Audi claims the new Audi A4L is the first long wheelbase version of a car in its segment, and they’re probably right. Long wheelbase versions are usually available for large cars such as the A8 and the 7-Series, but the Chinese market’s preferences favour more legroom, a larger interior and simply more metal for your money, so we get to see special extended cars for the Chinese market as their volume can justify the R&D.
There is even such as a long wheelbase E60 BMW 5-Series in China, and while the Audi A8 naturally has its A8L counterpart, Audi has also offered a long wheelbase Audi A6L in China since the year 2000. The addition of the A4L means there are now extended versions of all of Audi’s sedans, even though they aren’t offered in all markets.
The Audi A4L has a full 60mm longer wheelbase at 2868mm compared to the normal A4’s 2808mm wheelbase. This is even longer than the short wheelbase A6 which only has a 2843mm wheelbase! It’s naturally longer at 4760mm compared to the A4’s 4705mm length, but the SWB A6 is still longer than the A4L at 4927mm. This benefits the rear seat passengers, allowing easier ingress and egress into the rear bench and greater legroom.
Two engine choices are available – a 180 horsepower 2.0 TFSI engine or a 3.2 litre FSI V6 engine producing 265 horsepower.
I think this is still perfectly acceptable and it makes sense. Things will only start to get silly when we see car manufacturers attempt to stretch something that is generally meant to look a certain way to most people, like a long wheelbase Audi TT or something. Oh wait, that’s already been done. It’s called the MINI Clubman.
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1st to comment
No side view of the car?
this is really getting ridiculous.. i think paul should just delete people who post “im 1st” without anything else intelligent to contribute.
as for this audi.. makes sense.. i think everyone can use a little legroom..
but paul, we’ve “sort” of seen this done before by a member of the VW(PAG) family.. the Skoda “superb”
Paul Tan says: yeah actually it’s exactly the same thing, except VW doesn’t consider it the “first” because in the case of the Superb they stretched a C-segment platform but positioned, marketed and sold it as a D-segment car. this time the C-segment MLP is stretched but sold as a C-segment car.
China likes Audi more than BMW MERC
In China, Audi is driven mainly by the communist, businessman there prefer BMW or Merc.
layman said,
November 17, 2008 @ 9:19 pm
In China, Audi is driven mainly by the communist, businessman there prefer BMW or Merc.
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i agree. in beijing, where its the seat of the govt.. i’ve seen more audi official cars.. but in new biz areas like hangzhou.. i’ve seen more bmw’s there and hardly any audi’s. i’m not sure if that is indeed the reason, but it is actually very apparent. all in a very unscientific way of course.
btw. thanks for the info on the superb paul
BanyakMasukWorkshop said,
November 17, 2008 @ 8:35 pm
this is really getting ridiculous.. i think paul should just delete people who post “im 1st” without anything else intelligent to contribute.
as for this audi.. makes sense.. i think everyone can use a little legroom..
but paul, we’ve “sort” of seen this done before by a member of the VW(PAG) family.. the Skoda “superb”
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hey Bro !!!! Chill bro !!!! its his freedom to comment and he’z happy to be first !!! haha…. Letz dun spoil his mood !!!! ~ peace ~
why not here !!!! they only hav longbase version for A4 in china only izit ???? or ……..
more bang for your buck eh? lol.
Congratulations Mr corollaaltis for being the first commentor for this post. I bet that must have made people like you feeling you’ve at last achieve something in your life. Wonderful job, now stay online and wait for Paul’s next post before someone gets ahead of you!
As for the A4L, it makes complete sense in China, you can sell anything with a premium badge, big, swathed in leather, even if it doesn’t come with sat nav, climate control, or independent suspension. Just make sure its black, and there’s a sunroof.
Well, in Malaysia also we have PV6 Executive and Waja Chancellor – consider long wheelbase models or not?
Why they don’t consider the rest of SEA ler? We’re all asian mar, we too want the best bang for buck and comfort too.
I can see why its done, the C segment cars are actually quite tight in the backseat. If you got a 6ft driver up front (lets face it, people are gettign taller, the chinese notwhistanding), it leaves very little room in the back.
But for audi, I dont get it, why not just get the A6 with the smaller engine? they offer thier complete range of engines on all thier model line up (well maybe not the A8).
As for the Mini, well there is the original Traveller wagon…. so its not really “breaking with tradition”. Even sports cars isnt; spared, many have had the +2 treatment added to the 2 seaters (ie Nissan 240/260/280) and the Infinity 35 is essentially a 2+2 version of the Z.
As for the Waja Chancellor, did they actually managed to sell any?
I’m with BMW, “1st” posters with nothign intelligent to add is just a waste in bandwidth.
Actually, I think it makes complete sense in our market. If you look at the competition for cars like the A4/3 series/C Class, it would be the large Japanese models like the Accord or Camry.
Yes, I realise that these cars are about 30k cheaper, but they have substantially more legroom, so for people who want a classy car in the 200k bracket, and actually have a family, their current only choice is step down to a Jap car, or figure out how to spend substantially more for a 5/e class/volvo (dont even get me onto the price of a A6!!).
So, my theory is due to the lack of space within these quality european saloons, people have no choice than to step down to Accords etc.
This is exactly what I had to do when it came to purchasing a car for my wife…so she now has a new 2.4l Accord, but would have much rather had a A4 or 3 series.
Lets get the extended C Segment cars over here….
cheers,
Geoff
how long is it? inside
maybe we can have Perdana LWB and Persona LWB ?
or Viva LWB ? lol~
toyota avanza lwb…..