IF YOU have ever fancied the sporty looks of an Audi RS4 but have been put off by the price and insurance, there is a cheaper alternative.
The Audi designers who created the car have now come up with a Sport specification, which can be ordered on any A4 saloon or Avant model.
And while you don't get RS4 performance, you do get that sporty image and a much sportier ride.
Although still remarkably discreet, the Sport version is distinguished by body coloured front and rear bumpers, extended side sills, extended front valance with enlarged air intakes and integrated fog lights and a subtle rear spoiler.
You also get 17-inch five spoke star alloy wheels to complete the sporting image. And there is no doubt the Sport model has far more presence on the road and a much more dynamic image without being too extreme.
But on this car it's not just external differences that you get for the £500 you pay for the Sport over the price of the equivalent standard A4 model.
The Sport - in both diesel and petrol, front-wheel-drive and quattro - also comes with sports suspension, sports front seats with electric lumbar support. Six cylinder versions, like my 2.5 TDI test car, also get rear electric windows and aluminium window trim strip.
Normally the Sports package costs £1,400 but this has been reduced by £900 in a special deal on all orders taken until June 30. Quite a bargain for what's included.
Ironically the £1,450 for automatic multitronic transmission - again a feature on my test car - has also been reduced to £500 on most diesel models for orders before the June deadline.
Multitronic is a Continuously Variable Transmission or CVT system, which means you effectively have no set gear ratios, just a continuous power band.
So as the car increases speed you don't feel any gear change as on a normal automatic because there are no specific gears. This system works superbly on the Audi with none of the slight lurching between gears that bedevils many traditional automatics.
Ironically, when you move the gear change to the left hand side of the box to put the car into manual mode you then have six gears, and change up or down by moving the gear shift forward or back.
The CVT system on the A4 is one of those rare automatics that give similar performance and fuel consumption to a conventional six-speed manual gearbox, which is also available on this model.
While not up to quattro standards, the firmer suspension set up makes for more involved driving and the road holding is excellent.
The 2.5-litre diesel is superbly torquey with great pulling power across a broad range and impressive acceleration from low speed, although my test car was noisier on start up than I would have expected.
Audi offers a wide range of extras to personalise your car . My car had a basic on-the-road price of £23,400, with an extra £1,000 for the Sports kit and Multitronic transmission. Once the current special offers run out, the price will go up to £26,250.
Sounds a lot? Well you can push the price even higher if you wish. A barrage of other extras fitted to the test car pushed its on the road price up to almost £32,000.
The biggest expenditure was on a satellite navigation system and TV with Teletext function, combined at almost £3,000.
FAST FACTS
Audi A4 2.5TDi Sport auto
Price: £24,400 (until June 30)
Mechanical: 163 bhp, 2,496 cc, 6cyl diesel engine driving front wheels via Multitronic CVT transmission
Max Speed: 141mph
0-62mph: 8.9 secs
Combined mpg: 40.9
Insurance Group: 15
CO2 emissions: 189g/km
BiK rating: 23%
Warranty: 3yrs/ 60,000 miles; 3yrs paint; 12yrs anti-rust