The fifth-generation Audi A4 has been spied testing, carrying its manufacturing lighting and fewer camouflage than ever.
As soon as once more, it has been spied in Avant wagon guise. We’ve but to see a prototype of a brand new A4 sedan, and the brand new technology has been rumoured to go wagon-only, with the next-generation A5 Sportback choosing up the slack for consumers preferring a extra three-box form.
Whereas the sedan could possibly be on the chopping block, scorching variants aren’t. Audi is thought for its high-performance wagons, and the next-generation A4 is ready to spawn scorching S4 and RS4 variants as earlier than.
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Given the present technology of A4 debuted again in 2015 and was facelifted in 2019, and the very fact these prototypes seem far alongside in growth, a reveal of the brand new technology will probably happen this yr.
The following A4 is reportedly set to realize an out there plug-in hybrid powertrain, becoming a member of the prevailing line-up of petrol and diesel engines.
A high-performance plug-in hybrid powertrain may make its approach into the following RS4, probably a twin-turbocharged 2.9-litre V6 PHEV unit.
Whereas rival Mercedes-Benz has moved to a wholly four-cylinder powertrain line-up for its rival C-Class line-up and its AMG variants, Audi may proceed to supply sixes for its efficiency fashions as BMW does.
Styling is evolutionary, in Audi custom. The form of the grille and headlights are a lot the identical, although the entrance bumper has sharp diagonal creases rising to the headlights and extra vertically oriented air intakes.
The greenhouse seems to be fairly much like the present automotive, as does the steeply raked tailgate. Audi’s designers haven’t rocked the boat.
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Audi RS4 mule
Earlier pictures have revealed the broader A4 household will proceed to make use of a big, tablet-style, landscape-oriented central touchscreen, which can now subsume the local weather controls.
The following A4, S4 and RS4 are anticipated to make use of an up to date model of the prevailing MLB Evo platform, and could be the final to function combustion engines.
Audi is planning to stop the sale of automobiles with inner combustion engines outdoors of China by 2033.
The A4 isn’t the one Volkswagen Group product rumoured to be going wagon-only in its subsequent technology.
The Volkswagen Passat sedan has already been discontinued, and the next-generation mid-sizer reportedly gained’t provide a three-box physique model.
Whereas that will appear uncommon – the one physique model seemingly much less well-liked than a sedan in Australia these days is a wagon – the wagon accounted for the lion’s share of Passat gross sales in its house market of Germany.
The dearth of a sedan may spell the top of the A4 within the US market, however the model’s dedication to wagon fashions right here may put it on a extra secure footing whilst crossovers have develop into the model’s greatest sellers by some margin.
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Present A5 Sportback -
Present A4 allroad -
Present S4 sedan
Audi axed the A4 allroad and its bigger A6 allroad showroom-mate within the UK final yr however dedicated to persevering with to supply these fashions in Australia, calling them necessary incremental fashions.
The corporate offered simply 535 examples of the broader A4 vary in Australia in 2022, together with the high-riding allroad wagon, which was scarcely greater than the 387 examples it offered of the associated A5 Sportback.
BMW, in distinction, offered 2818 examples of its 3 Sequence and Mercedes-Benz offered 3566 C-Class sedans.
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