When Audi unveiled the new RS4 Avant at last year’s Geneva Motor Show, I was very excited to know that it will only be available in Avant, but put down to know that it will not have a forced induction engine. The sporty coupe lovers among you who are about to start weeping into your cereal can rest easy though. This is not just a slightly faster A4/S4: this is a true Panther - Panther Black in this case.
This new third generation RS4 is an altogether more aggressively carved animal. Yes, it may well be a larger car than the older model but it’s also 20mm lower, thanks to a awesome RS suspension setup. Meaning the RS4 is suitably planted through the turns at high speeds. An injection of aluminium into the chassis, suspension arms, and brake housing means the RS4 Avant also weighs in at a not unreasonable 1795kg.
There’s more to the RS4 than just a quick maths lesson. Tweaks to the front grille (now with an aluminium look finish on my car ), wedge-shaped LED headlights, roof rails, and a new cavernous front bumper and sharpened bonnet lines, rear diffuser with aluminum touches add a whole new aggression to the model. And rightly so, given that it’s nearest competitors include the E92 BMW M3 and the Mercedes C63 AMG. There’s even a bit of bling courtesy of the traditional RS4 matte-aluminium mirrors, the enormous 20's, V spoked forged aluminium alloys that fill the wheel arches so nicely.
Crimson Red Exclusive upholstery takes the quality to more than top notch, typical Germanic quality mean it’s beautifully put together and showcases some nice touches with the carbon fiber and some hints of aluminum finish with the so nice flat bottomed multifunctional steering wheel. The Leather effect on the semi-bucket seats boast some cheeky RS4 embroidery, and the gorgeously crafted gear lever with the RS logo is a piece of art in itself.
The MMI, what a great option, the sound system from the Bang & Olifson is crackin' but lacks a bit of bass. 2 slots for the SD cards, which makes choosing my music easily ( 1st for hiphop the 2nd for drum n bass ), there's an iPod connecter too that i dont use but opted for the USB flash drive for my classic hiphop collection. Bluetooth audio is a great feature as well while the phone is connected to the car's Wifi connection via the data sim card that goes in between the 2 SD card slots. It doesn't only makes it cool to listen from Youtube, or other music apps but also makes the Navi mode go into Google Earth View. Very cool indeed. There are a few issues though. I’ve yet to get my head around Audi’s somewhat counter intuitive rotary dial controller for the main driver information and entertainment system, turning the dial clockwise causes the dial on the screen to go counter clockwise, and I’ve yet to work out how to change that. One particular gripe also concerns the warning beep that sounds (and sounds, and sounds, and sounds) when the driver’s door is opened while the engine is still running. It can start to get annoying, quite quickly.
Hit the stop/start button though and you’ll soon forget these minor issues, the roar of the 4.2-litre V8 under the bonnet immediately fills the cabin. The naturally aspirated unit boasts 450hp and 317lb of torque, meaning the new RS4 is capable of hitting 0-100kph in 4.7 seconds and an open top speed of 290kph is achievable ( no limiter on mine ).
The ever present stride towards greener motoring means that, in Normal mode, long gear ratios through the 7 speed S tronic gearbox result in a rather listless response from the engine in the lower revs. Plus, with top horsepower not reached until you're near the limiter and top torque not available before the 4000rpm, which makes me really want to TT this 4.2L. That is until you hit the ‘drive select’ button on the centre console, scroll through Comfort and Auto, and stop at Dynamic.
In dynamic, the sport suspension with dynamic ride control is stiffened, throttle response to the V8 is sharpened, exhaust valves open and response through the steering is heightened! More into the suspension, which in its firmest setting is incredibly stiff and consequently makes the ride rather more bone shaking than expected, like a GT-R sitting on coilovers, bouncy, and shaky. This can be fixed though if you hit Individual mode in drive select, which allows you to set up the ferocity/comfort of the steering, gear changes, throttle, exhaust, the suspension, and differential to your likes. To me, after fiddling around with all the settings, i tend to enjoy driving the beast in full dynamic mode, its just more enjoyable because i am aggressive with my foot, hands and love the aggressive ''feel''.
The revs on dynamic, now much higher, bring those 450 horses into chorus specially when the exhaust valves are open. You never get tired of it. It's quick, acceleration is now much more aggressive, and if you nail the gear changes you’ll be rocketing towards top speed at the drop of a pin, big grin achieved. Slamming on the enormous 365mm brake discs will bring you to a halt quickly but not so sharp, it tends to get a little bit twitchy at the tail which makes me want bigger brakes.
What does rather confuse though is the speed sensitive electrical steering. At low speeds, the wheel is so light there’s almost no feel at all ( on drive select Auto mode ). Once you’re up and running though and hitting 80+kph, the weight comes rolling back in to really get you working the wheel, even on comfort the steering is lighter than a Lexus. Dynamic mode is there for us who really like to feel what's going on, and that is how i drive her 95% of the time. There’s certainly plenty of grip through the front tyres and, rather cleverly, Audi’s torque vectoring system can brake the inside wheels to help with tight corners. But it all feels somehow artificial, which makes me wonder how much input I am really having. It makes the connection to the front wheels but very difficult to pin down, maybe a set of Toyo R888's will help with the ''feel'' which i will find out soon.
Overall, i have made the right choice, and i'm very happy with it for a DD. I've got the performance, reliability, practicality, and a totally different car on the streets. I've already spanked lots of V8's including the E92 M3, dig and roll, held up with the new 991 until 230km/h and kept up with a C63 from 3rd to 5th gear. What a sleeper.
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Originally Posted by bangoman
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