10 Reasons the 2017 Audi A4 Wins Autoweb Buyer's Choice Car of the Year Award

2017 Audi A4 profile ・ Photo by Audi

How impressed are buyers with the brand-new 2017 Audi A4? Well, it not only won the 2017 Autoweb Buyer's Choice Best Car of the Year Award, it also earned our overall Best Luxury Car honor as well. Available Quattro all-wheel drive is just one of the many reasons the A4 has become so popular.

10) It's Available as a Station Wagon

The German brand with the four-rings logo calls this wagon version of the A4 the allroad; shoppers looking for added cargo space in a 2017 Audi A4 can call it a major competitive advantage. This wagon version of the Audi A4 has 24.2 cubic feet of cargo room behind the rear seats, or a substantial 58.5 cubic feet when the rear bench is folded.

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9) Great MMI Infotainment

The 2017 Audi A4 has an impressive range of infotainment features and an especially simple way to control them. With the car’s available MMI “all-in-touch” controller, owners can use a computer-style track pad that also has a handwriting-recognition function. It’s a simple and accurate alternative to a traditional keypad for inputting text.

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8) Improved Engine

A new standard engine for the 2017 Audi A4 serves up more power—and better fuel-economy ratings—than last year’s entry-level unit. The tale of the tape for the 2.0-liter turbocharged Audi engine:  252 horsepower, 273 lb.-ft. of torque, and EPA ratings of 25 mpg city/33 mpg highway/28 mpg combined.

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7) The Ultra-Efficient "ultra" Model

Thanks to advances in combustion technology, the 2017 Audi A4 “ultra” model improves the stadnard A4 EPA ratings to 27 mpg city/37 mpg highway/31 mpg combined—while still providing 190 horsepower, 236 lb.-ft. of torque, and a brisk 0-60 time of 7.1 seconds with its standard S tronic dual-clutch automatic transmission.

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6) Bang & Olufsen Audio

The 2017 Audi A4 is equipped with a Bang & Olufsen 3D Advanced Sound System that relies on a 16-channel Class D amplifier to serve up 755 watts of power through 19 speakers. The result: “exceptionally clear, multidimensional acoustics,” enhanced by exclusive Dynamic Line Design speaker grilles.

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5) High-Tech “Virtual Cockpit”

One of the coolest things about the 2017 Audi A4: It can be ordered with the automaker’s “virtual cockpit,” which replaces the entire instrument panel with a reconfigurable, 12.3-inch digital display and NVIDIA quad-core processors. This puts more key vehicle info, like navigation graphics, closer to the driver’s line of sight.

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4) Top Safety Pick+ Rating

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has raised the bar for its highest honor, but the 2017 Audi A4 has kept pace. The redesigned A4 earned an IIHS Top Safety Pick+ recognition for the 2017 model year, even passing the institute’s stringent new test for headlight performance (with the available Driver Assistance package).

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3) Mobile Wi-Fi

Available Audi Connect technology for the 2017 Audi A4 is highlighted by a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot with 4G LTE connectivity, and the car also supports Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone integration. The Connect suite of available services also includes automatic crash notification, online-enabled roadside assistance, and access to Google Earth and Street View.

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2) LED Lights

Audi has long been known for its LED lighting, but the 2017 Audi A4 is the first one of the brand’s compact sedans to have full LED headlights. Also brightening up the A4’s exterior are standard LED daytime running lights and taillights, along with dynamic turn-signal indicators that have multi-stage blinkers.

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1) Premium Cabin

The 2017 Audi A4 has an upscale interior even in the standard model, which boasts leather seating surfaces, a power sunroof, aluminum inlays, a cloth headliner, and ambient LED cabin lighting in all trim levels. Even the climate system is a premium unit, backed by tri-zone settings and vents designed for what Audi calls “natural airflow.”

Read about the 17 Most Wanted Vehicles of 2016 for the full list of the 2017 Autobytel Car Buyer's Choice Award recipients.

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