Road Test: 2007 Audi A4 2.0T Quattro, Powered By REVO.
Since it’s introduction in 1996, the Audi A4 has been a key player in the entry-level luxury car market. For a while, Audi was merely happy playing second-fiddle to BMW’s sublime 3-series. That’s not a bad market position to be in, when you’re just coming off of a massive PR scare involving 5000’s that like to run people over of their own accord. Well, actually, mainly due to driver error. But that’s another story for another day.
But with the introduction of the updated (B6 chassis) A4 in 2002, Audi went after the big dog full-force. The new A4 was larger, more refined, more luxurious, and faster - including the 4.2L V8-powered S4.
One complaint, though, has always been that the base model A4’s are kind of dogs. The original (B5) and the updated (B6) A4’s used VW’s 1.8T, a 20-valve four cylinder with a tiny Borg-Warner K03 turbocharger to generate between 150 and 170 horsepower, depending on year. In the lighter MKIV chassis cars (Jetta, Golf, Beetle etc.) this is a pretty quick powertrain combo. In the heavier A4, not so much. When paired with Quattro and an automatic transmission, an A4 driver’s right foot became deeply familiar with the feeling of carpet, trying to desperately merge onto the highway without getting run over.
When Audi updated the A4 again in 2006, they didn’t change much. The A4 got a new steering wheel, new hawk-like headlights, and neat new taillights. I have to say I’m not the biggest fan of the facelift; while the A4 certainly isn’t unattractive, I don’t think the design is as cohesive as it was before. It strikes me as a distinctly un-Audi shortcut. But they took a big step in alleviating the lack of power in the base model. Out went the anemic 1.8 20v Turbo, in went a new 2.0l 16v Direct-Injection Turbo engine, conveniently named the 2.0T.
Since the B7 isn’t appreciably heavier than the B6, this new engine greatly improved the performance of the A4. Thanks to direct injection which allows higher compression ratios on turbocharged engines as well as more displacement, the 2.0T offers low-end power that the 1.8T could never make without serious modifications. And since the diverter-valve setup was changed to an integrated electronically-controlled unit, the driveability has been greatly improved.
I drove a 2007 model Audi A4 2.0T, with the 6-speed Tiptronic automatic transmission and Quattro four-wheel-drive. The car had also been modified with a REVO engine management upgrade, and a Forge 007 Diverter Valve. I will discuss these modifications later in this article.
First impressions of the A4 are very positive, at least coming from someone who drives a non-turbocharged Jetta that’s sort of loud and unrefined. The seats are ideal - you don’t notice them at all, either in a positive or negative way. They support you in just the right places, without being too hard or soft. Despite being a 6-year-old design, the A4’s interior design, layout, and materials are still simply the best in the business. This interior has really stood the test of time quite well. At night, the gauges are light up in a beautiful white-and-red. Perfectly legible. If I have any gripes to voice about the interior, it’s that the some of the controls and switches are illogically placed. For instance, the seat heater controls are at the bottom of the dashboard, and require an awkward movement of the hand to change the settings. On the other hand, the majority of the controls are well-placed and feel very good to the touch. The hand-controls on the steering wheel use a rolling cylinder to control volume and track/station, which is much more intuitive than a button like most cars have. The switch for the sunroof is of the “set-and-forget” variety- rotate it to where you want the sunroof to be, and it takes care of it for you. It’s neat details like these that really put Audi head and shoulders above it’s competitors to me - no fussy iDrive knobs to twirl, or a 300-page manual to figure out how to use the navigation system and CD player.
The driving experience is relaxing. The A4’s standard suspension is very well-judged: firmly damped and well-sprung, but it doesn’t beat you up on the day-to-day commute. The brakes are quite powerful, although they do tend to fade if you’re pounding on them on a back country road. The steering is a sore point to me: while the steering is tight and accurate, it lacks weight and isolates the driver from what’s going on under the front too much for my tastes. Sure, you turn the wheel and the front end does what you ask it (most of the time), but you don’t really feel any connection between the wheel and the tires. Just odd.
In “stock” mode, the engine is entirely adequate. It really doesn’t feel like a turbocharged engine at all: there are no boost spikes, there is no lag, there are no “on” or “off” points to the powerband. The engine pulls smoothly and strongly. It’s a big improvement over the old 1.8T A4’s, which were peaky and didn’t actually have that much power when you got on it. While it’s not that exciting to drive, it’s smooth and powerful and compares quite well with the base engine in the 3-series.
The biggest downside to the powertrain is that the B7 is still saddled with an old-style traditional ZF 6-speed automatic transmission. While it has some nice features (a sport mode that rev-matches downshifts when you slow down, holds gears for longer, and downshifts much quicker as well as a “shift it yourself” Tiptronic mode), it’s still a slushbox. The torque converter takes forever and a day to lock up and get you going, it tends to get confused when you increase your throttle input to part throttle, and shifts in Tiptronic mode are just glacially slow. It’s a shame that Audi didn’t see fit to adapt their DSG gearbox to the A4 when they updated it, but the next-generation A4 should have it as well.
In the interest of science, we ran acceleration testing of the A4 in stock mode. With the transmission in “sport” (harder shifts, closer to redline) and a bit of brake-torquing, the A4 reached 60 miles an hour in 8.2 seconds. Again, not screaming fast, but not unbearably slow. When starting from a dead stop there is a noticeable bit of lag as the torque converter locks up and the boost builds, but once past 10mph or so, the A4 digs in and shoots you down the road.
However, this Audi is physical proof of “Better living through Science.” The car is equipped with REVO Technik engine management, commonly known in aftermarket circles as a “chip” or “map tune.” This upgrade changes engine settings in the ECU to create more power. Fuel curves, timing advance or retard, and most importantly for this particular car, more boost. Stock output is 200 horsepower and 207 ft-lbs of torque. With REVO, this jumps to 255 horsepower and 290(!) ft-lbs of torque. All of this is done by connecting a computer to the OBD-2 (On-Board-Diagnostics) port and uploading a new program - takes about 30 minutes total. The neat thing about REVO in particular is that they offer a portable flash-loader that you can load several different programs - stock, standard REVO, and custom-made programs which you can adjust on your computer. This allows you to alter boost, timing, and fuel settings from your computer, then make changes on the fly. Just plug the flashloader into the port, turn the key to “on” and wait for the beep - bang, new program. Besides the chip, the only other modification is a Forge 007 replacement Diverter Valve as the stock one failed under higher boost- a very common issue with these new 2.0T engines, which have an integrated diverter valve with a rubber(!) diaphragm.
I drove the A4 back to back in stock mode and then in a slightly tweaked version of the standard REVO mode. The difference is absolutely night and day; it’s like a new engine appeared under the hood in 30 seconds. The car feels slightly punchier at light throttle inputs, but under loads of half-throttle or more, hold onto the steering wheel. Boost really kicks in hard around 3,000 rpms and holds strong till just shy of the rev limiter, about 6000 rpms. It’s still a very smooth powerband, not peaky, but there’s just more of it everywhere. With the REVO program activated, the timed 0-60 time dropped to 6.9 seconds - an improvement of 1.3 seconds over stock.
On the highway with the REVO software, the A4 becomes a very serious threat to your license. There is a convenient feature in the main display between the tach and speedometer which warns you if you exceed 80 miles an hour - which can easily happen if you sneeze and flex the gas pedal a bit. The Audi pulls strongly at seemingly any speed, be it 40 or 90 miles an hour - the power is deeply impressive, and makes the optional V6 (also 255 horsepower) seem rather pointless in the A4.
And if something goes wrong? Just reset it to stock and take it to the dealer! The REVO program is invisible to VW/Audi’s diagnostic programs, especially if it’s turned off. Of course, Audi Owners would never do such a thing and that’s a purely hypothetical situation.
Overall, the A4 is a deeply impressive car that’s just made much more alluring with a choice few aftermarket tweaks. While it hasn’t changed much since it’s inception, it’s still a very desirable car in many ways. It’s comfortable, classy, secure in it’s driving manners, well equipped, and imminently tunable. If you wind up with any car with a 2.0T, though, do yourself a favor and drop the cash for a chip. You won’t regret it.
20007 Audi A4 2.0T Quattro
Body: 4 door, 5-passenger sedan
Engine: 1984cc 16v I4, Direct Fuel Injection
Aspiration: Turbocharged (Borg-Warner K03) and intercooled (twin-side mount air-to-air intercoolers)
Horsepower: 200 crank BHP (255 with REVO software/ Forge DV)
Torque: 207 crank ft-lbs (290 with REVO software/Forge DV)
Transmission: 6-speed planetary Automatic with Tiptronic shift controls and Sport Mode. Adaptive.
Drivetrain: Electronic All-Wheel Drive, Quattro Gen IV (Torsen center differential, open front and rear with electronic differential lock)
Performance
0-60 (stock) miles an hour: 8.2 seconds
0-60 (REVO) miles an hour: 6.9 seconds
Base Price: $32,300 (2.0T Quattro Tiptronic)
Pros: Refined, Comfortable, Solid and Safe feeling, attractive interior design, AWD, smooth stock powertrain and aftermarket potential
Cons: Light steering, Rather Heavy, Dimwitted Transmission, Odd Placement of Some Controls, Small Back Seat, Dated Design, Speeding Tickets are Expensive.
Overall: Audi’s A4 has aged rather gracefully and remains a key player in the near-luxury market. Worth a look. Don’t Skip The Chip!
Exterior Styling: 3.5/5
-Audi’s restyling of the B6 seems like just that: a restyling. It isn’t bad looking, but it was more elegant before.
Interior Styling: 5/5
-Best in the business. BMW should take notes.
Interior Fit/Finish/Quality: 5/5
-Again, best in the business. Everything is pleasant to the touch and feels solid. Flawless.
Powertrain: 4/5
-Fantastic engine let down by an old-fashioned slushbox. Quattro is amazing.
Ride/Handling: 4/5
-Front heavy and too much body roll, but tons of grip, stability and poise. The road is what’s for dinner, and the A4 is hungry.
Brakes: 3.5/5
-Strong enough but prone to fade. Nice linear modulation
Steering feel/accuracy: 2/5
-Never been an Audi strong suit. Too light, too isolated, a bit too slow.
Fuel Economy: 4/5
-Really not bad for such a heavy, feature-and-luxury laden car.
Desirability Factor: 3/5
-Not the most emotional or original choice, but it’s not hard to understand the A4’s continued popularity. It’s quite good.
Overall: 7.8/10
TCB thanks Aaron Brodney for lending his personal car for this road test.
