sportiness and more with comfort. It doesn't convey that fighter plane cockpit feeling

that's common to BMWs, even though the instruments and secondary controls glow a lurid

red at night.

Similarly, the seats don't have quite as much of the race-ready side-bolstering you

find in BMWs.

But the other side of this is outstanding comfort, short hauls or long. The A4 seats

are among the best, and during a recent cold snap the nether regions of our anatomies

told us the optional seat heaters are indispensable.

They're part of a $450 all-weather package that also includes heaters for the

windshield washer nozzles and driver's door lock--well worth the money, in our opinion.

Elegant as it is, with its tasteful strip of walnut across the lower dash, the Audi's

interior does have its weak points.

Tops on this list is wind noise, which seems to emanate from the outside mirrors. It

gets distinctly audible at about 50 mph or so, and it's a surprising flaw from a

company that's put so much work into aerodynamics.

The cupholders, consisting of two abbreviated vertical supports with elliptical inner

edges, are another source of irritation. They fold down into the housing that

surrounds the gearshift, and from a cosmetic point of view it's a slick piece of

design work.Unfortunately, they don't hold cups very well--too close together, no

lateral support for the cups.

Another element that's sure to draw gripes is rear seat legroom. Although the A4's

extra width provides extra elbow room fore and aft, the rear seat is otherwise

cramped.

However, the same can be said, in varying degrees, for most cars in this size class,

including the 328i.

Small irritations notwithstanding, the A4 is a very appealing sport sedan with a high

level of fit and finish quality. It's not inexpensive, but it's competitive for this class and there's plenty of

comfort-convenience equipment baked into the base price, including power windows with

a one-touch feature both down and up. One-touch up is a nice little extra we wish

American manufacturers would add.

At $31,760, our test car may seem a trifle dear. But trimming the option list--the

leather seats ($1280), sunroof ($990) and premium Bose sound system ($640), for

example--gets the bottom line under $30,000 and still includes the Quattro system.

And that adds up to a better-than-average buy in a small luxury sport sedan.