AUDI has once again lived up to its famous slogan 'Vorsprung durch technik' - progress through technology.
The German car-maker has produced a race-developed petrol engine that boasts the sort of fuel economy figures normally associated with diesels.
The FSI - Fuel Stratified Injection unit - is billed as a petrol engine without a drink problem and I have to agree that the number of miles you can squeeze out of an A4 2.0 FSI Sport Avant is stunning.
What's even more impressive is that the new engine has received a power hike and still returns better figures than the 'normal' two-litre.
The FSI direct injection unit - developed from the engine used in Audi's Le Mans-winning race cars - made its debut in the A4 last September. Developing 150PS, this five-speed manual junior executive car is no slouch and can reach 62 mph from rest in 9.9 seconds and continues to a maximum speed of 134 mph.
Yet it returns a fantastic 37.7 miles per gallon combined - almost 2.5 mpg better than the slower two-litre 130PS version.
The new system also boasts lower exhaust emissions with a CO2 output of 170g/km, compared to 192 g/km for the non-FSI two-litre five speed manual sport.
And get this! Despite the much-improved figures, the FSI Avant retails at £20,695 - just £875 more than the normal two-litre.
The A4 FSI Avant story is more than just about the engine, though. With its powerful looks, fun drive, lots of loadspace and passenger room both front and rear, it offers a good all-round package.
It's big in size, coming in at 4,544mm in length, 1,766 millimetres in width and 1,428mm tall. Yet when you look at it in the car park, it looks a well-proportioned, sporty vehicle.
Despite its large dimensions, the A4 Avant is good fun on the road with enough pulling power and light, responsive steering to class it as an agile vehicle. As you'd expect from Audi, the gearbox is very smooth and glides through the range.
The interior, also true to form, looks and feels good.
The dashboard contains an array of buttons controlling a variety of functions, but thanks to its clean, simple design it's easy to get to grips with.
Load-lugging space with split seats in place stands at 442 litres, and with the folding seats down this increases to 1,288 litres. Almost two metres long and one metre wide, the A4 Avant's load bay is very user-friendly and beneath the floor is a 'secret compartment' offering 65 litres of space.
The A4 Avant 2.0 FSI is an excellent car with high class build quality, good performance, fabulous economy and low emissions.
Audi goes from strength to strength.
FAST FACTS
Audi A4 2.0 FSI Sport Avant
Price: £20,695
Mechanical: 150bhp, 1,984cc, 4-cyl petrol engine driving front wheels via 5-spd manual gearbox
Max speed: 134mph
0-62mph: 9.9 secs
Combined mpg: 37.7mpg
Insurance group: 14
CO2 emissions: 170g/km
BiK Rating: 16%
Warranty: 3yrs/ 60,000 miles; 12yrs anti-rust; 3yrs paint