• The changes on the new A4 are rather subtle. Picture: AUDI SA

  • The interior is completely new and very well designed. Picture: AUDI SA

  • The rear gets new lights. Picture: AUDI SA

  • The Virtual Cockpit is an option but it is one worth having. Picture: AUDI SA

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THIS is the new Audi A4. Seriously, it is. We can only guess that someone in the design department in Ingolstadt was told at 4pm on a Friday afternoon that they had to do the redesign before they could go home and so they made only a few minor tweaks before heading off for a pint of Weissbier.

Is this a bad thing? Well no, at least not today. The changes might be minor but the new grille, revised headlights and redesigned rear all work well. Audi might come unstuck in a few years’ time when the new BMW 3 Series and Mercedes C-Class come along and the A4 still has years left of its life cycle, but today it can get away with it.

And the main reason is because underneath its barely altered design is a car that has been described by my colleagues in these pages as the new "benchmark". I finally got to drive it in the Western Cape and I am completely in agreement. It is, as I remarked to someone on the launch, "bloody brilliant".

The exterior changes might be subtle but according to Charl Human, product and pricing manager at Audi SA, 90% of the parts are new. If we are talking percentages, then the new range boasts up to 25% more power and Audi is claiming 21% less fuel consumption.

It is also 110kg lighter than the former model thanks to more extensive use of aluminium.

There is also a new engine line-up starting with the R441,000 1.4TFSI petrol with 110kW and 250Nm in manual or S-tronic auto guise, followed by a 2.0 TFSI at R496,000 with 140kW and 320Nm which is only available in S-Tronic. Both are front-wheel drive.

In June there will be a quattro equipped version of the 2.0 TFSI, which uses the standard quattro set-up rather than the new Quattro Ultra which will debut in the new A4 Allroad. Diesel fans will have to wait until October for the 2.0 TDi though. There will be no regular Avant station wagon versions heading to SA as the company says uptake is too small.

There are also new package options, with a base spec, Design Line, Sport Line and additional S-Line trim levels.

The biggest visual changes are in the interior where the A4 adopts some of the new design cues that first debuted in the Q7. Audi does interiors really well and the new A4 is no exception. Beautiful clean lines are combined with luxury and technology to create an environment which is probably the best in the business.

Clearly the interior designers have actually spent a great deal of time in the vehicle, because everything seems to have been planned to perfection. The S-Tronic shifter fits comfortably beneath your hand and all the multimedia controls are in reach. Of course, these days many of these controls are managed by buttons on the steering wheel and, again, nothing has been overdesigned and become complicated. It all makes sense.

There is a standard 10.1-inch display mounted atop the dash and this is the point where we find our first major criticism of the car. The new A4 is available with the superb Virtual Cockpit digital instrument cluster, but it is an option. However, you can only take it if you buy the built-in navigation system. All in, it is going to cost you an extra R45,000 which is rather steep, particularly as the car seems underequipped without it.

That system also features Apple Car Play which connected easily to my iPhone and then proceeded to pause the streaming music and read out text messages as they came in. It even automatically recorded a spoken reply which it then tried to convert to text and send back.

The rest of the cabin is spacious and comfortable and the engineers have even added in an extra 23mm of legroom for the rear seat passengers. Those in the back have optional screens so the kids can spend the journey in their own little world.

At launch we got to put the 1.4 and 2.0l through their paces. Despite the small engine, the 110kW 1.4 proved more than ample, at least at the coast. The car felt light and nimble and the electric power steering, once a major gripe, was superb. The power delivery was smooth and there was plenty of torque available for overtaking when we came upon a slow-moving truck on one of the mountain passes.

Another area where the engineers have put a great deal of effort in is cabin noise. The interior is extremely quiet and it creates a level of refinement that was once reserved for top end executive limos. The only thing that detracted from it was the tyre noise. Unfortunately, this appears to be a matter of luck of the draw. The launch vehicles were fitted with Hankook tyres, but I am assured by those who drove the car overseas that the Continental tyres are quieter.

Audi SA says that it is dependent on which tyres are available at the factory at the time of the build, so best you hope that Conti or Goodyear had made a delivery on that day.

The new A4 is "probably the most important new model for Audi for the past seven years" according to Audi SA GM Paul Sansom. "Today is the start of Audi’s comeback in SA." All we can say is welcome back — it has been worth the wait.