Audi adds safety tech to Aussie range

INCOMING 2024 model year Audis will go up in price, but will be equipped to offset rises and potentially garner increased sales with added safety technology across most of the range from the A1 through to the Q5 but excluding the TT sports car.

The focus is on Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) that brings adaptive cruise control and, on some models, adds traffic jam assist, active lane assist, and Audi pre-sense systems.

Audi Australia is running with the additional safety kit as a result of feedback from customers many of whom rate it as highly desirable, and its desire to move more metal to continue an uptick in sales so far this year.

From MY24 all Audis (except the TT) will feature adaptive cruise control as standard equipment whereas before, the feature was limited to select, extra cost option packages for several variants.

This dictated customers were required to purchase a whole “package” if they wanted to add only the coveted driver-assistance system.

In conjunction with broad adoption of adaptive cruise control, Audi Australia has specified other additional driver-assistance systems to A1, A3, A4, Q2, Q3, and Q5 variants.

On top of the welcome additional safety kit, the MY24 range ushers in several new paint colours and minor design changes.

A mini facelift is applied to the MY24 Audi A6 and A7 with tweaked exterior details and a re-designed honeycomb Singleframe grille along with revised side air inlets and rear diffuser to the A6.

Audi Australia is banking on the additional kit and equipment standardisation across some of its core models to bring more customers through dealership doors saying the changes “bring an attractive, high value offset for customers, as unprecedented inflationary pressures and logistical challenges see a slight shift (read: increase) in prices across the range.”

Adding that, “Even with the inclusion of an improved customer offer on safety across a number of models, Audi remains competitively priced within the market.”

The extra safety kit is due to start appearing in certain models commencing with September 2024 arrivals into the months following and model dependent.

The model to benefit most from Audi’s 2024 safety and kit upgrade is the A1 gaining: adaptive cruise assist with active lane assist, side assist (blind spot warning), Audi pre sense front, Audi pre sense basic (initiates safety measures early on in critical situations such as tensioning of the front seat belts).

The tiddler size Audi also adds electrically adjustable heated and folding exterior mirrors, (already standard on A1 40 TFSI) new 18-inch Audi Sport alloy wheels (40 TFSI only) and three new exterior paint colours. 

The Q2 35 TFSI, 40 TFSI quattro comes in a touch behind scoring adaptive cruise assist with active lane assist, Audi pre sense front, Audi pre sense basic, Audi virtual cockpit, rear USB type C ports with charging function, storage package and three new exterior paint colours.