I had no issues at all. I had to get used to the clutch -- driving slowly wasn't easy at the beginning without getting into jerky mode. I've seen this with other drivers too. The traction of the car is unbelievable. I never had spinning wheels until now -- not even during rain. And I'm not driving slowly -- people in the backseat were screaming because of the acceleration. They told me, that it feels like a rollercoaster. The car feels very stable at high speed -- I find myself driving faster than I used to. I drove the car now at max 140mil/h and it feels stable like a rock. I drove the car on the track (at thunderhill and at infinion) and I found out, that I'm not a racecar driver -- being too afraid of getting to the limit when driving turns -- but tires were screaming nonetheless. The car drives like on rails -- I think I never got into oversteer or understeer until now -- but this may be the Stability System at work. I had some people trying to race me (BMW 540 and Nissan 350Z) but they were outclassed and left in the dust. I like the sound of the engine -- especially in S mode. At every RPM the engine sounds willing. I'm definitely driving the car different on the racetrack than during normal driving. On the racetrack I'm all the time in high RPM while during normal driving I try to stay at or under 2000RPM. While driving a rental car I found out that I'm so in love with the RS4 and it's manual transmission. I was always curious why cars in front of me were always stepping on the break while I only stepped of the throttle. It is so calming if you don't need to step on the break all the time while being bumper to bumper with other cars.
Off topic: During some audi event at infinion racetrack I drove the R8 and it certainly outclasses the RS4. Acceleration is better due to lesser weight of the R8. Speed in turns is considerable higher. I stepped on the breaks in a turn and as expected the rear end of the car moved slightly out of the turn -- but very controllable -- I immediately loved this car. The breaks in the R8 come very early like I'm used to in an audi -- the RS4 is an exception.
"The first point (using an init() function in preference to a constructor) is bogus. Using constructors and exception handling is a more general and systematic way of dealing with resource acquisition and initialization errors. This style is a relic of pre-exception C++." -- Stroustrup
Had mine for a year now. 9000 great miles and 9 hrs on the track. The track time has just been unbelivable. Exiting corners with 420hp+4WD is just awsome. The only way you can truly experience and appreciate the capabilities of this car is to take it to track for a few hours.
Just hit 1400 miles with my 08'. Can't get myself outta the car....always looking for an excuse to take it out. I too came from a Mustang (2001 Cobra) and am impressed with the RS4. Just light years ahead of anything Ford has built. The Cobra is my open track car (5.0 Mod motor with 406 RWHP - Naturally asprirated) It's a trailered car, so I only get to drive it on track. The RS4 satisfies me when I'm not at the track.
Just has a milltek cat back put on last week. Non resonated/Valved system. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the sound, but I'm getting some sort of strange noise in the mufflers during acceleration (heavy) and I can't figure out what it is (almost like a bloated sound that vibrates under the car). Almost like it's banging under the car, but I'm sure it's not because we "tack" welded it as well as used clamps. Maybe the mufflers haven't broken in enough. I'll investigate more this weekend.
I just bought a used '07 Daytona Grey with silver interior. 6K miles for $63K.
Holy ^#&#!!! This thing is the most fun I've ever had. It sounds like a meteor crashing into a dynamite factory. It's incredibly composed at low speeds/RPMs then about 2700 RPM at magical beast is unleashed who growls from under the hood. My girlfriend who has no superlatives for anything car related, says "it's great looking", "it feels like someone is giving you a little smack on the a$$ everytime you shift gears", and "it feels like an invisible person is pushing me into the seat when you mash the gas".
I agree that the interior perception of speed is disconcerting. I made a highway pass around what I thought was a slow moving group of cars. I looked at the speedo and I was going 120MPH!!!
Last thing is, I have no idea how to shift from first to second during city driving without the jerks. Plus the clutch travel IS too long, and the pedal group is offset to the right.
Overall I am in love. I hope the rest of my car owning experiences in my life are this satisfying. This car....This car....This car
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RE: RS4 owners, your impressions so far? - 
