With Audi predicting that 69% of new A4 sales will be to fleet, and three-quarters of those will be the 2.0TDi, then the eighth incarnation of the brand’s upper medium saloon is a very important car indeed.
Last year was a successful one for Audi, seeing it overtake BMW in terms of fleet sales. More pressure is therefore heaped on the A4 if this new premier status in the premium market is to be maintained.
Financially, the 2.0TDi SE driven here fares well against its rivals, coming with a P11D of £23,775. Despite a price increase of around 2% from the previous version, it still undercuts both the BMW 318d SE and the Mercedes C200 CDI.
Running costs are aided by strong residuals for the Audi, and it holds more value than all of its competition. Iain Carmichael, Audi’s head of fleet sales, says the aim is to maintain this strong position by not “flooding the market” with the new model. This may be a shrewd strategy as residual values hold the key to the low cost per mile of the A4. Its fuel consumption of 51.4mpg is matched by the Merc and beaten by the Beemer as they provide 49.6mpg and 60.1mpg respectively.
