Audi last tweaked the design of the A4 a year ago, making mild changes to the exterior. Those changes only lasted a year, as the German automaker released details on Tuesday, May 14, of a much larger change to its popular luxury sedan, both inside and out.
The most noticeable changes, like last time, are on the front end. The trademark single-frame grille is again redesigned; it’s now much flatter and wider. Revised headlights remove the odd lower inside notch, and the lower outer grilles are shrunk quite a bit to make room for the more robust center one.
These changes give the A4 a sportier, more aggressive appearance, and match well with changes first made in the 2018 refresh, including the revised front and rear fascias. LED headlights are now standard in the A4, with fully automatic high beams.
The number of paint combinations is now up to 12, with a new terra grey option (pictured above). On the interior, the biggest change is the addition of a 10.1-inch widescreen touch display, which “offers a user experience similar to a contemporary smartphone,” Audi says.
Under the hood, there are even more significant changes.
Three engine configurations feature a 12-volt, mild-hybrid system, aimed at pushing the fuel economy of the vehicle closer to 40 miles per gallon, if not slightly over. Six engine options in total will be offered in the European market, ranging in power from 148 to 347 horsepower, the company says.
That 347-hp model is actually a diesel-powered S4, which the company quietly released earlier this month. Audi says the TDI S4 can go from zero to 60 in 4.8 seconds, a pretty impressive number. The S4 will also be a mild-hybrid, and it appears, at least in Europe, that it will only be offered with a diesel engine.
The first orders for the refreshed A4s are expected to be opened up in Europe this month, with the entire line including an A4 Allroad option available by the fall of this year. Audi’s U.S. arm so far hasn’t specified availability here in the states, or what form the S4 may take here given Volkswagen Audi Group’s decision to pull TDI models completely off the market.
Expect details on Audi’s U.S. plans for the A4 later this year.
BYD has launched the third-generation Qin Plus DM-i in China, and the first thing that caught my eye is its price. According to CarNewsChina, the plug-in hybrid sedan starts at 79,900 yuan, which is about $11,980. That’s an incredibly low price for a brand-new car, especially by US standards.
What’s even more impressive is the range. The Qin Plus DM-i can drive up to 137 miles on electricity alone, which should cover most people’s daily commutes without using a drop of gas. Once the battery runs out, the 1.5-liter engine takes over. Thanks to its 17-gallon tank and roughly 91 mpg with a drained battery, the combined range reaches up to 1,423 miles.
Apple won the PC market’s worst quarter, but that’s not the entire story. It won the race by stumbling less than everyone else.
PC makers shipped just 57 million computers worldwide in Q3, which might look good, but it’s a 21% year-over-year plunge (via Counterpoint Research). And despite Apple’s Mac shipments falling by 11%, to 5.6 million, its market share rose from 8.7% to 9.8%. How did that happen?
Update (October 22 23:54 PT): In response to our query, GM clarified that offline recording support is already available on eligible vehicles. Like Tesla's Sentry Mode, it requires owners to connect a USB drive to save incident recordings, which can be viewed on the vehicle's infotainment screen. The upcoming Connected Cameras feature will build on this by giving owners remote access to these recordings via the revamped OnStar app, allowing them to check footage without walking out to their car.
General Motors has announced plans to add a new Connected Cameras feature to its OnStar service starting next year, giving drivers a way to monitor parked vehicles remotely and capture footage of certain incidents.