Audi A4 Cabriolet CVT

Date in fleet: June 12-24
As-tested price: $46,685
Powertrain: 3.0-liter V6; fwd, CVT
Hp: 220 @ 6300 rpm
Torque: 221 @ 3200 rpm
Curb weight: 3814 pounds

HART: Audi A4 Cabriolet CVT could be an easy car to live with, but oh, does that convertible top really take up back-seat space. Call it the cost of open-top driving.
It feels heavier than the 350 additional pounds it carries courtesy of ragtop-frame strengthening. This is not a sports car; rather, it’s a sporty-looking car. I had this at Michigan International Speedway for a charity dinner and it got lots of looks. Audi convertibles-other than the TT roadster-are a rarity. In this price range, that’s good.
I like the CVT, and this is clearly the best one we’ve yet sampled. You must recalibrate your senses but after a while you realize it works well. And just how regimented-German-is it to build in the steps in the shifting for use in the automanual?
This is a lot of dough for what is basically a two-seater with a little back-seat space. On the plus side, you won’t see one on every street corner, and you get all the good Audi stuff (less quattro) in a convertible.

RAYNAL: Here’s my list of things I dislike about the Audi A4 Cabriolet CVT:
Okay, with that out of the way, here’s the good stuff: Audi A4 Cabriolet CVT is gorgeous to look at. It is beautifully built. It is as solid a front-drive convertible as I remember having ever driven. Everything inside is where it should be located. The engine provides plenty of power and the CVT is smooth, smooth, smooth.

This was a wonderful tourer over a sunny, warm weekend. Putting the top down and cruising was a pleasure. Top up and it is fairly quiet inside for a ragtop. The chassis remained solid over pockmarked streets. The engine, while no screamer, provided ample power, and I really liked it mated to this transmission-it’s smoother than a standard auto trans and gets better mileage (the computer says I averaged around 25 mpg on the weekend). It doesn’t feel light on its feet, but it is pleasant to drive.
It’s way cooler than the TT.