Can They Do It? Audi Determined To Finally Put The 3 Series In The Rearview Mirror With Next Gen A4

Audi is definitely capable of dethroning the BMW 3-Series. Every successive A4 has improved handling significantly. With the new weight-saving MLB platform and better weight distribution, Audi could have well created just the car that can match and exceed BMW in every area from handling to interior luxury to technology offerings.

Interior wise Audi has always been at or near the very top of the pack and Audi has the technology bells and whistles that younger buyers crave. The handling was the only component that lagged behind but Audi has taken a huge step to fixing those issues with the upcoming model.

First of all the photo's are in camouflage so we do not have the 100% view of how the Audi will look. However from what I can tell looking a few different views of the car is this. The exterior styling is a conservative update of the existing car. It does not look as good nor is it's styling as interesting or as aggressive as the current 3 series. I will also concede that Audi has improved the handling on the current A4. It is still not up to 3 series standards in terms of interaction and adjustability. This is not just only because it is AWD.
Audi has deliberately engineered the handling to be safe and secure with understeer being the predominant trait and being very difficult to induce oversteer. AWD tends to do this on regular passenger cars. Rally cars are set up quite differently and in fact can be good a drifting. So unless Audi deliberately decides to alter the handling balance of their vehicles I find it hard to believe that they will make a car to out handle the BMW 3 series or any RWD car. In fact the new Audi TT is a better car to drive. However it still is not up to Porsche standards in terms of handling and chassis composure. I am therefore not optimistic that Audi will do much change with th A4.

BMWs don't match Porsches for handling either. That means even if the new TT doesn't out handle a Porsche Cayman it can still out handle a BMW Z4.

Audi will have their pluses and minuses same as BMW. One thing I think is almost certain is that the BMW will handle better and feel more balanced. You can see in the pictures those front wheels are right back almost to the door, maybe 3-4inches away. That indicates to me that the engine will sit on top of and perhaps slightly in front of the front axle, meaning a high polar moment of inertia as compared to the BMW. While this is not the last word in handling it is a huge factor that no amount of awd can overcome. However the next 3 series could be based on a FWD platform too....

If it's still FWD based it will continue to be #3 behind the BMW 3 and the Mercedes C. It's that simple. Yes quattro narrows the performance gap but at the track an S4 is numb where an M3 is a delight. Hell, the Cadillac ATS is a better handler than the A4.

So.......didn't we keep getting promises of a "bold and aggressive" new styling approach for Audi? That the A3 and TT didn't represent that direction? Yet, the TT's headlight/grille treatment is being mimicked on the Q7 and now the A4. And this A4's taillights look exactly like the ones on the A3 with the exception of the bisecting groove? Yes, I know it's camouflaged, but anyone who can see can discern the shapes here.

Don't jump to conclusions until the final car is revealed. We can keep guessing at what headlight or grille design is carried over from the TT to the Q7 to the A4, but until we see the final product revealed by Audi, you don't know the final answer.