Audi says that the first UK deliveries of the all-new A4 Avant are now under way. The prices of diesel-powered models start at £30,550.

The trade guide CAP Monitor is predicting strong residual values. Audi cites the example of the A4 Avant 2.0 TDI ultra Sport 190PS (187 BHP) – the expected best-seller in the range – which is predicted to retain 40 per cent of its value after three years or 60,000 miles.

The A4 Avant offers 505 litres of luggage capacity – extending to 1,510 litres with the seats folded – in an interior that now affords more head and shoulder room for front seat occupants and offers an increase in overall rear leg room compared to its predecessor.

Among the technological highlights are the optional Audi virtual cockpit with its fully digital display, and optional Matrix LED headlamps capable of establishing and tracking multiple road users and illuminating the appropriate corridors of lights either side of them to maintain maximum visibility without dazzling other drivers.

Highlights of the options list also include a 19-speaker, 755-watt Bang & Olufsen audio system with 3D sound, Audi Entertainment mobile incorporating two detachable touch-screen tablet computers built into the rear seats, and the Audi phone box bringing two separate Bluetooth connections and wireless smart-phone charging and MMI Navigation.

These can be added to the three core specification levels SE, Sport and S line, each of which offers either Xenon or LED headlamps with LED daytime running lights, along with features including three-zone climate control, cruise control, rear parking sensors and the Audi smartphone interface, which supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto platforms and displays smartphone contact and information such as navigation mapping on the A4’s MMI screen.

Helped by low drag coefficients of as little as 0.26 and a weight advantage of as much as 120kg compared with its predecessor, the next A4 Avant is up to 21 per cent more fuel efficient than its predecessor.

The Avant’s diesel engine line-up will initially include a wide choice of 2.0 litre and 3.0-litre TDI power units with outputs starting from 150PS and rising to 272PS.

As in the A4 Saloon, two versions of the 2.0-litre TDI engine with 148 BHP and 187 BHP power a total of 12 front-wheel-driven ‘ultra’ variants offering up to 70.6mpg with CO2 output of as little as 104g/km.

The V6 TDI models start with a 215 BHP version which returns up to 64.2mpg with a 114g/km CO2 output when combined with Sport specification and front-wheel-drive.

The six-speed manual transmission, the seven-speed S tronic twin-clutch (now also available for front-wheel drive) and the eight-speed tiptronic have been reworked, and in the process the automatic transmissions have incorporated a fuel-saving freewheeling function.

There is also the option of quattro all-wheel-drive for 2.0 TDI (187 BHP) and 3.0 TDI (215 BHP) engines. The purely mechanical system with its self-locking centre differential is also a standard feature of the top-of-the-range 3.0 TDI 268 BHP version.

All models are available with suspension in either a comfort-focused state of tune or with a tauter and more sporting set-up , which is standard for S line versions but can be ‘deselected’ in favour of comfort suspension at no extra cost. It is also possible to specify a dynamic steering system which varies its ratio according to speed and steering angle and adaptive damper control with a ‘sport’ bias for all versions. Adaptive damper control with a ‘comfort’ set-up favouring suppleness can also be specified for all versions bar the ultra models, which are exclusively equipped with sports suspension.

A “predictive efficiency assistant” is also available, which helps drivers to reduce fuel consumption by up to ten per cent by using navigation route data to alert them to situations in which it would make sense to reduce speed, such as before bends, towns or speed limit signs that are not yet visible. The system can adapt the preselected speed to the route and the speed limits and also take over predictive control of the free-wheeling function of the automatic transmissions.