I did not expect such a great and comprehensive reply.

I was thinking that if the DRC fails, I might be looking for an alternative. From the car repair history I know that one of the front shocks was replaced before the car came to me. So might just as well happen again.

Do you guys think that the STaSIS suspension is better than the stock DRC? (reliability aside, purely handling/comfort). The reason I am asking, I actually passed on the previous generation Subaru STi (it was also yellow :)) after a good test drive: the suspension was a bit harsh, unnecessarily. The RS4 impressed by providing virtually the same level of grip and handling, while a lot more pleasant to be in. I thought that they got the balance 'right'. And I would imagine Audi is supposed to put quite a bit of R&D and money into suspension development of their halo car. Is there some background to STaSIS allowing them to achieve the same or better results? Sorry for possibly a stupid question there, I am just new and never heard of these things before.

Oh, I am probably one of those weirdos who don't mind a bit of a front-wheel-drive balance element. The progression of the school I went through was - front wheel driving technic at limit, then once the front wheel drive mastered - rear wheel drive, then transition to the full wheel drive as the most difficult to control at limit of these two (as depending on the weight distribution during transitions the car will exhibit more of either flavor). We used Subaru STis back then. I never really liked the way purely RWD cars drive, but mind you this is from somebody coming from the rally-style school of thought. When I push myself into a corner, I deal with the front wheel drive biased cars more intuitively and actually have more fun with it. That's probably also the reason I could not make myself to fully embrace the BMWs, though tried.

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Audi RS4 2007 Imola Yellow

Other current cars:
Lexus LX470 2006
Mercedes SL500 98