Audi A4 VS Lexus GS
Audi A4
Likes
- Nice to drive
- Looks good
- Impressive interior
Dislikes
- Space-saver tyre
- Short warranty
- Paying extra for driver-assist tech
Lexus GS
Likes
- Super-smooth V6
- Lots of interesting tech
- Lovely (if old-fashioned) interior
Dislikes
- Thirst
- Media system
- No Apple CarPlay/Android Auto
Summary
Audi A4
The Audi A4 allroad is the off-roader of the A4 line-up. I’m using the term ‘off-roader’ loosely here because this wagon is obviously best suited to daily duties in a city and suburbs, with perhaps an occasional foray into very light off-roading, i.e. driving on a well-maintained gravel or dirt road with few, if any, corrugations, and in dry weather only.
But that’s not a negative factor because the great thing about adventures is that they can be scaled to suit you, your lifestyle and your vehicle of choice.
However, is this allroad your best option for a comfortable, nice-driving all-rounder? Read on.
| Safety rating | |
|---|---|
| Engine Type | 2.0L turbo |
| Fuel Type | Diesel |
| Fuel Efficiency | 5.2L/100km |
| Seating | 5 seats |
Lexus GS
Ah, yes, the Lexus GS. Toyota's luxury off-shoot had high hopes for the new big boy when I first saw it a few years ago. Not thousands-of-sales high hopes, but the company thought a rear-wheel drive luxury sedan stacked with gear you didn't even know you wanted would be a dead-set winner.
And to be fair, they were right. I ran a GS as a long-termer and it was impeccably-mannered. In hybrid form. It wasn't sparkling, but my goodness, it used barely any fuel; especially impressive given its size.
As the sun is surely setting on the GS, it's time to have a look and see if it's a match for the BMW 5 Series or the Mercedes E.
| Safety rating | |
|---|---|
| Engine Type | 3.5L |
| Fuel Type | Premium Unleaded Petrol |
| Fuel Efficiency | 10L/100km |
| Seating | 5 seats |
Verdict
Audi A47.4/10
The Audi A4 allroad 40 TDI quattro S Tronic is a nice-looking wagon that’s fun to drive.
It’s packed with tech, adequately functional for daily life and it’s also capable enough off-road as long as the driving surface is nothing more challenging than well-maintained gravel or dirt tracks in dry weather, and you’re not planning a rough-and-tumble expedition into remote bushland.
As I mentioned earlier, the great thing about adventures is that you can scale them to suit you and your vehicle and the allroad offers a nice stepping-stone for people who’d like to experience the outdoorsy lifestyle, before perhaps diving deeper into it.
Lexus GS7.3/10
Weirdly, given all the good things I've had to say about the GS F Sport, it doesn't quite hang together. It's missing that certain something the Europeans have in their chassis, particularly the BMW 5 Series, and with ageing interior tech, it's struggling to keep up.
It's a car built for specific tastes, and they're more California than Straya. And that's perfectly okay, but unfortunately, that doesn't translate to a stampede of buyers. Having said that, none of its German rivals (or its beleaguered Japanese counterpart, Infiniti) could claim wild sales success either.
The GS is a terrific car, underrated but also just not quite there for my taste. The GS F, though, that's another thing altogether.
Does Lexus even register on your big luxury sedan radar? If it does, what stops you from taking the plunge?
Design
Audi A4
The allroad’s overall look is part of a range-wide refresh and it certainly fits in with the line-up’s updated aesthetic.
Because I’m a bloke who spends the bulk of my time in 4WDs – traditionally bulkier vehicles rather than slim city-friendly wagons – I’m not totally enamoured of the Audi’s style, especially in terms of trip-packing practicality. However, I can certainly appreciate the appeal of its quite low, sleek and streamlined appearance, which its tweaked chunkier grille adds some gravitas to. It’s just not my cup o’ tea.
Lexus GS7/10
The GS is ageing well, but it's still a bit heavy-handed around the headlights and a little on the slabby side along the flanks. It doesn't look poised for action, even with the F Sport additions, but nor does it look frumpy, mostly due to the whopping blacked-out spindle grille, a Lexus signature.
The rear end is good looking but a bit bluff, again neither surprising or delighting.
Little has changed inside, but it's still a very nice cabin, and always will be apart from a couple of clangers (the gear shifter looks super-cheap).
What's more, it's welcoming, lots of very nice materials, comfortable, seats - it's exactly what it needs to be. Whatever you might think of the looks, one thing is absolutely certain - if anyone builds cars better than Lexus, it's a very, very short list.
Practicality
Audi A4
I’ll answer that question as a politician would – without actually answering the question.
The allroad’s interior looks good and certainly feels open and spacious, although the driver’s seat tends to feel a bit more snug as the dash is angled towards that position.
The new 10.1-inch touchscreen, home for most upfront functions, dominates the dash, in a good way.
The front seats are electrically adjustable with lumbar and driver memory.
There are plenty of places in which to put your everyday bits and pieces (including a decent storage bin/arm-rest), as well as charging points, including two USB ports, for your devices.
Need somewhere to put a cold beverage, mate? There are two cup-holders between driver and front-seat passenger, two in the fold-down centre arm-rest for the back-seat passengers, and bottle holders in all doors.
Back-seat passengers also get air vents, climate control, mesh seat-back pockets and grab handles.
There is a 495-litre cargo space when the rear seats are in use, but that increases to 1495 litres when those seats – 40:20:40 split folding – are stowed away in the floor.
Lexus GS7/10
Being a big car, there's plenty of room inside. Four passengers will be very comfortable although rear legroom was a bit on the skinny side given the car's size.
The cabin contains a good-sized console bin, four cupholders and each door pocket into which you could conceivably slot a bottle.
The 520-litre boot is a useful shape, with a sensible load height and a space-saver spare under the floor. The 5 Series and E Class both best the Lexus by 10 litres, so the GS isn't far off the norm.
Price and features
Audi A4
The Audi A4 allroad 40 TDI quattro S Tronic has a MSRP of $69,900 (plus on-road costs).
It has a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine unit (140kW/400Nm), a seven-speed S tronic automatic transmission, and Audi’s quattro all-wheel drive system.
In standard guise this allroad’s features list includes a new 10.1-inch touchscreen (with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto), DAB+ digital radio, an Audi 10-speaker stereo, wireless charging for Qi-enabled smartphones, Audi’s Virtual Cockpit (a 12.3-inch digital display), smart key with push-button start, leather trim, three-zone climate control, as well as LED headlights, 18-inch alloy wheels, illuminated door sills, and overall tweaked exterior and interior styling.
It also has AEB with pedestrian detect, lane change warning, rear cross-traffic alert, front and rear parking sensors and a reversing camera.
But our test vehicle has a few different features and a fair few extras. Our allroad has a ‘price as tested’ of $75,681 (plus on-road costs), because it has Assistance plus package ($2900), which includes a raft of driver-assist tech, such as adaptive cruise control, active lane assist, collision avoidance assist, high beam assist, head up display, park assist (helps to steer the vehicle into a parallel or perpendicular parking space), as well as a 360-degree-view cameras
It also has 19-inch Audi sport alloy wheels in 10-Y-spoke design ($1350), instead of the standard 18-inch alloy wheels in 5-V-spoke design, and metallic paint (Mahattan grey, $1531).
Note: when we were conducting this test, Audi announced that, among other things, it would release a new-gen A4 allroad quattro 40 TDI in early 2021 that would have an extra 10kW more than our test vehicle, so it’ll be a 150kW/450Nm machine.
For those of you into hot laps, the current-generation achieves 0-100km/h times of 7.9 seconds; the new A4 allroad quattro 40 TDI is claimed to achieve that mark in 7.3 seconds.
Pricing for the upcoming 150kW A4 allroad quattro 40 TDI as standard was set to be $70,700.
Lexus GS8/10
We had the pleasure of the GS 350 F Sport for the week, which is well over $10,000 cheaper than the Luxury and is therefore the 'default. If you're not sure what F Sport means, it's Lexus' answer to an M Sport or AMG pack, without all the high-powered engine shenanigans to go with it. If that's what you're after, the V8-powered Lexus GS F is definitely for you.
Starting at $95,300, the F Sport has a spectacular standard features list - 17-speaker stereo, 19-inch alloys, variable-geared four-wheel steer (!), adaptive suspension, dual-zone climate control (with moisturising function), hectares of leather trim, head-up display, electrically-operated heated and ventilated front seats, rear sunshade, F Sport instrument screen, auto LED headlights, keyless entry and start, sat nav, front and rear parking sensors with around-view cameras and a space-saver spare.
The media system is run from Lexus' 12.3-inch screen embedded in the dashboard and controlled from an infuriating console-mounted mouse-clicker with a couple of shortcut buttons. It really is spectacularly irritating and made worse by the rotary dial stationed next to it that acts as the drive mode selector. Why not use that instead?
As ever, the system is mildly baffling to use and hard to look at, but the sound is absolutely lovely from the Mark Levinson-branded speakers. Lexus is persisting with a DVD player but it also has DAB+.
Under the bonnet
Audi A4
The Audi A4 all road 40 TDI quattro S Tronic has a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine, producing 140kw at 3800-4200rpm and 400Nm at 1750-3000rpm.
It has a seven-speed S tronic automatic transmission and all wheel drive.
Lexus GS8/10
Lexus fits a 3.5-litre (2GR-FKS) naturally-aspirated V6, delivering 232kW/380Nm to help shift the 1745kg GS. Power goes to the rear wheels via an eight-speed automatic. Lexus claims the sprint from 0-100km/h is completed in just six seconds.
Efficiency
Audi A4
It has claimed fuel consumption of 5.2L/100km (combined), but we recorded actual fuel consumption on test of 8.4L/100km – driving in soft sand likely negatively impacted that figure.
It has a 61-litre fuel tank.
Lexus GS6/10
A real world 13.7L/100km is a solid miss of the claimed 9.3L/100km, which itself is hardly earth-shattering. It's a big heavy car and that's the penalty. It drinks fuel fast, so the 66-litre fuel tank does drain quickly and it's worth knowing you have to fill it with the 95 RON or better.
Driving
Audi A4
For a bloke who spends a lot of time in big, tall and bulky 4WDs, I felt like I was driving a go-kart. It’s that low, but it’s also that much fun – and it’s a very different driving experience to what I’m used to.
The allroad is 4762mm long, 1847mm wide and 1430mm high, and has a listed kerb weight of 1720kg. So relative to the 4WDs I usually steer around, this is light and low slung. It’s more car than SUV, that’s for sure.
Acceleration is rather punchy (the engine and auto are a decent match-up), steering is light but precise, and you can cycle through drive modes (efficiency, comfort, auto etc) to set up vehicle characteristics to suit your driving style and conditions.
The quattro all-wheel drive system helps to keep the allroad planted and composed at all times.
Ride is on the sharpish side of firm and you do tend to feel every irregularity in the road surface – it is long and low and on low-profile rubber afterall.
The virtual cockpit plus – a 12.3-inch high-resolution colour display – offers a comprehensive read on all things to do with the allroad.
Throw around your superlative of choice – “sporty” and “dynamic” fit this allroad well – but I’m loathe to gush about its on-road performance much more than that because I reckon if any motoring journos are reading this – many of whom spend the lion’s share of their time swanning about in sports cars – they would have already choke-spat out their dirty chai with surprise by now.
Lexus GS7/10
There are things you expect in a Lexus. Quietness. Composure. Smoothness. The GS delivers all three of those things effortlessly. But it has a few extra things in its bag that I can't say I was expecting.
For a start, the 3.5-litre V6 moves the car without any carry-on and in doing so, I was constantly amazed at how quickly the speed in the head-up display reached the posted limit. It just doesn't feel or sound like a six second car, but there you are. The transmission is virtually faultless, the engine sound distant and refined, the power impressive.
It's a heavy car, no question, but two things work to make it feel much lighter. First - and it doesn't matter which mode you choose - the adaptive suspension somehow knocks about 200kg out of how heavy the car feels. The brakes, while a little soft on pedal feel when you first step on them, are very effective and again help to make the car feel lighter than it is.
The four driving modes are quite distinct. As usual, Eco makes everything soft and doughy or as I prefer to say, unpleasant. Normal is great for every day, with just the right throttle response and steering weight.
Moving to sport ups the aggro slightly while Sport+, while never harsh, firms everything up to the point where it starts to feel like a different car. Sport+ makes the car feel race-car pointy, the suspension holds the body in check and the power seems readily available without jerky progression
The all-wheel steer is a big part of the change in feel. It's is especially sharp in Sport+ mode. The steering's gearing changes up quite a bit, meaning a lot less steering lock required for your favourite hairpin bend. Of course, at real speed it all calms down because neither you nor Lexus are fond of sneezy lane-changes or Armco-swiping. At first I thought it just made the big car feel a bit too nervous but as I got used to it (and was able to dial it down by switching back into a less racy mode) I found it fun but a little bit out of character with the car itself.
And just because it's the F Sport, that doesn't mean it can't do all the things you'd expect from a Lexus. You can still waft, you can still creep up on people and it's really very comfortable when you're cruising or stuck in traffic.
Safety
Audi A4
The Audi A4 all road 40 TDI quattro S Tronic has the maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating.
It has eight airbags (dual front, front side, side bags front and rear, and curtains front and rear), as well as AEB with pedestrian detection, lane change warning, rear cross-traffic alert, a reversing camera, and front and rear parking sensors.
Lexus GS7/10
The GS scores 10 airbags, ABS, stability and traction controls, blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, forward AEB, active cruise, auto high beams and lane departure warning with lane keep assist.
The GS doesn't have an ANCAP or Euro NCAP rating while the USA's IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) rating is good for each key crash-worthiness measure. The IIHS suite of tests is quite rigorous but differ from our ANCAP/Euro NCAP standards.
Ownership
Audi A4
This Audi has a three-year/unlimited km warranty. Service intervals are recommended every 12 months or 15,000 km, whichever comes first.
Lexus GS8/10
There's one area where Lexus smashes the Germans and that's after-sales. While the warranty is hardly ground-breaking at four years/100,000km and service intervals are reasonable at 12 months/15,000km, it's how it all comes together.
For the duration of the warranty, when the car needs a service, Lexus will either come and get it then return it to you, or give you a loan car. Anecdotal evidence suggests this continues long after the warranty runs out. Like, 10 years after the warranty runs out.
This is a small thing, but if there's one thing I hate about car ownership, it's the servicing experience. If I was a betting man, I'd dare you to find someone who genuinely has a problem with Lexus after-sales care.
On top of that, you get a generous roadside assist package for four years.