IT'S not difficult to cherry pick the facts surrounding your new car - and present only those that flatter. Everyone does it.

So it was engagingly honest of Audi to show off its new A4 - vying for biggest seller in the range in the UK - with some figures that didn't put the newcomer at the top of every pile.

It shows supreme confidence in this ninth generation of its smaller saloon that the likely most popular version will be both worth less at three years of age and cost a fraction more to run than the almost-as-new Jaguar XE.

Confidence rewarded, you'd have to say after a decent drive in the lower powered diesel, that there's enough right with the A4 to keep it near the top of the company car pecking list.

A bit lighter, bigger and roomier than before and packing enough technology (mostly at extra cost, though) to almost drive itself, this latest car is very obviously from the old A4 mould.

Even with a completely new platform to build the car on Audi knows better than to make the newcomer look too different; added crispness and creases and a bolder front grille will let the anorak spot the subtly changed looks.

Those looks - and close attention to smooth the bits you can't see under the car - make this A4 the second most aerodynamic machine on sale today. Beaten by a small Mercedes, whispers Audi, being happy about runner-up spot again.

That aero slipperiness makes for better economy and keeps things quiet inside; both features a test drive in the £28,465 2.0 TDI ultra SE 150 version proved, in spades.

After a brisk jog along a varied mix of roads, the dash readout showed 62mpg (the official average is an unrealistic 74.3mpg). That counts as outstanding in a car that comfortably fits four grown men (there's a little more rear legroom this time) and never felt anything less than properly powerful.

A top speed of 130mph and 0-62mph time of 8.9 seconds are competitive and there's more power available with a bigger 3.0 litre diesel or more potent version of the test car's 2.0 litre engine.

With 148bhp from its diesel powerplant this version of the A4 will be number one choice for the office car fleet, with its 99g/km tailpipe emissions qualifying for zero road tax. That the sort of thing that makes a fleet manager very happy.

It also makes for happy occupants, in a car that is so quiet at a motorway cruise it's almost unnerving. Helped on the test car by £200 worth of double glazed front door windows, there was literally almost no wind noise. The engine stays firmly in the distance too - much more hushed than in Jaguar's new XE.

The new A4 range starts at £25,900 for a model with 1.4 petrol engine and tops out, for the moment with the £38,950 3.0 diesel with quattro four-wheel drive. Estate car versions will follow, but no prices just yet.

Standard kit includes alloy wheels, xenon headlights, climate control and a seven inch colour monitor. You'll need to pay extra on the test car for satellite navigation (£550 and surely a given at this level), while heated front seats (£300) and adjustable lumbar support (£250) add to the bill.

Reach higher up the range and be prepared to pay still more and a myriad of electronic features beckon.

They include using the sat nav to read the road ahead and suggest you slow down for bends, and allowing the car to take over in a traffic jam and steer, brake and accelerate for you.

Audi reckons the way a car handles is less important these days than how it connects a driver to the outside world, and is probably right. So the quiet riding, economical and highly connected new A4 doesn't need to play second fiddle to anyone.