MW review of audi S4

[tforth]

Originally Posted by zeus_2011 Another good vid!! I find that in order for a quattro audi to show you its tail-happy side you have to re-adjust your technique....basically slow-in, and when you feel the front has "bitten" give it all it has and the back should wilfully swing! Oh yeah, and the almost ice-skate rink smooth (read "worn") roads that we have here in Greece I can't say I have driven the newer 4wd Audis...my most recent experience was in a 2003 RS6 which just refused to cooperate in the corners, wanting to plough on straight ahead, and the way it covers its speed almost takes away any excitement altogether, until you glance at the speedo and realise you should have lifted off a couple of lamp posts back

Over the past month, I've driven a C63 (two different occasions), E92 M3 with dual clutch, and the S4 (both manual with rear sport diff and drive-select & dual clutch with no diff).

These were my observations:

1. C63 had a great engine note and impressive accel. Otherwise, it felt very plain. It did not feel at all like a high performance sports sedan, accept when you start it or get on the throttle hard. Interior was quite cheap feeling (except for the seats). Felt like an 'American hot rod' sedan. The auto tranny sucked imo, with slow upshifts. LSD mandatory!!
2. M3 with dual clutch definitely had a more sporting feel than the C63 (i.e. better turn-in & better body control, etc). Accel felt nearly as imnpressive and more linear in delivery (at higher RPMs). The tranny sucked though! Lots of clutch slip at low speeds, like a really bad driver! I couldn't live with this; it would drive me nuts, never mind the expected clutch life . There were also delayed downshifts and unremarkable upshifts (fast, but no engine retardation like with VAG DSGs), and I definitely prefer column mounted paddles that you can always find, with non-racing racks (i.e. not high ratio). Sadly, you really can't hear the engine note - what a shame with such a great engine. Both the C63 (only comes with sunroof) and M3 (no sunroof), didn't have enough head room for me (6'3").
3. S4 had a better (i.e. more sporty) looking interior than either of the above, but not near the level of quality (tactile feel) as past audi and VWs. However, when driving, it felt similar to the M3, and even more stable under power while in a turn, with none of the historical plowing typical of past audi S badge cars. IMO it had an even better feel than an RS4 which I had driven at Mosport (the small track) - although it doesn't sound as good . Interestingly, imo it sounds very similar to the previous gen. M3 (i.e. in-line 6). It also has more interior/trunk space than the C or 3 cars also (for family folk). The S-tronic worked great; no clutch slip at low speeds, very fast downshifts (I noticed that with the manual S4, that this car has amazing throttle response - great for heel & toe ). It also sounds like it retards timing on upshifts which I find much more enjoyable. Lastly, in pure accel, it definitely isn't as fast as the C63/M3. It may be the AWD factor making it more stable. However, Edmund's & MW have it only ~0.3 slower for the 1/4 mi. It doesn't feel that close though.

Based on the above observations, I find it hard to believe that 335i with no diff. could come that close (although I haven't driven the 335i or ix).