first drive - s4 avant (long)

["Dave Eaton" <Dave.Eaton@clear.net.nz>]

s4 avant test report….

dave
’95 rs2
’90 ur-q

i had my 1st test drive in an s4 avant yesterday.  ming blue, white leather
and aluminium trim.  very tasteful.  seats feel hard and flat, but they are
comfortable.  you move around a little in them, but not disconcertingly so.
the car sits quite high, but with only 200kms on the clock the springs haven
’t had a chance to settle.  the wheels and tyres are michelins 225/45 17’s
on the 8 inch avuus rims.  sidewalls nice and straight which bodes well.

initial impressions are of a smooth, quiet engine and very refined controls.
air-con unobtrusive and effective on a hot day.  moving off you become aware
of how much improved the gearshift is.  it is a 6-speed unit as precise as
the rs2 unit, but much lighter with shorter throws.  this is a very good
shift.  none of the old quattro clunkiness or reluctance to move fast.  no
audi i’ve driven has a better shift.

the steering is your 1st driving impression. gone is the lightness of the
80-series with the servotronic over-assist.  gone also is the rs2 lack of
positive centering.  replacing this is a nicely weighty steering without a
great deal of sensitivity.  this is no 20v ur-quattro, but it is an
improvement on the s2/rs2 which have gone before.  the steering does
communicate well though: on lock in corners it is pleasant to hold, tells
you what is happening and weights up well.  it doesn’t communicate like the
quattro does though.

the brakes surprise you.  the a4 grabiness is there and it takes practice to
learn to modulate them.  high speed stopping is very, very good.  instant
response and excellent retardation.  better than the rs2?  surprisingly yes,
although fade wasn’t tested.  lf braking is easy, although the pedals are
small.  once at speed you find yourself taken by surprise by the way these
stoppers work.  i was braking too early for the corners and found to my
surprise that i could travel another 10m before giving them a good shove.
excellent.

engine response is very good.  it is very like the 20vt in the urgency of it
’s low-speed pickup, perhaps even more so.  you immediately tune to a
different way of driving the car to the rs2.  gone is the low-speed lethargy
of the rs2, and it’s high speed urgency, replaced by a pleasant degree of
throttle sensitivity.  the rs2 above 4,500 is magical and addictive,
although a fairly rare experience, in normal conditions.  the s4 does not
have the high speed thrill of this motor, or the high speed pickup, due, i’
ve no doubt to the smaller turbos (although the engine was new and tight).
it does not have the relative breathlessness of the 20vt about 5,500 though
(even given the test cars newness).  the s4 does however make the low-speed
throttle control of the rs2 look pretty ordinary.  there is a solid wall of
torque from 2,000 - dropping to 2,000 in 3rd and planting foot still reveals
some lethargy, but pickup is very very good.  do this in 2nd and the car
simply takes off.  there is a disconcerting throttle snatch between 1st and
2nd gears which betrays the turbos rapid spoolup.  you need to feather your
ordinary change between 1st and 2nd to avoid this shunt.  this changeup at
higher engine speeds is not a problem, so i suspect the turbos are
contributing.  otherwise the driveline is very smooth and very quiet.
owners of older audi’s would be very impressed.  the engine note is
pleasantly rorty at higher speed, certainly more noticeable than the normal
v6.

handling is initially dictated by the throttle response.  much like the 20v
ur-quattro, the punch out of low-speed corners dictates the amount of speed
you are willing to carry in and your gear.  turn-in is sharp (sometimes too
much so), with none of the 80-series lurch and roll.  it corners flatter
than the rs2 without the old fore-aft pitch which blighted the s2 as well.
it is not as flat as the 20v ur-q, but is much quieter and almost as
confidence inspiring.  hairpins can be hammered with the car staying flat
and leaving understeer in the dry to the later stages.  there is no doubt
that the new car understeers in slow speed corners less than the rs2,
although more than the 20v ur-quattro.  low-speed ride is an area of major
improvement in the car with none of the ur-quattro crashing and the rs2
thump.  your impression is of a well-put-together body which is nicely
rigid.  twisties can be taken very fast due to the combination of
engine/gearbox and brakes as well as the relative absence of roll.  while
not as much fun as a 20v, it is not far off.  the demerits are mainly the
steering which, though improved, still requires the feel of the older car.
improvements as an “a-to-b” tool are the gearbox (brilliant), and the brakes
(better even than the rs2 for bite and high-speed stopping), and the
refinement and quietness of the vehicle.

so initial impression is that the car is a worthwhile improvement for audi,
better than the rs2 in many respects, not as involving as the 20v ur-quattro
(what is?).  as a city car, the rs2 is a real sleeper.  you can travel to
pick up the bread and not touch the turbo.  you cannot do this with the s4.
due to the different engine characteristics mainly.

would i replace my rs2 with this car?  a definite maybe. a better car than
the rs2?  in all truth i would say that it is a worthwhile improvement is
almost every way.  the only thing you’d miss about the rs2 is the
in-your-face “pit bull” look, and the high speed response of the inline 5.
you would miss nothing else.  perhaps the seats.

prices in nz for the avant is $nz130k (usd $62k).  no options are available.
all cars are fully optioned with leather.  the sedan is $nz125k.  the prices
will not change with the facelift model.  the a6q 4.2v8 will be released in
6 months and retail for around the $nz175k mark.  the ttq with 225hp will
not be available until late in the year.