2011 Audi A4 1.8T – USED CAR REVIEW

What’s better than a personal or family car as the first review for AutoPH’s new website? Now of course, this review is gonna be more comprehensive since I’ve been driving this car for years so I pretty much know every bit of it. Well this car is not completely mine, I share it with my brother and mom. So the car pretty much gets used by multiple people. Anyway, this review will be talking about our experience with our 2011 Audi A4 1.8T.

The Audi A4 is a compact executive sedan. This particular one is a 2011-model with the B8 bodystyle. It is also the base variant of the A4 lineup back then which composed of this 1.8T, the 2.0 TDI, and the top of the line 3.2 Quattro.

Exterior

Despite being 9 years old, the Audi A4 B8 is still definitely a looker. The large Audi grille was always a signature trait, and those LED daytime running lights always look cool when they’re on. I still see many people turning their heads every time I drive past them.

The rear is a bit more simple but that doesn’t take a way the luxurious and sporty design that Audi’s are known for. If there’s something I’m not really a fan of, it’s definitely the wheels. The 10-spoke 17-inch wheels are nice but a bit too small. They also make the car look a bit more like a senior-car than it should, and lastly, the tires are quite hard to buy thanks to the size.

Interior

I’ll be honest, at first I didn’t really like the interior of the A4. I don’t know why but my opinion has since changed. Everything is within easy reach especially since this isn’t a big car. Materials are excellent as expected with soft-touch plastics all-around, would be a bit nice to have them a bit softer though.

At the back, it’s a no-frills cabin. You have a storage cubby in the middle where the rear airconditioning vents are supposed to be, that feature is reserved for the top-of-the-line 3.2 Quattro variant. Space in the back seats is adequate. Small adults like me at 5 feet and 7 inches will be most comfortable here. Those at around 6 feet or taller might not be comfy. 2 adults at the back will fit perfectly, the middle seat is best reserved for children.

By the way, there are rear sunshades on the doors and windshield so it’ll help keep the heat of the sun out. There is also a nice large center armrest with storage where you can find an original Audi first-aid kit, and two hidden cupholders. Nice!

Storage

Pardon the mess, I didn’t have anywhere to put the stuff. Well as you can see, the A4’s trunk will fit most of what you need. Space here is at 480 liters which is by no means small. The trunklid’s hinges are also hidden at the sides which helps make it easier to store stuff. I’m telling you, we’ve used this to haul stuff from Pampanga to Manila, this car has experienced several home movings and looks like there’s gonna be another one (hopefully the last one).

Technology and Safety

Let us all remember that this generation of the A4, the B8, first came out in 2008. Tech features here are at a minimum, but that’s to be expected for its age. You do get a 6.5-inch display for the infotainment system, and that is controlled by a knob and several buttons below the airconditioning vents. Features like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto were non-existent when this was designed. I easily found a way around that by simply getting a bluetooth receive plugged into the outlet and streaming through a designated FM radio station.

The graphics are extremely easy to read and the system is easy to understand. If you’re not used to it though, the knob is turned the opposite direction when scrolling up and down. Left is to down and right is to up. Sound quality from the speakers is excellent considering this is just a standard Audi sound system.

This A4 also has an electronic parking brake with brake hold function. There is also an old 30-pin iPod connector inside the glove compartment. 

Safety features on the A4 1.8T for 2011 is already a lot. Of course you get front, side, and overhead airbags, Anti-lock braking system, stability control, and seatbelt pretensioners which are actually nicely sensitive. It is also equipped with the 360-camera of the 2010’s, front and rear parking sensors with a very helpful monitor which shows how far are you from other objects. Very useful especially in tight parallel parking situations.

Engine

This A4 is powered by a 1.8-liter Inline 4-Cylinder 16-valve Turbo engine. It has 160 horsepower at 6,200 RPM and 250 Newton-meters of torque at 1,500 to 4,500 RPM. Power is sent to the front wheels and transmission is Audi’s Multitronic CVT. 

Driving, and Comfort

While many people who buy luxury cars prefer to be chauffeured around, the A4 is definitely one you have to drive by yourself. First, once you’re in the driver’s seat, you instantly get a perfect driving position. Once you start moving, you instantly feel that this car is something. Steering feel is excellent. It’s light in slow driving and heavy once you get up to speed. While the CVT may be jerky at times, especially when coming from a stop, you can definitely feel the torque of the engine. You won’t even realize that you have a CVT. Thanks to that transmission, acceleration is also extremely smooth. Very quiet too as just a little bit of engine noise comes into the cabin. There were several instances while driving on the highway I thought I was going 100 kph, only to see the speedometer reading 160 kph. Had to instantly slow down to a safe 100-110 kph.

Ride comfort is very good as expected. The suspension absorbs most of the roughness of the road very well, though it is a bit bouncy at times and it gets annoying sometimes. Road noise is pretty much non-existent but once the tires are worn out and you’re on a rough pavement asphalt road, expect to be quite irritated.

Considering that this car isn’t really heavy at 1,485 kg, combined with a powerful engine and CVT, fuel economy is not at all a problem. I usually average a good 8 to 10 km/l in the city with mixed traffic conditions. Heavy traffic unfortunately drops that to 6 or 7 km/l or the worst 2 km/l I experienced while crawling on Osmena Highway between Makati and Manila. Highway economy is excellent. I usually get around 13 to 15 km/l. The best I got was 20 km/l at an average speed of 110 kph on SCTEX from Clark to Dinalupihan, Bataan. 

This car is usually driven on the highway by the way, that’s why the mileage is now at almost 130,000 kilometers. Most of these A4’s hardly reach 70,000 kilometers, well based on Facebook Marketplace.

Conclusion

To conclude this review, I’d like to share that we’ve actually been trying to sell this car since 2017 up to around mid-last year. We planned to replace it with several choices. The previously available Volkswagen Golf GTS Business Edition+, or two other VW’s, the Jetta Business Edition+ and recent 2019 Lamando Highline, and Audi A1 Sportback. There was also the Honda CR-V 1.6 SX, Nissan Terra and Jeep Wrangler. 

Considering everything that I’ve written about this car, the only bad thing about it is that parts are expensive and the lack of technology for today’s needs. The A4 is a car that is hard to let go of. It is comfortable, fast, and has an appeal that other cars don’t, says the eyes of people on the street. That’s why this car is no longer for sale and will be soon joined by a new Subaru Forester after the ECQ.

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