What to make of Audi's active safety tech
Modern cars do more driving than people probably realize, and our long-term 2017 Audi A4 is a good example. The $52,325 test car includes technologies that can help a driver stay in his or her lane, apply the brakes if he or she is not paying attention, and even subtly suggest allowing for more following distance behind another car. And that’s great, but how well do these systems work? After having driven the A4 sedan for many thousands of miles, here’s what I think of the Audi’s safety tech offerings.
First off, I’m a big fan of auto-brake systems, which apply the brakes if a potential collision is detected and the driver isn’t acting fast enough. It’s helpful technology, especially if the system in the car isn’t oversensitive, alerting you when there’s no real danger. The Audi’s system works well here, and in IIHS testing, an A4 was able to avoid a collision from 12 mph and reduced speed by 22 mph in a 25-mph test.
The A4 received a Good rating in all of the more conventional IIHS crash tests (Good is the highest possible rating), and thanks to an Acceptable rating for its headlights, the Audi gets the 2017 Top Safety Pick+ designation. It’s a positive story at the NHTSA, too, where the 2017 and 2018 A4 both get a five-star overall safety rating (out of a possible five stars).
Audi’s active safety tech package also includes a lane keeping assist system that works just fine, though I only turn it on when I’m doing highway driving. When coupled with the adaptive cruise control system in heavy traffic, I find the lane keeping system doesn’t always keep the car centered in its lane. So the lane keeping system gets a mixed grade, but the adaptive cruise control system is great. Not only can you pick a number of different following distances, but the system also lets you pick how aggressive it is. This is significant for me because I’m more easily nauseated than the average person, and that detail is the difference between using a system once and then never again because it’s too aggressive and making it a regular part of my routine.
Depending on my mood, I’ll either set the adaptive cruise control system on Auto or Comfort. Even set to the closest following distance, in Comfort the car’s acceleration and braking up to my set speed is smooth. True, in Comfort mode you must be willing to let a car cut in front of you here and there, but it’s worth it for me. Maybe half of the time as I commute home, when I approach the part of the freeway where traffic nearly comes to a complete stop, I’ll turn on the system and set the following distance. After that point, I won’t have to touch the throttle or brakes unless another car turns into my lane. As advanced as these systems are, the one on the A4 doesn’t sense cars that might be edging forward from one lane to another. If the A4 comes to a stop for an extended period of time, as with other competitive systems, just pull on the cruise control stalk to let the car know traffic has finally moved forward again.
The A4 also has rear cross-traffic monitoring, which is most helpful when you’re parked between two enormous SUVs and have limited rear visibility. Automakers such as Subaru and Infiniti have taken these alerts—which display from what direction the other car is coming—one step further and can actually apply the brakes if you reverse into harm’s way. The A4 doesn’t do that, but the tech is still a welcome addition.
The one safety feature I wish I could change isn’t the unfortunate way the lane keeping seems to veer a tad toward the edge of one lane in traffic but is the tire-pressure monitoring system (TPMS). The A4’s TPMS uses wheel-speed sensors and doesn’t give readouts of individual tires. This is unfortunate—some Hondas and Nissans are simpler to calibrate and use to locate what tire needs attention. On a car that already offers a display as advanced as the virtual cockpit digital instrument cluster, I hope this changes in a midcycle refresh.
Overall, though, the A4’s active safety and semi-autonomous driving tech is well-executed. The automaker’s version of adaptive cruise control works well (though I wish it wouldn’t stop so short in Auto mode), and the auto-brake system received good scores in IIHS testing. An attentive driver is always the first line of defense for accident avoidance, but I like the A4’s tech when that’s not enough.
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