New A4 strengthens Audi's single frame grille identity

Primastuti Handayani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The global trend among carmakers to opt for so-called family designs can also be seen from the new Audi A4, which is also known as the B7 and which was launched in Indonesia last week.

The family design is shown by its single frame grille, which has become the carmaker's symbol, thus enabling people to easily recognize that it belongs to the same family as the A3, A6 and A8.

The newly launched A4 is the seventh generation of the same model since it first hit the production line in 1972 at Audi's Ingolstadt plant.

Aiming for established customers, the launch of the new A4 is expected to strengthen Audi's brand position in the premium car market.

"With a 40 percent share of Audi sales annually, the new A4 is aimed at answering the challenge of grabbing a bigger market," said Gunadi Sindhuwinata, president director of PT Indomobil Sukses International Tbk, which oversees Audi's sole distributor in the country, PT Garuda Mataram Motor.

"We expect the new A4 will also increase Audi's sales by between 10 percent and 15 percent this year compared to last year's 160 units."

Data from the Association of Indonesian Automotive Manufacturers (Gaikindo) shows that sales in the premium car segment have been stagnant over the past three years, stuck in a range of between 4,300 and 4,400 units.

"Our target of an increase of between 10 percent and 15 percent is realistic considering that the premium car market segment is only 20 percent of the country's automotive market," Gunadi said.

So far, Audi has occupied third place in the country's premium car segment after fellow German automakers, Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

Since it was first launched in Europe last September, Audi has sold 120,000 of the new A4s worldwide.

Among the first things one notices about the new A4 is the single frame grille -- a trapezoidal radiator grille -- plus the newly styled clear-glass headlights with their sweeping bottom edges and inward taper, which strengthen the car's sporty character.

The A4 also has a new design for its rear end sides.

Its interior reflects the car's exclusive character. The cockpit and interior surround the driver with horizontal, generously sweeping lines that flow from the dashboard into the door area.

As the new model is slightly bigger than its predecessor, it has more room for luggage with a capacity of 460 liters.

PT Garuda Mataram Motor, for the time being, is only importing two versions of the 16 available variants of the new A4, namely the A4 2.0l and the A4 2.0 Turbo FSI.

The new A4 2.0l has an incline four-cylinder engine with a displacement of 1,984 cc and an output of 130 horsepower (hp) at 5,700 revolutions per minute (rpm). It is a bestseller that has been built since 2000.

The 2.0l engine can reach its maximum torque of 195 Newton meter (Nm) at 3,300 rpm -- 90 percent of this maximum value is available across the broad speed range of 2,300 to 5,000 rpm.

Such power can take the car from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour (kph) within 9.9 seconds, and the car has a top speed of 212 kph.

This variant is quite economical as it only needs eight liters of fuel per 100 kilometers.

As for the 2.0 T FSI, it has made its first appearance with the new A4 petrol engine. This is the first time in this class that turbocharging has been combined with the FSI concept of petrol direct injection.

The four-valve cylinder engine results in a maximum output of 200 hp at between 5,100 and 6,000 rpm and a maximum torque of 280 Nm in a range of 1,800 rpm to 5,000 rpm.

The new engine also allows this variant to be more responsive as it can reach a speed of 100 kph at 7.3 seconds while its top speed is 241 kph.

Everything, of course, has its price. The new Audi A4 2.0l is offered at Rp 478 million (US$50,369) on the road in Jakarta while the 2.0 Turbo FSI is tagged at Rp 528 million on the road. However, the latter will only arrive here next month.