minmet

It's been a month since I had my A4 P+. Love it a lot. The quietest and smoothest car I ever drove. And, the tech is phenomenal. Here I start a new thread and hope everyone can discuss how we feel about this car in terms of driving. Mainly the Audi Drive Select setting especially the transmission selection (namely D or S). There is quite a bit discussion about it already in another thread initiated with mpg discrepancy. This thread is intend for us to discuss what we like and what we would like to see some improvement (in a perfect world where Audi would do for us). Not every point is positive as there is really no complete perfect car. So no bash and name calling as we all love this car to begin with.
Here are few points what I feel:
1), I don't like the Comfort and Auto at all. Too light and not a little bit steering feed back in these two settings. I was doing a U-turn in couple times and the steering will not come back after I finished the turns. Since then, I left the Drive Select in Dynamic (even in Dynamic, it's still a bit too Light to my taste).
2), transmission in D is so lazy. Very fast in up shift but so slow in down shift. Response to the throttle was not only slow but to the point of resisting. Can't do passing or lane switch in D. However, very nice when cruising on highway.
3), transmission in S is where this car really shines. Fun to drive with. However, I am getting old and don't want the car to behave like this all the time.
So, here is what I wish Audi had done (or would do): make the Drive Select character more spread apart from Dynamic to Auto to Comfort. Leave the S as is while make the D more like between D and S. By that I mean has better throttle response especially down shift.
I welcome any insight to help me further enjoy this car.

VipinLJ

I agree with all your points (1, 2 and 3).

And yes. The A4 is a gem. For a 2.0, it is incredibly smooth (I have a 2.0 in the X3 too and the Bimmer feels crude compared to the Audi).

The problem is the dsg transmission. I agree. It is a fast shifting box. But the zf transmission is smoother any day. That's what I love about the A7 (3.0tfsi + dsg). The A7 is smoother than my A4 obviously, even though shifts definitely feel slower.
Another problem is transmission lag. DSG has a horrible lag compared to ZF which is instantaneous. I sometimes struggle when moving off from start in the A4 since the car doesn't move the way I want it to (and then leaps forward all of a sudden). Which is why I love the ZF box even more (I can modulate it perfectly).

In a perfect world, I wish they would find a way to eliminate transmission lag. Or maybe change the throttle sensitivity when the selector is in D.

I'm looking at getting a pedal commander since many say it helps remove that initial lag (I know it just changes the initial input and stuff and I've read all the bashing sit has got but still.)


Now regarding the steering. My old A6 and present A7 are much worse than the A4!!!!!! My old A6 had an extremely light steering (it was lighter than the A4 in all the different modes). Guess they tried correcting that and thus, in my A7, the steering feels very artificially heavy!!! (It is heavy but feels artificial compared to the A4.) The A4 has an almost perfect electric steering.

superswiss

I continue to believe that the lag is the engine and not the transmission. Somebody on here has demonstrated with a video, that when putting the transmission in S, it actually raises the idle rpm. Combined with the faster throttle response, I believe that simply results in overcoming the inherit turbo lag quicker. In D, the throttle is feathered and the idle rpm is lower, so you get caught longer in the turbo lag. In my experience this engine has no oomph until you reach boost. I personally never liked the 2.0T in any model I've driven. It just lags too much for my taste. ZF or DSG doesn't matter. I had the same complaint when driving an A6 2.0T, which has the ZF transmission.

bigHUN

No, its not the engine it is a software
I have worked @ big3 some time ago as a DRE (design release engineer)
We (from engineering) were getting new incoming cars from all brands 2-3 times a year how they were coming in to NA, to try out for an hour, to inspect and write comments/recommendations to engineering...
With that pedal lag only the import cars had some acceptable level, except electrics that had some sort of linear acceleration...
I am very interested to see the new audi "electrical turbo" that must be more fun

superswiss

I think you are getting into semantics. The software is part of the engine (ECU). Whether the lag comes purely from the turbo lag or how the throttle its mapped is besides the point. The result is the same. The engine lags in comfort and auto modes.

Nitish Jain

Your observation is spot on. The car has a noticeable laziness in 'D'. I wish it was a bit more eager. However, in 'S' it is almost like it has had about 4 shots of espresso. Too jumpy in city traffic. However, I do think there is always a sweet spot when it comes to how much pedal push is appropriate, which can only be learnt through experience. I am yet to find that in this car. But, I do think it is one of the better DSG transmissions. My previous car had the 6 speed DSG and boy was it finicky in city traffic! It almost felt that the car was in wrong gear in start stop traffic. It took me some time to adjust my driving style to it. The one in B9 A4 is much smoother and refined.

DirkM

I would like Drive Select to switch to Dynamic if I change the Transmission to S and go back to whatever it was before (Individual in my case) when I switch back to D or after ignition cycle. While drive select is nice, hitting the buttons several times is much more effort and risky in certain situations than just shifting to S. And while S is a nice start (at a left turn for example when yo don't want the engine to turn off) but it won't give you more direct steering and stiffer suspension (with adaptive suspension) unless you use drive select.

VipinLJ

I used to have a VW Jetta TDI in India. That was a diesel and combined with the DSG, it was horrible to drive in traffic. The lag used to kill me.
I've also driven a friend's VW Polo TSI with a dsg and his Jetta TDI with a manual transmission. Same story with the Polo. Horrible transmission lag. But his Jetta has significantly less lag compared to mine when starting off (mine was DSG, his was manual. Turbo lag was the same but throttle response was different which I believe was worse in mine due to the dsg box).
This is why I personally think it's the transmission and not engine.

dseag2

Wow, I must be really easy to please, but I typically start off in "S" and when I am up to speed I move to "D". There is no lag that way.

I find the A4 fast and nimble. It feels as good as the S5 I traded for it but it is much quieter. BTW, I always turn Engine Stop/Start off when I get in the car. Just can't stand it.

Vipin, I know what you are talking about with the A6 steering being light. I had one as a loaner car and was totally bored. I told my salesman, and he said I would need to move up to an S6 to get any type of sporty feel.

VipinLJ

I keep forgetting to put it in S mode during start off and then back to D. That's why. The lag is actually not a deal breaker. But I wish I could modulate the pedal easily like in my A7. I'll probably get a pedal commander sometime later to fix that problem.

And yes. The steering in the A6 was horrible. My wife loved it though since it was so light. But I hated the steering. The engine made up for it though. But the new one, like I said, with its artificial weight isn't great either. I drove the S6 and while it was sportier, I don't think the steering was that great. Wasn't as light as the A6 but not that perfect either (I drove the car like two months back so I forgot what the steering was like).