We’re the Save the Manuals brand, which means any time an automaker adds a manual transmission option to its roster, we take notice. Audi caught our attention by adding a six-speed manual to the A4 sedan lineup for 2017. Even better, the stick shift comes mated with quattro all-wheel drive, and models so equipped can be further optioned with a Sport plus package.
Since its debut in spring, the current-generation A4 has been available exclusively with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. A lower-output, fuel-economy-focused Ultra model was recently introduced, and it, too, is automatic-only. This is all to say that the A4 was an automatic-heavy entry-luxury sedan until now.
Happily, for driving enthusiasts, at least, is that the six-speed stick can only be had with the regular A4’s 252-hp turbo four. (When the A4 was introduced, we speculated that the sedan might get a manual later on, possibly bolted to the Ultra model’s lower-output Miller-cycle 2.0-liter engine.) Audi sweetens the news by allowing the manual transmission to be ordered on every A4 trim level, from the base Premium to the top-level Prestige trim. Pricing starts at $40,350 for the manual Premium and runs up to $48,950 for the Prestige. Eagle-eyed readers will note that those prices are the same as the base prices for the dual-clutch automatic?equipped A4 quattros, and you’re right. They are, because the manual is a no-cost option. Well, the dual-clutch automatic, reall...