Audi A4 2003 review

Audis can be cute, certainly the company is small by world standards, and the cars are very desirable.

There's also an awful lot of them – an amazing 30 models on the Australian market today – so they have become popular car park fillers.

The Audi A4 Cabriolet Turbo is the latest.

It appears to aim at the more sports-oriented driver yet, in reality, it is presented as a cheaper alternative to the V6 version that pre-dates it by six months.

The two variants share the purposeful yet alluring convertible body and, while it's $20,470 cheaper, the $84,900 Turbo misses out on very little in the way of luxury features.

Though very popular in the US and Britain, convertibles are an acquired taste that demand occupants have an immodest attitude and a personal hairdresser waiting to coif madam's hair every time she departs a topless vehicle.

There are other concerns: A harsh WA summer sun and torrential winter rains are added hazards for Perth drivers. Then there's the fact that, up to now, most convertibles rattled, creaked and rolled like a veteran rock band that refused to retire.

I say up to now because the Audi Cabriolet is one of the very few that has a taut body free of structural defects.

Even acceding to the wishes of the 1.8-litre turbocharged engine by pushing quickly through South-West roads, the car's body didn't hint at any flex.

It was also drum tight and surprisingly quiet – features greatly appreciated because it was bucketing down outside.

Front-wheel drive was also acknowledged by its surety through the winding wet roads, as were the xenon headlights when the sun went down.

To say I enjoyed this car was an understatement.

The bonus was an average of 7.1-litres/100km on the 580km trip, with the cruise control set on 110km/h and the engine ticking at a mere 2100rpm.

The trip computer estimated that if I maintained that average speed, the fuel tank wouldn't empty for another 230km – pretty outstanding for a turbocharged automatic.

The fact that the car toured so effortlessly shouldn't come as a great surprise, when you consider its training ground on the high-speed autobahns of Germany.

It was, however, equally as competent in the city, with its only major vice being the very limited rear and rear three-quarter visibility with the roof up.

The gearbox is a continuously variable transmission – which Audi calls Multitronic – that has no cogs and the unnerving trait of having the tachometer needle falling while the speedo needle rises.

The box, by the way, is mainly responsible for the outstanding economy and has six preset ratios for those who enjoy flogging the gearlever and playing race-cardriver.

Four adults can fit in the Cabriolet's leather-trimmed cabin, although I'd suggest two kids in the rear would have more fun.

The well-insulated roof is electrically operated and goes up and down in a flash, although takes up a lot of boot room when collapsed.

Excellent instrumentation, a delightful sound system, dual airconditioning and a comfortable touring ride complete the picture.