AUDI A4 2.0T FSI S Line 5dr (2005)

Audi A4 S Line - Little issues here and there but overall excellent

I went for an Audi A4 after having a Grand Voyager, because I was getting tired of how overweight and lumbering it felt. The Audi A4 2.0 S Line by comparison is extremely nimble and energetic, it's almost like returning to my first love, an old Golf with endless modifications.. except this is miles classier and less likely to fall to pieces. The biggest problem, if you want to call it a problem, from the Grand Voyager was that the Audi A4 is a fair bit firmer ride, but it's not a problem for us really.

I was impressed with the increase in speed and overall performance coming to the A4 but it's lacking a little something, maybe because it's front wheel drive, maybe because of something else. The only other real problem has been a bit of a weird stink from the aircon, but that was sorted out under warranty.

The sound of the engine is a real pleasure, especially if you take it up over 5k revs. The only down side is that it's so exciting to drive I often find myself driving like a bit of an idiot, which in the end means it eats up tyres pretty quickly. I suppose this is also why it's in a higher insurance group, makes you want to drive unsafely.

The satnav is great, not just rerouting if you make a mistake but also showing you the route with the least traffic on it. This might be old news to more techie types but it blew my mind when I first saw it. The stereo is amazing as well. I lost count of all the speakers, it's at least 8 of them dotted about, maybe ten, and far too powerful really, I mean you could play music to the other side of the motorway in these things. Great for a good surround sound experience though, I like it for opera.

I get some sneers from people thinking the Audi A4 is a poor man's BMW, but I wouldn't really want one of them anyway, just a different image that I'm not interested in.