Audi has a name in the luxury lineup and that name starts with interior.  The interior features of any Audi vehicle is better than just about any other brand in the luxury realm or the mainstream models.  Even with that said, Audi has taken a look at its best-selling model, the A4 and found at least ten items that needed to be changed or tweaked for the next generation.  With a claim the new A4 will be at least ninety percent brand new, but the dimensions haven’t changed much to show a whole new car, which may be the genius behind offering a new A4.

Thinking of the Owners

The door handles look like any other door handle that pulls outward to open.  This is a subtle change, but a significant one because these handles actually lift upward.  This is in response to an internal study by Audi that shows pulling up on the door handles is more natural and easier for people with arthritis and other ailments that cause them difficulty when it comes to gripping and lifting the handle of the car.

Navigation Screen

The new A4 has a fixed screen instead of the retractable one that was on the previous model.  This is another response to surveyed owners who admitted they almost never retracted the navigation screen.  Positioning the navigation screen right behind the steering wheel and directly in front of the driver helps the driver keep their eyes in front of them and avoid the need to look in many other places.  This saves a bit of mechanics in the new A4 as the parts needed to retract the screen are no longer necessary.

Turn Signals

How often do you notice the simple blinking of a rear turn signal?  Sometimes, in bright sunlight it’s difficult to see the signal flashing and often we don’t notice it because we are so used to a variety of lights from many vehicles.  Audi had chosen to add movement to the rear turn signals on the new A4.  This movement will come from the turn signal lighting up in the center and working its way outward.  This change not only looks great, but will also bring a movement to the turn signal that has not been seen before and certainly cause other drivers on the road to see the A4 and know the intentions of the driver.

Ambient Lighting with a Warning

The Ambient lighting inside the A4 can be changed to a dozen different colors.  This is great for you to have the color you want in your car to enjoy the lighting or ensure the distraction from the ambient lighting is lessened over the other choices that are present.  Not only does the ambient lighting offer the color changing systems, but it also has a warning built in to monitor the blind spot of the vehicle.  This allows the car to give you a warning if a vehicle is approaching the blind spot so you don’t open the door into the oncoming vehicle.

Tranny Changes

The A4 has been an oddity from its inception as it has the ability to be a front or rear wheel drive vehicle with the same transmission set up.  The front-wheel drive models simply do not have the rear drive components that were needed to make it an all-wheel drive vehicle and used a CVT as the transmission of choice.  The new transmission offered on the A4 is to be an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic and may come in a manual version, making a change from the old and ordinary.

Windshield Washer Fluid Reservoir Moved

What typically happens when you fill your windshield washer fluid reservoir?  Typically there is some spilled which ends up all over your engine compartment making it dirty and putting of a foul smell.  Audi made a smart change to this system simply by moving the reservoir to the front passenger fender which allows it to be filled without causing a mess or putting off an odor when it’s burned.  Any spillage that occurs can now drain down the bottom of the car, keeping the mess at bay and alleviating a problem.

Blacked-Out Radiator

Even though this is not a unique feature of just the A4, it’s an Audi special.  When you look at the front grill of any car, seeing the shiny metal radiator can detract from the look of the mostly black grill that has chrome accents to give it a specific overall look.  To keep this from being a problem, Audi blacks-out all its radiators so the beauty of the grill can shine through without any mechanicals taking away from the awesome appearance.

Tri-Zone Automatic Climate Control

Controlling the temperature from the back seat in a sedan has never really been of any importance to many automakers.  The rear passengers have generally been regarded as the benefactors of whatever is left over  from the front seats, but not in the new A4.  This tri-zone control will allow rear seat passengers to control their temperature to the degree along with the power of the fan in the back seat.  This gives more comfort and importance the rear seat passengers while the two front occupants continue to make use of a touch screen climate control for each side of the car.

Spare Tire

So often car manufacturers give us what is affectionately referred to as the “donut” as a spare tire.  This is a limited driving tire that requires you to obtain a new tire right away rather than having the ability to drive to your destination before getting your new tire.  Another solution that many car makers have come to enjoy is the use of run-flat tires that offer a rougher ride, but more security and no need for spare, which lowers the weight.  Audi has bitten the bullet and given you a full size spare tire for the A4 which makes it much easier to go the distance, even when a flat occurs.

Driving on its Own

Known as Autonomous Driving, the A4 is not anywhere near able to drive itself, but the car does have a Semi-Autonomous Driving ability as it offers basically all the safety features that you can ever get in a car.  This includes the adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assistance along with warnings and features that keep you from accidentally entering oncoming traffic, which helps you to avoid accidents.  With these features aboard you can feel much more secure than you would otherwise and enjoy the ability of the car to be your partner on the road.

Seeing what the A4 has added to the menu for 2017 it’s really not hard to believe that this car is basically the same size as the majority of the changes are minor and built to give you the owner a much better experience inside the car.  With both drivers and passengers in mind, this already amazing interior has gotten better with some of the features, the drivability has been improved, the overall look has gotten better, and the comfort for the passengers has been increased, all with some minor yet important tweaks that show Audi is listening to its customers.