Audi A4 Saloon review

You won’t have many issues getting comfortable thanks to a generous range of seat and steering wheel adjustment. Sport, S line and S4 models have more heavily bolstered seats than the entry-level SE, and so hold you in place more securely through corners.

However, we’d recommend you add adjustable lumbar support if going for SE or Sport trim to help keep your posture good on long journeys and ward off potential back problems. S line models and above get this important feature as standard, while fully electric seats are optional on all models apart from the S4, which gets that as standard.

The A4’s minimalist dashboard is simple and easy to get the hang of, and the optional Virtual Cockpit – which places a 12.3in LCD display where you’d otherwise find the analogue instrument dials – makes it even easier to control the myriad of systems at your fingertips.

Forward visibility is good but, as is the case with many saloons, the over-the-shoulder view isn’t ideal. Fortunately, all models come with parking sensors at the rear to help out with reversing, and the optional Parking Plus system brings front sensors and opens up the option to add a reversing camera if you want visual affirmation there are no obstacles behind you.

The Parking Assistance Pack is a much pricier alternative and treats you to a 360-degree bird’s eye view of the car and can even steer you into a space. It’s only really worth considering if you’re especially nervous about parking, though.

Blind-spot monitoring is also available as an option, as is Exit Warning – a system that monitors the rear side of your stationary A4 and alerts you via a small warning light about approaching vehicles or cyclists, so that you don’t open your door.

One of the main reasons for avoiding entry-level SE trim is the absence of sat-nav. You can add it as an option, but we think you’d be better off putting that cash towards an upgrade to Sport trim.

The most basic SD card-based sat-nav – fitted to Sport and S line versions – gets a 7.0in screen and is controlled using a rotary dial positioned between the front seats; you twist to scroll through the on-screen menus and press down to select an option. There are also some handy shortcut keys to take you straight to commonly used functions.

All A4s get Bluetooth, a DAB radio, voice control and two USB ports. If you’ve chosen to add the optional Virtual Cockpit, as we’d recommend, much of this information will also be displayed on a giant 12.3in display where you’d usually expect to find the analogue instrument dials.

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The optional Technology Pack brings a larger 8.3in screen along with online traffic updates, a 10GB hard drive to store your music on and a touch-sensitive control pad on top of the rotary dial, which can decipher your handwriting to provide another method of inputting addresses. This comes as standard on S4 models.

The A4’s dashboard, and its interior as a whole, is a smorgasbord of soft-touch materials and well-damped switches; harder plastics are few and far between and kept well out of the way in areas you rarely come into contact with.

Real metal trims on the centre console and wood veneer across the dashboard add to the cabin's ambience, and the overall fit and finish is a grade or two above every other car in this class, with minuscule panel gaps throughout the interior. The rotary controller for the MMI infotainment system has a particularly satisfying action, while the muted thud each time you close a door cements the impression of solidity.