Audi's facelift for the A4 is primarily an exterior styling overhaul and a higher trim level, but it has also brought the car in line with Audi's new-wave engine nomenclature regime and allowed it to swap turbocharged gasoline for Natural Gas at the top of the A4's tech stack with the new A4 Avant g-tron.

The A4's cabin remains, for the most part, exactly what it was: a very smart cabin, with quality materials, a solid feel, stylishly understated and with a good climate control system. Most of the accessories you rest your eyes on are attractive and feel the same way, with the exception of that new stand-alone infotainment screen, which is just a bit floppy and wobbly if you anchor your outstretched arm on its top edge while tapping the screen with your thumb. The cabin is very comfortable in terms of space and visibility, thanks mostly to a driving position that's not as low as that found in some compact sedans, while the car's standard sport seats are quite comfortable.

On the move, the 2.0-liter turbocharged gasoline engine operated by natural gas vehicle provides good refinement and decent performance and driveability for the car. The car picks up speed with enough urgency to satisfy most tastes and responds well to hard acceleration, the seven-speed gearbox feels smooth and slick under hard acceleration as well as at cruising speed.

This adaptation maintains the gasoline system, adding the possibility of using compressed natural gas as fuel, having a greater autonomy with NGV than with gasoline. There is no reduction in power or notice a slower speed when driving in either gasoline or CNG mode, on the contrary it is a smoother and more fluid driving

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The engine will feel smooth and quiet for a driver who has given up on any comparable four-cylinder diesel sedan, but also many direct gasoline-powered rivals you could mention, it's a very quiet car.

Handling is sure-footed, linear and thoroughly competent, with medium pace and accurate steering with a confident feel and stability. The A4 doesn't feel especially nimble or athletic, but it's compliant and easy to drive, while wider testing experience suggests that the lowered sport suspension fitted to the S line and Black Edition cars adds very little in the way of driver engagement and has a regrettably unsettling effect on ride quality. The good news is that, with standard passive suspension and moderately sized alloy wheels, the A4 rides fairly quietly and with good comfort and isolation at both low and high speeds. If you want, you can use the Vorsprung suspension, and you can also add adaptive damper control.

The Audi A4 Avant is what you would expect from an Audi, sober, solid and with a good overall quality for a spacious family car. The possibility of using Compressed Natural Gas only manages to increase the interest for the economic savings that are promised, provided you have a supply of natural gas vehicles nearby, of course.

• Power rating: 170 hp
• Fuel: Gasoline + CNG
• Start-Stop technology
• 2.0 TFSI g-tron
• 1984 cm3
• Warranty up to 2 years
• Length: 4.72 meters
• 5 seats
• Mixed fuel consumption WLTP Gasoline: 8.1 l/100 km
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• Mixed Fuel Consumption WLTP CNG: 3.8 Kg/100 km
• Price: From 43200 €