About To Order - A6 or A4 ?

[wwesty]

So for me, everything else being equal, the bigger car would always be preferable.

[AT.]

They work out more or less a similar cost on the leasing company website my company uses. Any thoughts would be welcomed.

Sometimes the pricing depends on what you want in your car. I made some calculation in the past, and I was shocked, because if I wanted to have an A4 with a lots of extras, then the difference between the pricing disappeared between the two models.

IMHO, the interior of the new A4 is remarkable, it's almost the same look as the A6 interior has, however it's still just want to look all the same, but it is not the same. For example, the fixed MMI screen is a more then disappointing for me, as even the smaller Audi models have retractable displays. With a virtual cockpit, for me it's more then strange, why you have to look for the unused display for all the time.

Honestly, I never drove this car in the night with the virtual cockpit, so I have no practice with this screen. However I'm not sure, this screen will be quite good for a long term driving, as all LCD like displays makes your eyes more tired if you watch it for a longer period, and I'm not sure if a high brightness will not bothering you in the night. But please treat this as my personal feelings, maybe I could enjoy it, if I could get it.

In the A4 you can get more gadgets in the Audi connect for example, for an A6 you can't have these features However, if we are looking for the safety, I'm still waiting for the IIHS.org small overlap test about the A4, as it was terrible for the former B8, while it was perfect for the very first time for the A6/C7.

[kssquared]

In the A4 you can get more gadgets in the Audi connect for example, for an A6 you can't have these features However, if we are looking for the safety, I'm still waiting for the IIHS.org small overlap test about the A4, as it was terrible for the former B8, while it was perfect for the very first time for the A6/C7.

Thanks for the post. Are you able to give more detail on the missing features ?

[John Rotaru]

this might help:

Audi A4 vs A6 side-by-side comparison | carwow

For me it was the delivery times. Similar prices for similar spec (with the massive discounts on the A6), but 12 weeks delivery for A6 vs at least 4-5 months for A4 (at that time in February).

[kssquared]

this might help:

Audi A4 vs A6 side-by-side comparison | carwow

For me it was the delivery times. Similar prices for similar spec (with the massive discounts on the A6), but 12 weeks delivery for A6 vs at least 4-5 months for A4 (at that time in February).

Thanks for the link. I hadn't thought about the delivery times actually. I've never owned an Audi and I am coming from a BMW. My brain is saying the A6 would be more refined and comfortable but may cost a bit more to run with its larger size. I am just unsure if the new A4 would be that much newer to surpass those characteristics (not the size though).

[AT.]

Thanks for the link. I hadn't thought about the delivery times actually. I've never owned an Audi and I am coming from a BMW. My brain is saying the A6 would be more refined and comfortable but may cost a bit more to run with its larger size. I am just unsure if the new A4 would be that much newer to surpass those characteristics (not the size though).

First of all, please note, the interior/exterior features can be changed country by country, maybe my findings are not suitable for you.

It's hard to find the exact differences, but IMHO you will feel the difference if you start to configure your car. For example, for the A4 you have to select a trim level, which will pre-define a lots of things, for an A6 you have to select an engine without any compromise.

The next difference is in the interior colours. You can't select a full brown/beige interior for the A4, in there you must select some grey part, the full brown/beige interior is an A6 feature.

Even the A4 has a B&O sound system, it can't be compared to an A6 B&O system, IMHO it can be compared to the A6 Bose. There is no option for the A6 B&O quality for the A4. Maybe I missed something, but I was able to find only three zones climate unit for the A4, and no four zones climate unit. If I saw well, some front seat options are also not available for the A4. As far as I can see, I'm not able to select the motorised rear sunshade. I can't found the real acoustic windows as an option, and I also miss the night vision assistant from the A4's extras list.

By this, IMHO, an A4 can be a look-alike A6, but it will never be the same. Even the engines can be all the same, even several parts of the mechanism are all the same, as an the entire car, the A6 is far superior, IMHO. Also, please remember, the difference between the pricing is rather small, so I think, the A4 is only worth it's money, if it will be almost the same as it was pre-defined as a trim level, with only some minimum added extra options.

If you came from a BMW, than I have a story about this kind of a difference. As a friend told me a long time ago, the BMW3 has all the problems a BMW5 can have, but a BMW3 will surely miss all the fun which a BMW5 has. I'm not sure if this opinion is still valid for nowadays, or it's perfectly states the difference between the A4(B9) and A6(C7), but I think, it was worth to tell this opinion too

[Scott K]

There is no way you should mention A6 B&O as it costs £6300 in the UK. On an A6 you must choose a trim level as well.

In the end of the day, the OP needs to try them both and make his mind up. Depending on use will dictate which one to get. If I was doing lots of motorway miles, I would go A6 but if a lot of it was A and B roads, I would go A4.

Bear in mind, the A4 is new and the new A6 will be released next year so it will look dated quite soon, if that is important.

[AT.]

There is no way you should mention A6 B&O as it costs £6300 in the UK.

The original question was relied to the differences, and this is a difference. Of course it's not the most important part of a car, but it's definetly a part of a premium car's possibilities. And yes, for me, that's a good example for the difference between an A4 and an A6. As for even for this price, a lots of people purchases this B&O system for the A6, but no one would buy this system for an A4.

Also, this is a very good example for the issues, when somebody sees the very same name in the different places, and thinks, these things are all the same, however, these are not the same at all.

An off topic opinion about the B&O issue: The quality and the pricing of the B&O products are common talking points on several forums, however believe me, for the ones, who appreciates the B&O feeling and quality, this price sounds like a bargain compared to the ususal B&O prices.

Bear in mind, the A4 is new and the new A6 will be released next year so it will look dated quite soon, if that is important.

That's correct, however please don't forget, than from that time, the A4 will be far more outdated immediately, mostly if the A6 will have all the new gadgets from the new Q7. And even the A4/B9 will look cool then, I think the A6/C7 will still look better, and this difference will not disappear just because there will be a newer A6 on the market. IMHO this will make the A4 look older.

And let me tell you another opinion about the look and feel of the planned A6. Take a look for the current Audi model line, it's got a new A4 and Q7. Do you really think, that the promised new A6 will be totally different from these models? It never happened before, and I don't think Audi intend to commit a suicide to create a space age look car, against to their most profitable models. I don't think, that the new Audi A6 will have a totally different interior or exterior than the current Q7 has, so I don't think, there will be a real huge breakthrough in the design. I think, the new Audi A6 will get the same platform as the A4 and Q7 currently has, but the interior and exterior will be quite the same, IMHO the new A6 will get the gadgets from the Q7, but nothing stunning will be there.

My opinion is, that the Audi Prologue interior and exterior will mostly appear on the new A8 in just years, as it is the only Audi which looks remarkably outdated nowadays, and this new kind of interior and exterior will appear on the rest of the model line in 2020+.

Anyway, you are right, the best way is to try both models and find the perfect one for you. However, this opinion was never questioned

[kssquared]

Thanks for all of the comments so far. I will be test driving the A4 tomorrow and the A6 in just over a week.

I am finding all the varying opinions and thoughts very useful to help me make a potentially difficult decision!

[fest0r]

Some great unbiased opinions and info here, but it might be worth posting in the A4 B9 forum too.