Review of the new Audi A4 Cabriolet 3.0-Litre TDI

At least 50 per cent (and probably more) of what makes up a good cabriolet is image. How it looks, how you look in it, what it says about you and how many heads it can turn on a trip down a typical urban thoroughfare on a warm July afternoon. People don't buy cabriolets for practical reasons, they buy cabriolets as fashion statements, as tools for showing off in. All of which kind of makes you wonder about Audi's 3.0-litre TDI Cabriolet. Is it a bit too efficient for its own good?

Let's start by confirming that Audi's Cabriolet has got that key cabriolet criteria of image down to a tee. Audi do cool, understated sophistication better than almost anyone else and the A4 Cabriolet deftly treads that fine line between the naff and the ostentatious that any good drop-top must brave. On one side of the tightrope, you have the plebs, the wannabes, the family hatches with their roofs sawn off rattling and shuddering their way to the scrap heap. On the other, you've got otherwise competent models that just try too hard. Prestige saloons, sports cars and proper supercar exotica, all minus their overhead metalwork, vehicles that only succeed in making their driver look like the most insufferable show-off. In an A4 Cabriolet, any showing-off that you do indulge in is made to look purely accidental, an inadvertent side effect of a trip to the shops. That's its beauty.

So, this car has got the image stakes pretty much wrapped-up but what about its engine - the 230bhp 3.0-litre TDI diesel? Put simply, it's an excellent unit, virtually as fast as the 3.2-litre V6 FSI petrol engine and yet returning average fuel economy figures that are superior to the weedy entry-level 1.8-litre Turbo. Better still, it's packing 450Nm of torque between 1,400 and 3,250rpm which is more than the 4.2-litre V8 in the S4 cabriolet. This engine gives the A4 Cab effortless cruising ability, with vast waves of torque washing around the mid-range to surge you through overtaking manoeuvres and devour the severest of inclines. It's the perfect engine for a Cabriolet in many ways, relaxed and powerful but with good fuel economy to inject a degree of commonsense that's not usually prevalent in this sector of the market.

"In an A4 Cabriolet, any showing-off that you do indulge in is made to look purely accidental"

The 3.0-litre TDI's problem is that those acutely image-conscious cabriolet buyers who are drawn to the A4 Cabriolet probably won't want to drive a diesel one. You can sort of make a case for the cheaper 2.0-litre TDI, in that people who can just squeeze into the A4 Cabriolet's financial ballpark may well opt for the best fuel economy they can get, thus clawing back a few quid longer-term in running costs. The 3.0-litre TDI, though, is second only to the S4 in terms of price. That's going to look expensive to many, even though the engine's impressive figures would appear to justify the premium.

The 3.2-litre FSI petrol engine is priced only slightly below the 3.0TDI and in what amounts to a straight choice between petrol and diesel, one suspects that most Cabriolet buyers will be tempted by the petrol option. The diesel is noisier, noticeably so for the first few minutes after start-up and less so thereafter. There's also the fact that the fuel savings of 10mpg over an equivalent 3.2FSI petrol are going to make very little difference to the buyer of a £33,000 car. Most significantly though, there's the sticking point of cool, sophisticated Audi A4 Cabriolet buyers not wanting to answer enquiries as to their car's engine with the words, 'it's a diesel'.

Jeremy Clarkson could have a field day on this one. Is a 3.0-litre TDI Audi A4 Cabriolet cool because on paper and (arguably) on the road, the 3.0-litre TDI is the best engine in the range? And because a diesel A4 Cabriolet is an unorthodox, free-thinking choice, marking its owner out as someone who doesn't follow the heard - and who knows the smoky, clattery diesel stereotypes are no longer valid. Alternatively, is the 3.0-litre TDI Audi A4 Cabriolet uncool because it's a diesel A4 Cabriolet? I wouldn't profess to know.

Available only with the four-wheel-drive quattro transmission system, the 3.0-litre TDI A4 Cabriolet comes with a six-speed manual gearbox but can be specified with a 6-speed tiptronic set-up if you so desire. The automatic option isn't particularly fluent but it'll mean you have a hand free more of the time for waving nonchalantly at passers-by. Standard equipment is fairly generous with the 3.0TDI getting a 6-CD autochanger and satellite navigation but if you want to make more of a visual impact, there are Sport and S-Line packs which add bigger wheels and all sorts of styling accessories.

The interior is typically well constructed and the hood is folded away neatly and without fuss at speeds of up to 20mph by holding a switch next to the handbrake. Rear legroom is fairly awful but the space provided for those in the front is far more like it. There's also a decent-sized boot when the hood's up.

The ride is smooth as a cabriolet's should be, although the S-Line models do firm things up a touch for buyers wanting a sportier experience. Most of the feedback that reaches the driver comes through the suspension as the steering feels quite dead but there's plenty of scope to press-on and have some fun.

Given a money-no-object pick of all the models in the A4 Cabriolet range, it's hard to see beyond the 3.0 TDI - on an objective basis at least. The S4 is just that little bit silly and the big TDI is as quick or quicker than all the others, without quite such prohibitive fuel consumption as the petrol choices. This car is all about cool, however, and there will be those that think plumbing in an oil-burning engine tarnishes the ice cold aura which is its key selling point. Buyers will have to make up their own minds but the 3.0TDI is an individualist choice and that, in the end, could actually be the coolest way to go.

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