S4/A4 handling

[William Safford]

I did some test driving today. I am shopping for a wagon, as many of you may 
remember from previous posts of mine. 
 
I test drove a 2001 A4 1.8T, a 2001 A4 Avant 2.8, and an S4 (2000 or 2001--I 
forget which). Both the A4s had sport packages. All had manual transmissions. 
 
 
They're all nice cars. Each has its strengths and weaknesses. The S4, of course, 
was the fastest and the best handling of the bunch. It was quite refined in its 
performance. I would love to buy an S4 Avant, but it's just 
too much money. 
 
The A4 2.8 is nice--decent power, smooth, civilized. The 1.8T is slower and less 
smooth than the 2.8, but is zippier than the 2000 1.8T (170 vs. 150 HP). 
 
 
Question: what would it take to get roughly S4-level handling on an A4, besides 
for wider tires? I noticed that the S4 handled fast, sweeping corners with 
aplomb at speeds at which the A4s were hunting and squirming. I'm not interested 
in radical changes to the vehicle, e.g. no fender-scraping 
lowering kits and wildly-oversize tires. 
 
TIA. 
 
I also drove a BMW 323i wagon. It was slower than the A4 2.8 (and the S4, of 
course), but it was smoother and handled better. It also felt bigger on the 
inside, although it may not be in reality. The AWD wagon is due to arrive in 
October, with the sedan version to arrive before it in September. 
 
P.S. to the List Administrator: if my messages are being held because of the 
"blind copy receiver" business, I have no control over it; it is a quirk of 
my ISP and comm software that I cannot change without changing (a) my ISP, or 
(b) my computer. 
 
 
 
 --William Safford