2010 Audi A5, S5 Cabriolets Priced

Many automakers seem to release convertibles throughout the year, which doesn’t make much sense to those of us who can only enjoy top-down driving for short portions of the year. Audi has already missed almost the entire summer driving season with its new line of convertibles, the A5 and S5 Cabriolets. The high-powered S5 will go on sale later this month with a starting price of $58,250. Unfortunately, lovers of the sun who are happy with the A5’s mere 2.0-liter, turbo four-cylinder will have to wait until fall to plunk down $42,000 for one.

The A5 will also feature a Quattro all-wheel-drive model with the same 2.0-liter engine, starting at $44,100. None of the prices include an $825 destination charge. 

Audi also announced pricing for the 2010 S4 sedan, which gets the same supercharged V-6 as the new A6 sedan, good for 333 hp. An RS4 will likely go on sale later in 2009 or early in 2010. Pricing for the S4 — which also goes on sale later this month — is below.

Through Ian's Lens: 2009 Audi A4

Within the entry-level luxury sedan class, the Audi A4 has one of the toughest assignments: Compete with the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class. The 2009 A4 is a great example of how Audi is putting its best design foot forward in the small-luxury segment. A spotless interior is matched with a decent (neither boring nor exciting) exterior design that should give the other big German automotive companies something to think about.

With the 2009 model year comes Audi’s new headlight design. Every new Audi's uplevel trims on the A4 use a string of LEDs inside the headlight housing to accent the front of the car and act as daytime running lights. It’s just not enough to have xenon headlights anymore; now you need LED lashes to complete the look. It’s yet another classy way to let the world know you own an Audi and can afford luxury over a Chevy Malibu.

Cars.com was lucky enough to have both the 2009 Audi A4 sedan and the 2009 Audi A4 Avant (wagon) in the office at the same time.

Please leave your remarks in the comments section; a full set of photos is below. Feel free to use the full-screen mode on the photo browser.

How an Audi A4 is Made

Have you ever visited an assembly line and watched a car be put together, piece by piece, until it rolled off the line? Well, now you don’t have to. Check out the video above to see an Audi A4 make its way through a high-tech assembly process before it heads out the door to some lucky owner.

Via MotorMouths Blog

2009|Audi|A4

Low Demand Means No New Audi Allroad for U.S.

Over the weekend, Audi released some information and images of its new A4 Allroad Quattro. But, despite Audi’s recent new model onslaught on the U.S., this rugged wagon will remain just a figment for us Yankees.

According to Audi’s U.S. Public Relations Manager, Bradley Stertz, there are no plans to bring the Allroad wagon here.

Stretz states there simply isn’t enough demand for the Allroad – though he admits they know of many “very loyal fans”; himself included. He says other causes include the expense of passing stringent U.S. emissions and crash/safety standards, which are too high for such a niche player.

We’re inclined to believe Stertz on the demand issue. While the newly redesigned A4 is a healthy seller — comprising about half of all Audi’s U.S. sales volume last year — only 7% of those A4’s were Avant derived (the wagon body style). Meaning, Americans don’t like wagons.

So if Audi can only sell around 3,000 A4 wagons each year, porting over a more expensive and specialized version doesn’t make much sense does it?

Audi Adds Front-Wheel Drive, Manual A4

Audi is introducing two new trim levels for its entry-level A4 sedan, along with pricing. The new 2.0T FrontTrak is basically a front-wheel-drive version of the base A4, which comes with a 211-hp, turbocharged four-cylinder engine paired with a continuously variable automatic transmission. The FrontTrak is now the base trim level and will start at $31,000.

That's more than its closest rival, the Acura TSX ($28,960). However, that price does make it cheaper than the Lexus IS 250 ($31,155), Mercedes-Benz C-Class ($32,900) and BMW 328 ($33,400) — though those all come with six-cylinder engines. The base A4 gets 23/30 mpg city/highway, which tops the TSX's 20/28 mpg.

The Audi A4 Quattro all-wheel-drive sedan will also now be available with a six-speed manual transmission in the 2.0T trim level. With the manual, the Quattro (Audi-speak for all-wheel drive) has a price tag of $31,850, which is $3,000-$4,000 less than all-wheel-drive variants of other entry-model luxury cars.

Both models come with typical luxury amenities such as a sunroof, leather seating and satellite radio standard. The new trim levels should reach dealer lots early in the new year.

Cars.com Videos: 2009 Honda Civic, 2009 Acura TL and More

2009 Honda Civic: Mike Hanley takes a look at the higher-end features — including a navigation system, heated leather seats and a USB port — in this premium compact car.

2009 Pontiac G5: The XFE G5 gets a whopping 37 mpg on the highway, but Kelsey Mays says there are better compact cars on the market.

2009 Acura TL: The radically redesigned TL now comes in a base version and a performance-minded TL SH-AWD one, and both come with the love-it-or-hate-it grille, David Thomas says.

2009 Audi A4 Avant: This completely restyled station wagon puts a premium on interior space, especially when there’s a child-safety seat in the backseat, David says.

2009 Mercedes-Benz M-Class: The ML320 Bluetec is equipped with a clean diesel engine and a new navigation and entertainment system that’s really impressive.

View and share all of Cars.com’s videos via YouTube.

2009 Acura TL vs. 2009 Audi A4: Part 2

Joe Bruzek and Kelsey Mays, Cars.com

Yesterday we introduced our latest comparison, between the redesigned Audi A4 and Acura TL. In our comparison, these competing luxury cars are similarly priced around the $40,000 mark, which made for a perfect matchup of which car offers the most for the money. Perceived value will of course be in the eye of the buyer, and both cars we tested had their own merits. In the end, though, there can be only one Highlander … er, winner. 

The A4 provided an upscale interior experience with finer materials and more precise build quality. While our preproduction TL lacked such finesse, it offered more gadgets, interior room and a sportier performance for less dough, earning the value-winner nod.

Throughout our Audi A4 and Acura TL drive, we kept bringing up “what ifs” for the Audi’s somewhat lackluster driving performance compared to the sporty TL SH-AWD. What if it had the optional sportier tires, or what if it had the optional stiffer suspension, or what if it were the S-line model?

Cars.com Wagon Faceoff: Audi A4, Saab 9-3, Volvo XC70

Wagons have had a tough time in the U.S. While hugely popular in Europe, the wagon has simply failed to catch on here. Despite that, there are interesting models in the segment that are chock full of features and style.

Three such models are the 2009 Audi A4 Avant Quattro 2.0T, the 2008 Saab 9-3 SportCombi TurboX and the 2009 Volvo XC70 T6. Cars.com’s reviewers tested the models and compared all three in our latest Cars.comparison. Find out who took the cake among three perhaps-overlooked models.

Cars.comparison: Wagons’ Last Stand (Cars.com)

2009 Acura TL vs. 2009 Audi A4: Part 1

Joe Bruzek and Kelsey Mays, Cars.com

Tough times in the auto biz are giving entry-level luxury cars more relevance than ever. Among the brands that sell them, nameplates like the BMW 3 Series and Infiniti G comprise more than two-fifths of those manufacturers’ sales — and with premium brands tanking as fast as the rest of the industry, that share is likely to go up. Among this year’s crop are two redesigned mainstays, the Acura TL and Audi A4. Both offer all-wheel drive, strong V-6 engines and larger dimensions than their predecessors, but beyond that their personalities differ. Acura heads the way of brute performance and nervy styling, while Audi sticks to classic proportions and interior quality.

In our initial drives, both models earned high praise from the reviewer team — Kelsey Mays in the A4 and David Thomas in the TL. For round deux, we procured two jet-black examples: an A4 3.2 Quattro and a TL SH-AWD. Both test cars had six-cylinder engines, all-wheel drive and automatic transmissions, and as luck would have it, the prices lined up nicely. Well-equipped but not brimming with options, our A4 stickered at $40,400, while our preproduction TL came loaded to the hilt for $42,235. Editors Joe Bruzek and Kelsey Mays put both to the test in a variety of pavement and weather conditions, and they offer their impressions in a two-part series.

First Look: 2010 Audi S4

• Competes with: BMW M3, Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG, Cadillac CTS-V
• Looks like: A very stealthy, slightly modified A4
• Drivetrain: 333-hp, supercharged V-6 with six-speed manual or seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
• Hits dealerships: Fall 2009

Before everyone chimes in with comments about how this 333-hp S4 doesn’t really compete with the cars in the compete line above, let me say that Audi itself claims that it does. We’re smart enough to point out that even while the new S4 and its claimed 5.1-second 0-60 time is really impressive, it doesn’t compete with the 400-plus hp coming from the rest of the German and even U.S. high-performance competition. The M3 hits 60 mph in 4.8 seconds and the C63 in 4.3 seconds (according to manufacturer claims).

However, the S4 is always followed by an R S4, which does directly compete with those cars. We personally like the fact that there is a sub-performance-level car from Audi that has all-wheel drive and a standard six-speed manual and still sounds really fast.

Other distinctions for the new S4 versus a standard A4 are unique 18-inch wheels, rear LED taillights, an integrated spoiler, revised front and rear ends, and brushed aluminum on the mirrors, as well as sport seats and an optional carbon fiber trim package. 

The Quattro all-wheel-drive system sends 40% of power to the front wheels and 60% to the rear wheels, with an optional rear differential that varies torque between each of the rear wheels.

There are a few bits of bad news to report, though. It’ll be an entire year before we get this S4 in the U.S., and we only get the sedan version; no S4 Avant wagon will go on sale in the U.S. More photos are below.