Editor's Rating: 
The Good: All-wheel drive option, sporty handling with a smooth ride
The Bad: Lack of a stick shift, no retractable hardtop
The Bottom Line: Nice car, but faces a stiff challenge from BMW's new convertibles
Reader ReviewsBack in the late 1990s, when I was a foreign correspondent based in Germany, a lot of the demanding driving enthusiasts I met were switching from BMWs to Audis, which had fresher designs and comparable performance and handling. My guess is that these days those same people are having a tough time deciding which to buy.
Some think an Audi is just a glorified Volkswagen, but they've probably never been behind the wheel of the new A4 Cabriolet. It's a quick, beautifully designed coupe with a convertible soft top so artfully constructed you'll hardly know it's there (until, of course, you push the button that causes it to fold down into the car's trunk).
The big question: Should you wait until next March, when you'll be able to test-drive the A4 Cabriolet against the convertible versions of BMW's hot new 328i's and 335i's? The new Bimmers will feature the company's first electronically controlled retractable hard top, as well as the beefed-up engines that make them the speediest 3-Series models ever.
Tough choice. It's like having to decide whether to spend your holiday on the Riviera or in the Caribbean. Either way, you're going to have a lot of fun in the sun.
Already a hot machine, the A4 Cabriolet has been refreshed for the 2007 model year. The exterior design is improved, with a reshaped hood and a new grille. The suspension and steering have been upgraded, too, by adding gear adapted from the bigger, more expensive A6 and the sporty, high-end Audi S4. Plus, the power of the A4's two available engines has been raised: You now have the choice of either a turbocharged, 2.0 liter, 200 horsepower inline four-cylinder, or a 3.1 liter, 255-horsepower V6.
The price of the new BMW 3-Series convertibles won't be announced until next year, so there's no way to do a head-to-head comparison. But, in general, the A4 is several thousand dollars cheaper than a comparable Bimmer. The Power Information Network calculates that A4's of all types sell for an average of $35,546 right now, vs. $39,668 for the BMW 328i, and $45,903 for the BMW 335i. (Like Business Week and BusinessWeek.com, the Power Information Network is a unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies (MHP).)
As usual, you pay a premium for a convertible. The 2007 A4 Cabriolet with the smaller engine and front-wheel drive starts at $39,820. With all-wheel drive and the smaller engine, the base price rises to $41,920, and with the bigger engine, to $47,670. (If you really want you can move up to the far more powerful S4 Cabriolet, which starts at $56,420 with a stick shift and $57,620 with an automatic transmission. The 2007 S4 is almost unchanged from the 2006 model.)
Sales of the A4 Cabriolet aren't exactly burning up the track. In the first 10 months of this year, the model's U.S. sales have fallen 11.9%, to 6,193. That's a much bigger drop than for A4 sales generally, which are only down 1.6%, to 30,823, during the same period. Audi's overall U.S. sales are actually up 4.1%, to 69,010, largely because the new Q7 SUV is selling well.
Those who do buy the A4 tend to be youthful: Power figures that 41.5% of buyers are under 35, slightly more than for the BMW 3 Series and way more than for the Saab 9-3. Nearly two-thirds of buyers lease the A4, Power figures, a much higher percentage than for the 3-Series.
The A4 is by no means a wimp, but it's further over on the soft ride/comfort side of the equation than the BMW 3-Series. To me, it falls somewhere between a BMW and a Mercedes.
The upgraded steering and suspension make the '07 A4 Cabriolet plenty responsive for most Americans, and the engine has a distinctive angry growl that sounds like a dog wrestling for a bone. Yet the comfortable ride makes it practical for daily shopping and commuting.
Hardcore driving enthusiasts will be disappointed that you can't get the A4 Cabriolet with a stick shift. But with the big engine and the six-speed automatic transmission that comes with it, the A4 is a lot of fun to drive.
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