USATrade

Hi,

So I'm about sold out of my '04 S4 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...m=220983415000) (though I'm already regretting selling this amazing car, especially at it's current price - though it has hit my reserve so bid away for next 3 hours! .

I'm looking at a number of different choices for new cars (E350/G37x/A4/S4/Q5).

Those with experience in both, while I have test driven the A4, it was brief. Obviously the car would be brand new, with all the new amenities and features of a brand new '12 Audi. Though other than the inferior power balance/acceleration between the 4 cylinder '12 A4 and the 8 cylinder '04 S4, what are things I will notice and possibly like/dislike between the 2 cars in terms of the way they drive. How will the current A4 (P+, not prestige s-line) handle, stop, be in snow, and generally drive and feel as compared to my older ride?

Besides the power, the main things I love about my '04 S4 is how it sticks to the road like gorilla glue, and is so sure-footed in wet conditions. In wet and dry, I've never had a car that inspired so much confidence that the car will do as my feet and steering dictate and nothing different. Will this remain, improve, or lose some compared to a current A4 P+(not S4)?

Any comments appreciated!

Barrels41

My wife has a 2007 B7 A4 3.2. I just gave back a 2009 A4 2.0 P+ sports package for a 2012 Prestige S-Line. The B8s with sports package drive and handle much better than the B7s. The ride is not harsh. It is substantially about the tires also. The 2009 had 18" P7 summer tires and the the 2012 has 19" Cont Contact Sport 3s summer tires .

Skip the P6 all seasons and run summer/winter tires and you will stick like glue. Biggest fear is being rear ended because you can stop so fast.

You will like the gas mileage too.

Good luck.

USATrade

Thanks for the reply. I LOVE the Conti All-Season DWS tires I have on the '04 S4 and swear by them as far as all-seasons go. They're by far the best tires I've ever had.

I only thought about A4 prestige b/c once I'm going that high I feel I've crossed the line to being too close to cost of S4 and have to get that in that vicinity - I know it is still yet more.

That said your car in your sig looks awesome!

equ

I had an 04 s4 avant, great car. I didn't go from that to the b8 a4 directly, as I had some cars in between, but now I have had a b8 a4 for 2.5 years. In comparison, I kept the s4 (that I had bought used, but it was a cream puff) less than a year.

I like the a4 much more. The s4 had great grunt and seats, but the a4 has sufficient grunt for me (I was never a dyed in the wool power guy, I just like quick & handling, the s4 was my only v8 ever) more space, more balance, actually better steering, much better ride/technology and livability. There is a certain fun factor to the s4, a certain weighty tightness, sense of purpose and v8 sound that the a4 will not deliver. I think of this generation a4 as a somewhat luxo wrx.

Coming from an s4, how you spec the a4 is key.

- The 6-speed is very good, that was and still would be my choice. At my last service, I got one of the new 8-speeds as a loaner and that wasn't bad either as far as a slushy goes.
- Sports suspension/seats are a must, this will give you the "glued" feel - to a point - and bolsters in your seats. You can achieve this in two ways, 18" sports package (what I have and find sufficient) or the 19" s-line. Same suspension and even seat shape, the s-line gets some aero bits, alcantara and 19" wheels with 35-profiles (not what I wanted in a daily).
- Premium plus is a must, again coming from an s4 (those are all well-equipped).
- I also recommend the b&o stereo, but that is not as key.
This build comes to around $40k msrp without nav. So not bad, in today's price-land.

The best steering weight/feel in an a4 is achieved by the 'dynamic' option. You can either get this "legally" by ordering the uber-expensive drive select (which requires some other stuff, prestige maybe?) or just by a vag-com setting (my method). Single biggest improvement to the car. As it is, I prefer it's steering/handling/ride to the s4, it helps that the nose is lighter and the whole car is not that heavy either (about 3650lbs in manual sedan spec). Your 04 is a 50/50 quattro with about a 60/40 weight distribution. The a4 is 40/60 with a 55.5/44.5 distribution, so it does feel better in turns. You just have to make sure you are on boost early enough.

Finally, make sure to drive a b8 s4. You won't get the great mileage the a4 gets, but you don't want regrets down the line. The seats are great, as is the feel of the car, on the other hand, I found it a bit heavy, as a car and in its controls. My partner preferred the a4's lighter clutch. The only problem with the current a4 vs. current s4 comparison is that it is very hard to find an a4 like the one I described so you can get a feel. If you post your location, perhaps some forum member (either here or at audizine) could help out.

One final thing... The s4 had a very short range. Since I don't like to run my tanks dry, even on a highway trip, I didn't go more than 220mi on a tank. With the a4, with same habit of refueling at around a quarter tank, I end up going about 360-380mi. This means that I actually do my long trips faster in the a4 as I eliminate a ten minute gas stop.

USATrade

Ha! My '04 S4 - I fill up the tank, go around the block, and 1/4 of the tank has disappeared! That's the single biggest con (and possibly only) to the car. Oh yeah, and maintenance. Neither a surprise.

I'm on Long Island.

I am going to do this as a 2/3 year lease - more likely 2, not a purchase so I'm not too worried between A4/S4 that I will regret either over the other as I won't be too invested.

What's entailed in doing the VAG to dynamic? Will this void warranty, etc. or is it just something nobody will know or care about? Are there guys here who would do this for me for a few bucks with their VAGCOM?

Prem + is definite for me. S-Line package I can't get in any case without moving up to Prestige - and in that case A4 Prestige, I'd get a Prem + S4...
Oh, and Tiptronic is must, no stick .

Thanks for the reply!

audi8k

I suppose you know this, but to make sure it's not misunderstood; The real "Dynamic Steering" that you can get with the ADS system also varies the steering ratio depending on the speed. I notice when I drive other cars that I have gotten spoiled with it. (I also like the sport chassis with the adaptive dampening.)

equ

I suppose I didn't, thanks for pointing. I've test driven an s4 while I played with the 'dynamic' and 'auto' settings, but at the time I didn't own an a4, just remember the heavier weight (almost too heavy?) of the 'dynamic' on the s4.

For various reasons I ended up with an a4 sport. My biggest issue with the a4 was not steering ratio but with the silly levels of power assistance at lower speeds/tighter corners, removing what modicum of 'feel' the car had. Coming from bmw/porsche world, I've never been a fan of 'servotronic', it's either too boosted or too stiff but never truly natural. Subjectively, b5's and early b6's had much better steering weight/feel than b7's and b8's for this reason, even if the later cars handle better. Same for q5's and cayennes, servotronic ruins it.

Anyway, the non-variable non-adsl a4 steering with vag-com weight set to 'dynamic' is pretty much as good as it gets for an audi these days. I think the non-drive select set to 'dynamic' pretty much recovers b5/b6 feel and that on a chassis that's much better.

I probably wouldn't like the speed dependence in steering ratio. Note that I don't mind a steering rack that is physically variable (so less sensitive on center but more so on the edges as on my cayman) but I'm generally not a fan of 'active speed dependent' options.

equ

Aha! Steering puzzle solved with a bit more research. The s4 I drove had sport diff but not the full drive select. So it had the buttons for dynamic, comfort auto etc but these only impacted throttle and steering calibration with no adjustable suspension. In this case, the 'dynamic' steering is the same as in my vag-com'ed car. 'dynamic' changes the weight of the assistance. Ratio is fixed (yay!).

The full drive select adds adjustable suspension and variable steering. So no I haven't driven that, I don't expect I'll like it, did not dig bmw's active steering much.

bimmers2

Had Conti All-Season DWS on my retired 2010 S4, good except very noisy when corning.

taxman1

I agree with above. I had a late 2008 B7 Spec Edition Avant 6 MT, Sport Suspension and loved the manual. I just got a 2012 B8 Avant with the 8AT, P+, Sports Package and B&O - S line aero bits are included. I really like the handling of the B8 vs. the B7.
The engine is better as are the sport seats and other mods that come with Sports package.
I would like to have stronger tires than the stock 18" Contis on my new car- I put the Extreme Contact DWS on my B7 and liked them ( 17"). If I didn't live in the NY metro/CT area I would put 19" wheels and Summer tires on the new ride but will not go to 19" here and will likely stick with the newest/best HPAS tires when I roll over 15 or 20K on the B8.

Good luck on your decison.