Whenever I gun the engine more than gingerly I get an immediate response in terms of RPM (the engine revs), but there is a 2-3 second delay before the car actually accelerates, or that the engine kicks in. It’s not bad shifting on my part, it happens when I’m already in gear (e.g. applying more gas to go up a hill) and even when I’m in cruise control (it automatically cuts off the cruise control when it happens.) I’ve spotted other A4 owners with the same problem on online forums, but none of them have found an answer, even those that took their car to the dealer.
Sounds like the clutch is slipping and is likely on the way out.