1996 Audi A4

Audi's TV ads portray the slick new A4 sedan as some sort of road rocket. We'd say that's a bit of a stretch. When it comes to pinning occupants against the seatbacks, it's not quite in the hunt with a car like the new BMW 328i, its prime competitor. Nevertheless, this is a compelling little sport sedan, strong in the other virtues that still set German cars apart from the rest of the herd--decisive handling, superb high-speed stability and terrific brakes. And in the case of our test car, there's the Audi Quattro extra of all-wheel drive, with an electronic locking center differential. Although Subaru also sells all-wheel drive cars, Audis are the only sedans in the luxury end of the spectrum to offer this feature, and it's a big plus. Yes, 2-wheel drive traction control systems are closing the gap in this area, but when the going gets slick we'd still rather have all four wheels making the most of whatever grip there may be.