2009 Audi A4 Avant: Wedding Party

I have a 335i sedan, and now that I have some experience with it, I do not understand why there is a 4-door 3-series, or Mazda3, or any other car with a similarly nearly-useless back seat. Seems to me that if the rear seat is a joke, why not just make it a 2-door?

This is a compact car, so why is this a surprise? Looks like about the same amount of legroom that my old 2002 Jetta had.

They should only make big cars and SUVs’ in the US that suit our native frames. Be honest and comfortable at the same time.

You can get a full-size and fully loaded American car for the cost of a small/compact Euro car.

The leg room looks much better than what I have now, which is literally nothing.

He should have taken the Genesis as that has plenty of leg room in the back for passengers.

Wow; that is very revealing indeed (though not too surprising given the A4's dimensions).

>They should only make big cars and SUVs’ in the US that suit our native frames.

Yeah, that's what we need, everyone driving around in big vehicles for the very small percentage of the time that most people have 6-footers in the back seat for a long road trip.

This guy sounds like a whiner. There's plenty of room back there; shut it.

oh please, people just have an inherent need to complain. In some parts of the world that thing is considered a limo. Stuff those people in the SMART next time, see if they complain then.

That is surprising. It looks pretty typical for a mid-sizer. I'm 6'3", and most back seats are bearable if the driver or front passenger is able to scoot their seat forward. Not enjoyable, but not terrible.

Ok, the guy is only 6'0" tall. It's not THAT small back there. The leg room in the back of my A4 is laughable. The new A4 however is just as roomy as the competition. And the girl that gets car sick. Nice. Bunch of whiners!

"she gets car sick very easily"

I'll have to remember that one the next time I want to ride shotgun. Did she at least scoot her seat forward to give her bro more room?

benson2175: "This guy sounds like a whiner. There's plenty of room back there; shut it."

+1.

That pretty much sums up the situation.

The A4 is a very small car inside. I sat in a few at the car show, and I found the headroom to be very tight. I'm only 5'9, and my head was only a half inch away from the headliner, and getting into the car, I had to duck to avoid hitting the roof of the door opening. It's like the seats need to be lower or something. I was in a previous gen A4 too that had the same space issues. I thought the new A4 was larger, but it didn't seem like it inside.

I don't know how someone over 6' tall could even own an A4.

"This is a compact car, so why is this a surprise?"

It's not a compact, it's a midsoze car with a wheelbase of almost 111 inches--0.1 in shorter than a Volvo V70, half an inch longer than the Honda Accord, almost an inch longer than a Mazda6, and 1.5 in longer than a Toyota Venza. Which is why I find it hard to believe someone who is only 6 ft tall would be so cramped, unless "6ft" is a generic term that really means "6 ft 6 in", because the 6-footers I know are perfectly fine in considerably shorter cars. But Audi carefully omits legroom dimensions both front and rear, while providing other dimensions like headroom, so they must know it's bad.

If true, it's just one more strike against a "wagon" with only 17.3 cubic feet of seat-up cargo space. The VW Passat wagon has 37.7 in rear legroom, with a wheelbase 4 in shorter and twice as much seat-up cargo volume. It seems like the Audi ought to have more rear seat volume, more cargo volume, or both.

Guys, it's not exactly cavernous back there. I challenge anyone over 6ft to spend 6 hours in a small backseat. If it's not your legs, it's your neck.

Been there, done that. I hated it too. Give the guy a break, it's not exactly a fun proposition.

@bc1960, Audi seems to have small seats/less room for some reason. For instance, I was more comfortable in the back seat of a Passat CC, than I was in the back seat of a new A4.

At 6'5" I had marginally more headroom in the A4, no surprise, but less legroom. Needless to say I wouldn't want to spend more than an hour in the back of either one.

When I was evaluating this car I set the drivers seat to where I was comfortable and then sat behind the drivers seat. I'm 6'0" and I was comfortable in both positions. I think if I was 6'2" it might have been more of an issue.

I can testify that my 05 Avant has very little rear legroom. It's one of the few shortcomings of the car.

Please - No one needs to convince themselves that an A4 has adequate rear legroom...it doesn't...

Kids only need apply. What I can't believe is the current B8 chassis is 5" longer with more wheelbase than the B7 (2005-2008) yet the rear legroom only improved marginally???? I had a 2006 A4 and jettisoned it - in part due to the unusable rear seat...I traded for a 2008 G35xS and in comparison, it is a limo in the back (and only 2" longer than a current A4 in overall length)...

"This is a compact car, so why is this a surprise?"

Not according to Audi's advertisements. They'd have you believe it's big and spacious.

Should have taken the CTS.

The A4 sedan is classified as a compact car, and I imagine the legroom is the same in the Avant despite its "midsize station wagon" classification. It is odd that the legroom numbers aren't published though.

With this delicate group, perhaps something closer to an ambulance would have been in order. Got one in the fleet?

It's like those people who claim the back seat in a Jetta is anything close to habitable. Seriously, it's not about being fat, it's about the fact there is inadequate support for anyone who isn't a freaking elf.

One thing noticed about A4's is their seats are firm. Very firm. Almost like sitting on a park bench, at least in the A4 Sedan I tried out.

Perhaps this is a trait of many German cars, but this keister prefers a little more comfort.