Until today I have not been able to find anything really negative written about the S4 until I came across this pretty harsh review from an Austrailian car site. Is there any reason to believe these guys are right or is the 2005 S4 any improvement over their claims?

http://autospeed.drive.com.au/cms/A_2180/article.html

 

Wow that review really was pretty negetive. They are partially right, but it seems they were very very critical. The S4 is what it is. Not everyone will like it as much as it's owners do.

 

It seems to me that other than the complaints about the understeer, everything else is just different personal preferences. What seems like a cramped driver floorpan feels roomy to a smaller guy, like myself, same with rear headroom. It is true about the V-8 not feeling that fast (to me anyway), but that's mostly due to the powerband being so linear. It never hits, never comes on like a turbo car, so you don't feel as fast, but when you look at the speedo, you're still clocking pretty good. As far as his last comment regarding driving excitement, well that happens when you try to drive an AWD car as if it was FWD. It took me about a week and a half before I could put my car on the edge consistantly, because AWD has to be driven differently to get the most out of it.

Of course, there are those that equate excitement with skittishness, al la M3, and I don't like it. No matter how fast I drive my car, it always feels composed, always stately. The Audi is Audrey Hepburn to the BMW's Marilyn Monroe. Sure Marilyn may have been more fun to take to a party, but she was out of her mind too.

 

I think that the review touched on some major points, but it definitely made mountains out of mole hills. Second, let me point out that any real review, must be backed up by data (numbers) and this review, simply, is not.

I recently test drove a new 3-series and found it's driver seat to be cramped in comparison to the S4. I think that the S4 hugs me perfectly.

As far as performance in the throttle, I noticed the same lack of punch at full throttle, but I believe it is in the linearity of the throttle as mentioned by another.

Some people love understeer. Some people live in climates where it snows and AWD or 4WD is a damn near a must, some do not.

I can't believe that the article actually mentioned low 7s for the 0-100km/h time and then had the nerve not to back it up with hard data. Car and Driver has cited Audi as being conservative on their 0-60 times. Low 7s is really, oh man, slow...

This last complaint sums it up for me. "Another ergonomic backfire is the placing of the stability control ‘off’ button right next to a push-to-open business card holder – it’s not hard to switch off the electronic handling assist as you’re trying to open the compartment..." Who would write this? As if I am going to care if EVERY TIME I go to open my business card compartment I switch off the ESP. How many times am I driving down the road and I need to EASILY, CARELESSLY, and with no coordination flip open my business card compartment to give some IMPORTANT client a business card, and moreso, how many times will I veer out of control, if at such a time I switch off the ESP? That's really reaching for a complaint.

 

That is the most negative review I have seen of the s4 as well.

It really is a matter of degree...and how much a particular attribute will effect you...and how the other cars that you are considering compare.

The S4 is rather heavy for a car in this catagory. And because of that, and the fact that it is AWD it does understeer....pretty much all AWD cars will understeer. RWD cars at the limit will oversteer, it is just the nature of their design. If you find that you want a car that oversteers, then this is not the car for you.

I agree with them about the throttle feel. The DBW system seems to add lots of throttle early on, so the difference you feel on a 1/2 throttle launch vs a full throttle launch is not much. BUT the car does get moving very fast...R&T or C&D had it at 4.9 for 0-60mph.

I'm 6' tall, I find the seats to be fantastic. I don't think the foot box is at all small. Head room is fine in the front. In the rear seats I find the head room just adequate...and if there is another 6' person in front of me, then the foot space is kinda small...with a smaller person in the front seat the rear leg room is no issues. I also looked at a M3 and the AMG 32...THe AMG had a bit more leg room, but not much...the m3 seemed smaller than the s4...

As far as the controls, locations, ergonomics I found the s4 superior to either the amg or the bmw...of course I didn't try to hand out business cards while driving in the twisties at 90mph+....

Test drive one and see what you think.


I still smile everytime I drive my car!

 

Maybe they would prefer my parents Mercedes C200 Kompressor, a car that barely has enough power to get out of its own way. But hey, at least it has rear seat a/c vents.

Peter