, "Boy I wish I had a six." The quattro tracks very well through corners with just a slight, but predictable amount of understeer. It rains a fair amount in the winter where I live and having AWD is a nice safety feature.

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  Best Car ever Owned - 2004 Audi A4
  By popeyes - April 7 - 10:44 am

  Original owner of this 3.0 A4 since new. Right off the lot, negotiated 5% down. Now 7 yrs experience with it with 81K kms traveled. Quality, stability, stance, control, performance are all above great with decent gas mileage of 7.9l/100km highway 9-10l/100km city with quattro using synthetic. Audi maintenance covers everything during 3 yr warr and dealers have provided exceptional service. They replaced all my brake discs, pads and spark plugs all under warranty. Burnt bulbs, lighter socket, wiper lever seized from salt also replaced /w warr. Coils replaced under recall, but never problems just glithces with electronic in window controls, sunroof, and resets of A/C.

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  2004 Audi A4 3.0 - 2004 Audi A4
  By pjs2011 - April 5 - 2:00 pm

  Pros: When running properly, the performance of this car is impressive. It was built for the Autobahn and is fun to drive fast, but were not in Germany. Cons: Ive had many mechanical and computer issues. Driver side electric window mechanism replaced, catalytic converter replaced, speakers go in and out on the front driver side, ignition coils replaced, uses a lot of oil, check engine light on more often than not. At least a $1000 everytime I have to take it to the shop. The interior design isnt practical. The second cup holder is in the middle console but its very cumbersome to access. Im shopping for a new car and it wont be an Audi.

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  HELP!!!!!!!!!...."TICKING" NOISE - IT IS GOING TO BLOW UP????? - 2007 Audi A4
  By agretty1 - March 29 - 11:30 am

  I purchased my 2007 Audi A4 Convertible Quattro about a month ago, with only 39,000 miles on it. It is a great car, but with one exception, it "TICKS" after I power the car off. What Ive noticed is that it when I drive a short distance, its a low faint ticking noise, and when I drive a long/extended period it is a high/loud ticking noise when I power off. Yes, Ive been told that it is "Normal", but it is such a distraction from the beauty of the car, when the attention its receiving is due to the "ticking" noise it makes. Is anyone else experiencing this problem, and is there a fix for it. Please advise, as I feel that I am driving a "TICKING TIME BOMB".....

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  Be prepared to spend $$$ on maintenance - 2004 Audi A4
  By uknowhu - March 24 - 7:08 pm

  Its great when it everything is in running order. I bought the car new and have since run it to 188k miles. At 115k, the engine died on me. Something came loose that ruined one of the cylinders. Fortunately, I have a friend whos a mechanic that was able to procure me a used engine with 60k on it. After that, the bushings had to be replaced and then the fuel pump. I love my car and still have it, but I dont think Ill buy Audi again. Too much money for maintenance and gas.

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  Spectacular Beauty - 2011 Audi A4
  By cottonmouthbev - March 18 - 2:48 am

  I just picked up my 2011 A4 Manual Quattro and I cannot stop ogling at this car. In fact, Im jealous of people outside the car because they can see how stunningly gorgeous it is. This car simply stands out as the best combination of finesse, power and style. Im not sure if car designs can improve much on this overall shape because after a certain point, aesthetic appeal gets lost in radical designs. I have the premium package which does not sport the LED lights but without them, the headlights are leaner and more aggressive looking and its intense. As for the interior, its plush and solid while having being supremely user friendly after a quick run over of the controls.

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  Loved this car, until I realized it has a serious oil consumption problem which Audi has been dismissing for 2 years. - 2007 Audi A4
  By a4burnsoil - February 20 - 3:58 pm

  Loved this car, enough that I purchased it off the lease after 3 years. Biggest mistake ever. I have been bringing it for oil consumption problems since Oct 2009 and been more than casually dismissed after wasting a lot of time and worry. Past 3 times I have burned more than a quart of oil after driving only 600-700 miles. Audi keeps giving me the run around (Fletcher Jones Audi Chicago has consistently given me the worst customer service of my life). They keep making me bring it back for oil consumption tests which have been repeatedly performed and telling me there is nothing wrong with it. I am at a loss and have written to Better Business Bureau and the Audi USA customer service.

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  2001 A4 1.8T - 2001 Audi A4
  By arbaca - February 20 - 8:52 am

  i am the second owner of this car and it has been well taken care of before i got it and it continues to get the same care. i strongly feel that before consider purchase you check with insurance and maintenance. keep up with those and you will be fine. shop around on forums or dealerships and they will not charge as much. i love the things it offers and has a strong rocket engine with a stage 2 and better gas mileage.

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  Fun to drive but... - 2006 Audi A4
  By sfced - February 5 - 7:37 am

  Good looking, very fast and handles like a dream. Definitely a fun to drive car. In terms of reliability, this is the worse car Ive ever owned. I have to take it to the dealer while it was under warranty at least twice. The oil filter housing (made out of plastic) broke during an oil change and it took nearly a week to receive a new one, which was over a $100. The last moth I had it, it threw "check engine" lights for three different issues. For the last one the dealer wanted over $1000 to repair it. I had them clear the light, drove it to the nearest Honda dealership, traded it in, and never looked back... for 61,000 miles, Im disappointed.