Hi, this is my first post on the forum. I currently own a Subaru Imprezza, which I have been considering upgrading to an A4 or an S4 (I don't know enough about the differences yet to know which). I would be buying a used one - my price range is mid to upper 20's.

But here is the difficult part. I have an absolute need for very, very good snow & ice performance. The reason is that I live in the mountains west of Denver, and the road to my house is unpaved, unplowed, and very, very steep. Some cars cannot go up in dry weather because they can't get enough grip on the dirt. My AWD Subaru does OK, although I typically need to replace the snow tyres once a year. My friend's Toyota 4-runner cannot go up in the snow (I know - he's tried several times!)

My question is: will I see the same snow performance as my 'ru with an AWD Audi, assuming I put good snows on it? I don't know whether there might be some difference in how the suspension behaves, or the F/R bias, or differentials, or something like that, which might make a difference. Is Audi's AWD system generally as good as Subaru's?

I absolutely *love* the Audi's interior compared to my 'ru - I'm just afraid that losing any heavy-weather performance at all would mean I sometimes cannot get to my house. I'm a bit nervous about it because I think the Audi might be a slightly heavier car (I think this is much of why my buddy's 4-runner has troubles - it weighs a lot more than my car, and the tyre contact patch is not so much larger than my 'ru).

Would there be any difference in the heavy weather performance between the S4 and the A4?

Thanks in advance for any insight!

 

I dont think the S4 would be any better in the snow the the A4 . As long as both have quattro and ESP.
This will be a great car for you if you need winter performance. You will fall in love and be able to get through any conditions with winter tires

 

Yes, The ADUI QUATTRO system will be better than the WRX in my opinion. The weight of an S4 is more than A WRX which in some situations will be an advantage to you. I currently own an S4, and it was purchased due to the high amounts of rain/snow I will be seeing this snowseason. I would leave the stock 17's, and go to a winter tire, and never look back.

As far as the S4, A4, they really cant be compared, due to the fact of 1 turbo, vs 2. Go S4 all the way if you can find one!! Hope that helps you in your decision.

 

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

Unfortunately I'm not a fan of trucks - I don't like the high center of gravity (makes them handle really poorly around corners) and the bad fuel efficiency. They don't even do very well on the road up to my house because there isn't much weight over the rear wheels. Although some people throw sandbags back there for more weight and that seems to improve things a bit.

 

S4 all the way!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Will someone post a link to the ski slope video

It will prove our point and change his mind forever

 

That's with studded tires though, if I'm not mistaken.

I would be a bit concerned bashing an Audi up a snow covered incline unless it's as smooth as glass. I don't think traction would be much of a problem at all, but Audis have less wheel travel than the Scooby, plus a largely aluminum suspension, and a little less ride height.


Paved and snowy S4>everything.
Rough, bumpy, loose scree and snowy, WRX>S4.

 

I too live west of Denver in the mountains. I used to live in Evergreen on an unmaintained road with a steep switchback that got no sun all winter. Needless to say you needed four-wheel-peel to make it up to my house.

I own a Subaru and an Audi. Both the Audi and the Subaru performed VERY well and I never had any troubles. The exception was when the switchback was total ice and I didn't have snow tires on the Audi. I still made it up, but had to have a good bit of speed. After that winter, I've had studded tires on both vehicles in the winter. You can't beat the studs for the winter commute to Denver.

Where the Subaru was better than the Audi was in the ground clearance area. The unmaintained road could get pretty nasty after the spring run-off. The Subaru didn't bottom out as much as the Audi.