Audi’s S4 is not an unknown quantity to South African motorists, but previous models have been somewhat underwhelming. The S4 has always had grunt, don’t misunderstand, but as a thrilling driver’s car it has never quite made the cut. Plus, it has always been rather expensive. Since the arrival of the RS4 a few years ago, the S moniker has taken a back seat in the A4 performance hierarchy – until now.
As this is a derivative of the current (B8) A4 line-up and we’ve previously tested other models in the range, we’ll skip all the usual introductory bits. S4 is differentiated ever-soslightly by the addition of an S-line bodykit, which includes revised bumpers, side sills, alloy look exterior mirror housings, a discreet boot spoiler, S4 badges, 18-inch alloys and quad chrome-tipped exhaust outlets. The subtle styling addenda help S4 maintain a Q-car persona but the one addition we find tacky is the “V6 T” badging on the front fenders. It smacks of being aftermarket and has no place on an otherwise classy package. This minor gripe aside, we find the looks quite agreeable – and so will you if you prefer not to shout your sporting credentials.
Inside there are a few sporty touches including a three-spoke steering wheel, a few S4 badges and aluminium accents. Nothing too overt or garish. Standard covering for the seats is a combination of leather and Alcantara but this test car features the optional sports seats that boast full-leather. The seats have electric adjustment but no memory function. But enough of the pleasantries. Performance cars are all about the power and dynamics…
The new S4 is powered by an all-alloy V6 motor, unlike its predecessor which used a V8 engine. In combination with an Eaton supercharger, direct fuel injection and variable inlet cam timing, peak power of 245 kW is developed between 5 500 and 7 000 r/min and an even more impressive 440 N.m of torque is on tap from 2 900 to 5 300 r/min. This peak torque value usurps the maximum figure produced by the now defunct RS4 and current BMW M3.
Fire it up and the S4 emits an innocuous burble that falls into the baritone scale. Slide the auto-style shift-lever down into “D” – the unit on test was fitted with an S tronic transmission – and even after you set off you could be excused for assuming that this is a cooking variety A4. But mash the loud pedal into the carpet for the first time and all that changes. The S4 rockets away from standstill with no drama as power is fed to all corners by Audi’s Quattro all-wheel drivetrain. The vocal performance is also taken up a notch as the raspy V6 tries to emulate a racecar. The double-clutch gearbox fires home rapid shifts as each cog-swop is briefly punctuated by a tiny eructation. Gear selection can either be left up to the ECU or controlled manually via steering wheel paddles or the gearshift. Power is delivered in one strong, unrelenting wave, and unlike a turbocharged engine there is no surge so, for some, the S4 subjectively feels slower than it is in reality. But being supercharged, the harder you rev it the more power it produces, until the predetermined maximum boost pressure is reached.
Just 5,3 seconds after take-off the S4 reels off the 100 km/h benchmark, which is impressive enough, but keep the throttle wide open and 1 km is dispatched in 24,32 seconds at a terminal speed of just over 220 km/h. A trawl through our database reveals that a 1 km sprint that quick puts the S4 into a league of very serious performance cars including several fast BMWs, Mercedes AMGs, some Porsches and even a few Aston Martins. In-gear acceleration is even more impressive. The seven gearbox ratios make perfect use of the engine’s wide torque band. S4 can race from 60-120 km/h in roughly 4,5 seconds…
But the S4 is no straight-line specialist: in fact, if anything, it is more exciting when the road starts to curve, twist and bend. As already mentioned, drive is fed to all wheels and at each corner there is an 18-inch alloy shod with 245-section Bridgestone rubber that endows the car with high levels of lateral adhesion. But the S4’s party trick is its sports rear differential. This optional (R12 200) fitment directs power to the outside wheel in a cornering situation thereby alleviating acceleration understeer as is commonplace with all-wheel drive cars when cornering hard. Its operation can be felt if one climbs onto the accelerator really hard as the diff feeds more power to the outer/laden wheel, creating a moment and inducing a hint of oversteer to the cornering action. In conjunction with the optional Audi Drive select system (R3 850), the adaptive damping (R12 800) and dynamic steering (R10 600), the sports diff helps make the S4 a very capable and enjoyable machine to drive. Adaptive damping also means that S4 is as comfortable as any other A4 when you’re not driving quickly, which is to say very comfortable. Its comfort levels do not suffer at the price of the handling prowess.
If we have an issue with the dynamics it has to be levelled at the heavy, wooden steering. The action seems over-weighted, especially when cornering really hard, and does not seem to accurately convey messages from the front wheels to the driver’s palms.
TEST SUMMARY
If you are the shy retiring type, have kids, do the daily grind but still enjoy the odd enthusiastic drive, then there are few cars better than the S4 to buy. At nearly R600 000 it is by no means a bargain, with several alternatives costing far less. As it stood, our test unit had many optional boxes ticked driving the price up over the R700 000 mark, which is starting to encroach into M3 saloon territory, and that is serious competition… However, stick closer to the base price and you’re still left with a car that must rate as one of the big surprises of 2009.
