2019 Audi A4 and A5 Lose Manual Transmission
Audi has confirmed that its A4 and A5 will drop the manual transmission option for the 2019 model year. The company cited low sales as the reason for killing the stick-shift option.
Since it debuted in 2017, the A4 had a six-speed manual transmission but Audi has experienced a slump in sales and customer satisfaction rating that even its A5 coupe lost the manual gearbox. This means that Audi’s lineup would be completely manual-free in the United States.
Only a handful of Americans, about 5 percent, chose the A4’s manual transmission over its seven-speed, dual-clutch transmission. This is enough reason for the company to pull out the manual option from the sedan, of course. Car experts are certainly disappointed because the manual transmission made the cars more powerful and it provided an increased level of performance.
During a test, a manual A4 can sprint from 0 to 60 mph in just 5.1 seconds, a tenth of a second quicker than an A4 that runs on a dual-clutch automatic transmission.
It did make sense for Audi to finally pull out all the manual transmission options from its lineup as it moves toward a more “electrified” future. The shift to electric cars by virtually every carmaker in the world is another consideration that must have come into play in Audi’s decision.
If you still want a manual Audi, you can go to dealerships nationwide as some of the 2018 models are still available. Provided that the six-speed manual transmission was only offered with Quattro all-wheel drive and the standard 252-horsepower 2.0-liter turbo four, owning one of these last remaining manual cars is still cool.
The 2019 model year should be available in dealerships later this year for $36,975, so go get your hands on those manual cars while you still can.