plat27265

Here is the full length review of the B9 Audi S4. It is a very detailed video featuring the following:
Published on Jun 12, 2016
01:01 Exterior Audi S4 Limousine (sedan) & Avant (estate)
05:13 V6 Engine
06:13 Interior Audi S4 Limousine (sedan) & Avant (estate)
25:46 Driving (Autobahn)
38:14 Driving (Countryside)

Prepared and presented by Thomas of Autogefuhl through YouTube.

Here is the link to the video:

Glisse

Thomas' comparison to the new S3 which he tested last week was interesting, as he found the S3 more aggressive. There isn't much drama with the S4 - fast, refined, agile, beautifully made, very secure on the road. But it seems from this and the other reviews, maybe not so exciting?

This appears to be just a fast A4 with S line bits - where has the discrete S model DNA gone? I don't think the ZF auto vs S tronic is doing it any favours. Stuff all those journalists and consumers who complained the S tronic is jerky at low speeds with high torque engines. And stuff Audi for listening to them.

May be okay if they had the RS version out as well, which Audi indicated they were going to do when they started softening off their S models.

But they don't.

dbuxton13

Awww, you're breaking my heart, Glisse. "Exciting" is a very subjective quality, don't you think? For me, this car is the whole package; it has everything I'm searching for. The technological improvements and changes thus far have been largely misunderstood (often times willfully so), and the model has been enhanced in nearly every single way.


Supercharger to Turbocharger. DSG to ZF8. My favorite article of the week refutes some of the uneducated complaints being noised about lately:


AudiBoost - When idiots think they know cars - Jalopnik says it’s hard to make a good argument for the new 2017 B9 S4 so here are a few arguments

dbuxton13

BTW, the article's headline is in no way directed at you, lol.

plat27265

To sum it up, Thomas' opinion of the S4 is that it is a refined sedan that does not exhibit brutish qualities even at the high rev range. I do not think the car being less sporty has anything to do with whether the tranny was S-Tronic or ZF. Both are very capable tranny systems. He didn't mention anything about the shift characteristics and he didn't praise it either. Overall, he just felt it was a refined drive with lots of power even at the top end. And, it didn't feel it was burdened to reach top speed and maintain top speed either.

I think what made the S4 less sporty is most likely due to the design of the interior, i.e., much more luxo and refined. Thomas also pointed out the addition of the acoustic layer in the front passenger windows which deadens the cabin a bit more. In short, the feeling of being less sporty might have more to do with the primary objective of the B9 A4 sedan and avant platform, i.e. being a refined and matured GT as opposed to being sporty. Besides, the A4 sales numbers are much more important than the S or RS so more emphasis is placed to compete in this segment.

The RS4 might be the one that will bring in the sporty adrenalin-laced fun to the 4-series. But, how much of a brute will it be with the interior refinements (look, feel, including sound deadening) aimed towards being a refined luxo GT remains to be seen.

Glisse

Agree completely - exciting is a subjective judgement. There is no doubt from the reviews to date that this is a car with almost no flaws, which is pretty rare.

But I'd hoped for a bit more edge.

But I enjoyed reading your linked RennTech article, and agreed with some of it. But the view that the Audi's use of the ZF8 was due to the propensity for some markets to add cheap chip tunes from basement "engineers" and exceed the S tronic torque limits seems crazy to me.

I remain convinced that it is smoother driving attributes rather than torque limits that determined the choice of gearbox, and I think they went the wrong way for an S vehicle - this is not an S8, the only other S model that uses a torque converter.

It is (excluding the S1, which doesn't really count) inexplicably the slowest of the S cars, and that doesn't sit right for me, no matter how good the rest of the car is.

My issue is more frustration with Audi pushing their S model cars closer to the A models, with a bigger gap to the RS. For those in the US, it probably looks like a big gap. But that is because they are only bring the 4 cylinder engine into the US, and even then no adaptive sports suspension, no sports diff, no full S line. But in Europe you can buy an A4 with quattro, V6, adaptive sports suspension, S line exterior and interior, sports diff, etc etc. And the difference between this A4 S line car and an S4 appears negligible from the videos posted.

I (selfishly) think Audi are getting that wrong.

Might still buy an S4 Avant though, once the red mist wears off

dbuxton13

Alright, impasse it is then. In the end, the S4 is the best performance car I can afford that checks all my boxes (Quattro is a must, and I don't like BMWs). It's the "Goldilocks" model, if you will. The S3 is lacking in several areas and is far too small. I would be embarrassed asking passengers to cram themselves into the backseat.

The S6 is fantastic, but when configured the same as my ideal S4 (fully optioned prestige), it costs $20k more. That's way outside my price range. I'm stretching as it is for the S4. Hell, if I could afford it I would just go for an RS6, RS7, or R8. They are all amazing. But alas, this is planet earth and I have 4 kids and boring responsibilities, so I will have to find a way to content myself with the apparently ho hum S4, and never ever ever drive an R8 because I would hate driving other cars for the rest of my lousy, S4-saddled life.

Glisse

I do read all of Thomas' reviews - he is so detailed there is no need to read the manual

He is biased to comfort rather than performance, and is a relatively conservative driver. Nothing wrong with that, because he often adds some everyday common sense lacking in other journalists.

He did make a comment on the shift quality vs the S3 that he drove the week before. He managed to open both clutches whilst at relatively high revs on the S3 and got a half second pause. He tried the same thing in the S4, which didn't do it. So I think he would prefer the ZF8

I agree with your comments on refinement and low noise having some impact on perceived sportiness. The B9 is a much more refined platform than the B8, and is up there with the C7. And you can see from Thomas' reactions in certain segments that the car was travelling quicker than he realised at times.

But he also mentions around 32:30 that the car feels like it builds acceleration G forces fairly gently (given its speed). He likes that, but to me it is a function of the engine/transmission interface being a little soft, rather than refinement. The S cars on either side, the S3 and S6 (which Thomas finds too brutal), seem more aggressive when in Dynamic and S mode. That is all that is disappointing me - it has been mentioned in a couple of other reviews as well.

It is consistent from all the reviews to date that this engine has a better top end power response than the supercharged version. Indications are it handles better (I think all the test cars were fitted with the sports diff, and a good thing too). The interior is a big leap forward. I'm being picky!

Glisse

Hardly slumming it with an S4, LOL! As you would know from driving around Europe, that is regarded a serious top end car - an A4 is a cut above the norm, which is an A3 1.6 diesel if you are doing okay and can afford a premium brand like Audi. Of course, cars (and running them) here represent a very different percentage of income/savings than the US cost base.

I assume you are buying yours back in the US, or on US pricing to ship back sometime?

Here a stripped out S6 (alcantara seats, no driver aids, no Bose etc) with the essentials of sport diff and sport exhaust is going to be about the same price as a fully loaded S4 Avant. Which is my price limit. The steering in the B9 is WAY better than in the C7, it is much lighter and more agile, yet the interior room is not that much different in real terms.

The only reason for me to be mulling over the S4 vs S6 is the 4.0TT V8. And the fact that it is my A7 that is going, and my wife never wants to sell the S5.

Glisse

And for a dose of excitement and amusement irrelevant to the new S4 (sorry for the OT, Plat) but fun for Audi fans, check this out: