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CAP Blog > CAP Blog > Martin's Blog
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Feb
17
Written by:
Martin Ward
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
The TDIe is the green version in the A4 range; however, the other TDI models without the ‘e’ are not too bad in the scheme of things. The TDIe SE is powered by a 2.0 litre diesel engine that produces 136ps and costs £25,225 on the road. The non-‘e’ models are priced at £24,610 for the 120ps SE and £25,310 for the 143ps SE.
 CO2 is becoming the decision maker and the TDIe has an emission figure of 120g/km compared to the 120ps at 129g/km and the 143ps at 134g/km. The engine management system has been modified to achieve these lower CO2 emission figures along with some other small but obviously tactical changes such as low rolling resistance tyres and regenerative braking. The start/stop system also helps in achieving lower figures, especially in urban and town driving. This system is one of the best in the industry and works extremely well. There is no vibration at all on shut-down and it takes just a fraction of a second to back start up. Like all these start/stop systems, it does depend on the weather, temperature, battery status and many other variables for the computer to decide if it is wise to shut down, and risk losing too much charge in the battery.
 The A4 is a well built car with interior quality being as good as you can get in this premium sector. High quality throughout is one of the main benefits of owning an Audi and it has become a strength in all of its cars, whether they be large or small. The SE is well equipped and has a lot of nice touches throughout the car. It is comfortable and a great motorway cruiser. Leg room in the rear has improved and the interior space in general has increased over the previous model due to the slightly longer wheelbase and the engine being moved forward. The haptics in the car are superb, with every switch, button and handle all being consistent in the way they look, feel and sound. Again, this is something that Audi pride themselves on and it enables them to continue to be the market leader in this field.
 Just because the TDIe is aimed at those who want a car with lower CO2 and improved fuel consumption doesn’t mean it has to be slug. This car goes from 0-62mph in a very respectable 9.5 seconds and has a top speed of 134mph where permitted. Now to those all important MPG figures: On a long motorway journey at a steady 70mph, the A4 achieved 56.4 MPG. During the time we had the car, covering a total of just over 1,400 miles, the TDIe achieved an average of 47.4 MPG according to the on-board computer. This included plenty of town driving and some slow journeys on the M1. So overall a great result for this premium, high quality four door saloon.
The price tag of over £25,000 does on first viewing look a bit expensive but when you weigh up the car’s low CO2, emissions, excellent MPG figures and the in-built guaranteed quality, it isn’t on reflection too overpriced. All this and only £35 a year to tax it.
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