AUBURN HILLS, MI – Audi’s new A4 features front-wheel drive and a four-cylinder A4 mated to a CVT gearbox that turning out 23 mpg in the city and 30 mpg on the highway, according to http://blogs.automobilemag.com. The 3.2L V-6 (available only with the six-speed automatic and all-wheel drive) will deliver 17 mpg in the city and 26 mpg on the highway. Both four- and six-cylinder engines make use of Audi’s new variable valve lift system, but the V-6 uses the feature on the intake valves, while the four-cylinder utilizes the technology on the exhaust side.
The 211-hp, 258 lb.-ft. turbo four makes 15 more pound-feet of torque than the V-6 and the run to 60 mph is just 0.2 seconds slower. When paired with a six-speed automatic, four-cylinder sedan and Avant models return fuel economy of 21 mpg city and 27 mpg highway.
Opting for a six-speed manual transmission (only available on four-cylinder models), Audi will also equip the A4 with a shift indicator light to encourage shifting at lower engine speeds.
A4s will begin arriving in dealerships in September, with sedans starting at $32,700 and Avant models beginning at $34,500.
Also, The crisis in automotive leasing is unlikely to affect the new Audi A4 compact luxury sedan, which has had a 70 percent lease mix in the current generation, product manager Carter Balkcom said, according to Automotive News. He said the A4’s strong residuals should protect it from the pullback in lease financing being generated by other automakers’ large SUVs and pickups. He expects the three-year residual for the new A4 to be about 56 percent — an increase over the current model’s 51 percent.
Balkcom also said Audi is not near a decision on whether the A4 will be produced at the plant parent Volkswagen AG is building in Chattanooga, Tenn.
He said a decision is unlikely before next spring.
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