High standards are expected of Audi in this department, and across many dimensions the A4 delivers with its substantial, soft-feel matt plastic textures, brightwork flourishes and an aura of precision assembly. This is also a roomy interior for a premium compact saloon, there being adequate leg and headroom in the rear and a generous boot that’s extendable via split folding rear seats.
But there are disappointments. The new dashboard design, which gently angles the instrument pack and centre console around the driver, looks dated, and the mock aluminium finisher failed to butt up snugly at its meeting point with main facia moulding in the test car.
Centre console storage is not ideal either, the narrow letter box-slot to the left of the cupholders is too narrow to allow a phone to lie on its back, leaving it to rock, and knock, through corners.
But the cabin’s most serious failing is a corollary of the A4’s conversion to right-hand drive. The transmission tunnel’s bulk forces the pedals too far to the right, skewing the driver’s lower body uncomfortably to the offside. Errors like this should not be present in a car of this calibre, particularly when so many A4s are sold with right-hand drive globally.
If you ignore the lure of brands and consider the A4 against the excellent Ford Mondeo, its £23,940 sticker price looks distinctly poor value against the Ford in top-of-the-range, £21,645 Titanium X trim. And the Audi is short of several toys at this level, including sat-nav.
But it undercuts the £25,285 best-selling BMW 320d SE as well as the Mercedes C200 CDi SE at £24,107, and the (more powerful) £25,782 Lexus IS 220d SE. Audi is forecasting above average residuals compared to its German rivals, and its equipment levels largely mirror the 3-series.