I FIRST GOT behind the wheel of the new Audi A4 on Shek O Road. Having driven shotgun all the way from Audi's Wan Chai showroom while my companion had all the fun, I was raring to get to grips with the A4.
The moment I drove it out of the bus-stop chicane that is Shek O Road, I floored it and let the engine red-line, pushing the car into corners to the squeals of the tyres.
OK, it helps that the car doesn't belong to me. But the A4's most important attribute is its interaction with the driver. The clarity of the A4's every control is such that you can jump right in and straight away feel like a bully in the playground. That is how good the A4 is. And it's why the A4 is among the sporty sedans of choice for those who believe that a car in possession of all the practical functionalities of a real car doesn't have to be dull.
Just for the record, the latest A4 is a new model and hasn't just been given a face lift, even though the previous generation is only four years old. Although the car looks similar to the previous model, every body part is new. And there are enough upgrades and modifications for it to be considered more than just a revamp.
The most obvious change is the grille, inspired by Audi's Nuvolari concept car and since transferred to other models - including the A6, A8, A3 and TT - to become the new face of Audi. No one needs to be reminded how important family resemblance is to European manufacturers. Love it or loathe it, that grille (which I think looks like Homer Simpson's five-o'clock shadow) is here to stay. It suits the A4 more so than it does the bigger Audis.
And then there are the newly designed front and rear lights, which give the car a more steely-eyed glare.
If you put the latest A4 next to an older model, you'll notice a more pronounced bulge on the boot, wider bumpers and a higher beltline. Dimension-wise, the A4 is 38mm longer, but the wheelbase has been reduced by 2mm. It doesn't take a mathematician to work out that the front crumple zone and rear luggage space are the main beneficiaries of that extra room, rather than the passenger compartment.