Just drove new 2004 Audi S4...

[j2azz]

Well everyone, I just drove the new Audi S4 and took it for quite the test drive. My friend is a technician over at an Audi dealership in Natick, MA and is in good with the sales guys. So I took a ride down today, almost got to drive the RS6, but instead got stuck driving an S4..

The sales guy that went out with me was real cool , and took me down some twisty roads so I could get a feel for handling and acceleration. The car only has a "600" mile break in, but the car I drove (yellow by the way) was their "demo" car so he didn't care how I drove it.

First thing I noticed was the clutch was a lot more forgiving than my 2003 M3. It caught later and was easier to play with the friction point. The shifter also shifts smoother and is a much shorter shifter than the stock M3 so the shifts are quicker.

The engine was fast, and had a great sound to it (awesome rumble), but it did not feel as responsive as the M3 I6. It also did NOT feel as fast. I know the car has 344HP, and much more torque than the M3, but the responsiveness and acceleration didn't feel as good. It did seem that I had to get the RPM's up a bit to start getting some serious power, but overall it drove very smooth as a practical fast everday car. If you are wondering how high I got the RPM's, it was about 6k a few times in second and third. Now rememeber, the engine is a 4.2liter V8, and only has 11 more HP than BMW's 3.2liter I6. Wonder who has the better engineering? but yes there is a big torque difference...

Driving time! There is roughly a 6.6k to 7k redline on the engine and the speedometer goes to 160mph. I probably got the car up to around 80mph on the back roads, and didn't have a chance to take it on the highway. The ride was much softer than the M3 and was more forgiving towards bumps. I didn't think it would handle too great after feeling this, but I took it around a couple sharp turns, and it surely hugged the road. I wasn't pushing toooo hard, but I was def pushing it and I always felt in control and the tires never screeched. I guess that quattro system is pretty nice.

One issue the sales guy told me, well that I thought was an issue and that he thought was a feature, is the computer learns very quickly how you drive the car. Within a matter of a few minutes. Because of this, if you are driving softly for the beginning of the ride, the car will continue to drive softly the duration of the ride. He told me that sometimes they need to shut the car off and restart it to get a better response from the engine with the way the computer controls the driving style.

The car itself is very comfortable. It has all the same features the M3 comes with plus a few things here and there. I thought the sunshades were a nice add-on. Not sure I liked the GPS antenna that was on the roof, but thats just personal oppinion. The GPS also is the same old standard GPS that is on the A4's and such right now. There is no Map display, its only a directional arrow pointer by the speedometer. Only the European models that I've seen pictures of come with the map display. The car does come with a full size spare (18" 255). I took a look under the hood too, and they def sqeezed that V8 in there. It was PACKED in. The in dash 6 disc changer is nice, along with the duel zone climate control. Besides that, there isn't too much to say about the car.

I will put it this way though, I am glad I bought my M3 and didn't wait for the S4. It just seemed like too much of an "everyday" car, at least with how it drove, it has 4 doors, softer ride, softer clutch etc, and honestly, I think the M3 looks much nicer/sexier. So depending on what you are looking for, each car (M3 and S4), one may be right for you where the other isn't.

So theres my personal take on it, let me know what you guys think.

 

[Tom]

Hey j2azz...thats an excellent review. I'm surprise that Audi carried over that old Nav system from their B5's.

How did the V8 sound? And how much were they asking for it?

 

[j2azz]

I actually have the option list in front of me. I'm heading home and will scan it and post it so you guys can take a look. The car I drove was 52k (with the options it had), but that is w/o the gas guzzler tax, which I guess for 2004 is now 1700 dollars! But the MSRP Base is 45-46k depending on if you get a 6 speed manual or 6 speed tiptronic.

Oh and I really liked how the V8 sounded. Awesome rumble to it!

 

[MrElussive]

Yeah, the new S4 has a really great engine. But being a V8, it really loves it's upper end. If you were to keep it in the 4K to 7K rpm range (or whatever the redline is), then the engine would really come alive, as all the reviewers say. Of course, I'm sure you were trying to pay some respect to the car's break-in period. As for the navigation system, the new S4 will get Audi's poor-ass navigation system for the first year of production...next year, the S4 will get a full navigation system. I absolutely love the Audi S4 (B5 previous-gen version and this new B6 version), so if anyone knocks on it, I will take it personally. [fake]

 

[frolf]

but a 4.2 in that car? i am skeptical of the weight balance. but who knows, audi can make great cars. i just think the old one is more pure, albeit fi.

 

[MrElussive]

frolf, everyone was skeptical of the weight. But Audi's claim to fame on this car is that they stuffed a light-weight version of their 4.2L V8...so light, that it is the same weight as the previous S4's 2.7L TT V6, and in the end, not affecting the 50:50 weight distribution.

 

[adamsonem]

In response to J2azz's original post:

Very nice review.. as MrElussive said, you really do need to get up the RPMs to feel the full potential of a V8, but I found the review quite informative.

I myself drive a B5 A4 2.8Q with sport package (closest thing to a (B5) S4 without being one). I love the handling and cornering over my previous E30, but that's coming from a much older car to a fairly new one.

Audi does in fact make nice cars, but my dream will always be the M3... Nothing can top it in my book... I mean, the only car I would get before getting an M3, if I had the funds, would be a McLaren F1, because it's also a Bimmer under the hood - only thing that drives me away from it is the $1,000,000 price tag .

 

[flashinthepan]

How was the "torque steer"..?

I thought I had read Audi improved it from earlier models, I have always hated power coming from the front wheels, perhaps the engineers have it on track now ?

What did you think ?

 

[j2azz]

To be honest I didn't notice any torque steer, but then again, how much torque steer would you have with an awd car? I'm not sure what the power ratio is with front and rear wheels, but I would assume torque steer is something you typically feel on a fwd car, such as a Saab.

Also, not sure I agree with the V8 needing to be in the upper RPM limits to really feel the power. It's a V8, the larger the engine, the faster the torque and HP limits come in. It's the smaller engines that typically need to be revved up, such as the M3 engine, or any 4 cylinder.

Remember, I did have the thing up to around 6k, the sales guy told me redline was 6.6k, even though the tachometer looked like it was 7k. And no, I was not worrying about the break in period of the car. Like I said in my review, the sales guy said to not worry about it, since it was their demo car that they would let people drive hard. Just wasn't impressed with the acceleration (at least I don't feel it met the hype that the car is getting).

The sales guy even gave me a review of the car he got somewhere, and it wasn't the best review of the new S4. Even stated 0-60 times of anywhere from 5.3 seconds to 5.8 seconds. This same review did a long term test of an E46 M3 and was getting a 4.5 second 0-60. So I assume they can launch/drive a car correctly..

 

[j2azz]

To be honest I didn't notice any torque steer, but then again, how much torque steer would you have with an awd car? I'm not sure what the power ratio is with front and rear wheels, but I would assume torque steer is something you typically feel on a fwd car, such as a Saab.

Also, not sure I agree with the V8 needing to be in the upper RPM limits to really feel the power. It's a V8, the larger the engine, the faster the torque and HP limits come in. It's the smaller engines that typically need to be revved up, such as the M3 engine, or any 4 cylinder.

Remember, I did have the thing up to around 6k, the sales guy told me redline was 6.6k, even though the tachometer looked like it was 7k. And no, I was not worrying about the break in period of the car. Like I said in my review, the sales guy said to not worry about it, since it was their demo car that they would let people drive hard. Just wasn't impressed with the acceleration (at least I don't feel it met the hype that the car is getting).

The sales guy even gave me a review of the car he got somewhere, and it wasn't the best review of the new S4. Even stated 0-60 times of anywhere from 5.3 seconds to 5.8 seconds. This same review did a long term test of an E46 M3 and was getting a 4.5 second 0-60. So I assume they can launch/drive a car correctly..

 

[MrElussive]

The power distribution in all Audi vehicles with Quattro AWD is 50/50.

 

[mikev]

The power distribution in all Audi vehicles with Quattro AWD is 50/50.

i thought it varied on the electronics. doesn't audi use EDC to set the ammount of power split to the wheels f/b so that the right ammount comes on at the right moment usually giving most to the rear and only using the front when the back looses grip etc.

 

[LoMo987]

This is how I look at it, use the S4 to commute back and forth to work during the week and the drive the ever living piss out of the M3 on the weekend! Can not beat that combo, that is my dream! HaHa[fake]

 

[j2azz]

Works for me