Audi A4 3.0 TDI

The lively, alert and enthusiastic performance from the 265bhp FSI direct petrol injection motor is a riot. Tap the throttle and the Audi quattro vaults off the block, the thrust immediate, very strong and deeply gratifying. The power delivered is explosive, and even short bursts of acceleration are addictive. You are always on the lookout for gaps in traffic so that you can exploit all those horses and the A4’s always up for some sport, whatever the engine speed. And there’s a nice sporty note to it too.

The gearshift paddles behind the steering wheel are a treat to use due to the speed of the ’box and as ever you can use the six-speed auto ’box in manual mode, gears shifting up only after hitting the redline. Flat-out performance is lightning quick with 100 taking 8.05 seconds and 150, 16.36 seconds. These figures may be faster to a 100kph than the BMW 325i by only a second, but the difference in real world thrust is much more. Then, in-gear acceleration is very strong despite having tall gearing. On the right road or track, this car will go up and sit on its 250kph limiter, without working up a sweat.

Hit the ‘dynamic’ button below the gearbox and the Audi goes completely ballistic. Performance is now more V8 than V6, as the car changes the way it applies its electronic throttle. Ask for 40 percent with your right foot and the electronic throttle delivers 80, shooting you down the road like a cannon. This is grin-inducing stuff and should be introduced as an alternative to Prozac. And though this doesn’t improve flat- out performance figures, half-throttle is the way we really drive and here, it’s exceptional.

This motor may be a more efficient direct injection gasoline unit, but the low octane rating on our fuel negates this advantages. The A4’s compression of 12.5:1, high even for a more tolerant direct injection motor, means it continuously has to retard its ignition to protect itself from knocking. This means fuel is not being efficiently burned. We got 5.0 and 7.3 kilometres per litre in city and highway conditions respectively; poor figures, but using 97 octane will help.