Hi there
Got to the Audi dealer, was short on time however they quickly through me into an RS4 Avant. Was not too happy about this because its the saloon I am interested in. Upon throwing many questions at the sale guy who tells me the Avant and Saloon both drive the same etc. etc. due to having the same wheelbase etc. etc. First of all is this true?
The car had the lighter RS4 seats, damn comfy and nice plus he mentioned something about uprated suspension, Audi option.
Anyway started the car up, radio off and set off in the car amongst rush hour traffic. Like the EVO the car was so easy to drive, as in clutch control, gears etc.
Don't shoot me now, but I forgot to press the sport button which makes the seats hug you and makes the throttle response crisper, suspension and power remain unchanged so not a big boo. Anyway upon leaving the Audi car park I noticed the steering, it was so light, once out onto the main road with some speed it got gradually heavier, kinda annoying really but at least it had some weight to it now.
Driving the car in traffic was a breeze and I soon found some open stretches and country roads. The engine sounds nice inside, lovely V8 burble but just a little on the quiet side. Power delivery well the car does not feel particular quick at all, but my god the speedo goes round pretty quick. Its certainly a car that when you think your travelling at 30 your actually doing 50 and 100 leptons feels more like 60-70. Like I say the speedo goes round in a rather quick fashion and shows no signs of slowing not even when entering 3 digit area.
I drove the car on my route home and back so roads I know, same roads as I took the EVO etc.
There is a long sweeping bend which gets sharper and sharper which in the dry the Mustang can do 55-60 with ease, though I do slide across the seat and you can push to around 70mph but that promotes some tyre squeal. So in the Audi I entered the corner doing 50ish, did not go any faster because I simply had no communication from the car but as I went into the corner it felt like the rear-end went to step out, then for a millisecond the car felt a little unstable under me but then it just planted itself, maybe it was some kind of traction or 4WD system doing some trickery but it did not feel natural.
Anyway took some more corners and even though the car grips the steering feels completely disconnected from the car and its also pretty slow, as in the steering is sluggish in comparison to the Mustang and some of the other cars I've driven. I could also certainly feel the cars weight in the corners as well, basically even though it corners quickly it makes you feel very disconnected from the road and in some ways just feels plain strange.
Now what I did like was the interior it really did just oooze pure quality, certainly the best yet. The seats were superb they held you perfectly in place, so no sliding about like in the Mustang but they are very comfy too. The suspension was a little harsh but perfectly fine.
The good points are its certainly quick, it feels slow due to the disconnected feeling and it don't really push you back in the seat but the speedo goes round in no time. Standing start acceleration is fantastic, I had no issues with traffic light grand prix the car just took off and flew. The car also picks up very well in higher gears from low RPM too, so the torque is available from down low and the cars gearing is relatively short too which no doubt gives it the impression of having more torque.
The bad points is it very muched reminded me of my 3000GT driving experience. Completely disconnected and slow steering which I found rather off putting, its certainly not a focused drivers car at all. The handling, well it grips well and no doubt the onboard computers keep it on the black stuff but I could certainly feel the cars weight in the corners, it did not feel chuckable at all, but it did grip well.
I can see why some like it so much due to the fact the car shields you from road feel and noise, plus makes driving fast incredibly easy, not to sure on how the chassis handles when you go past its limits though.
Anyway the sales guy could see I was not too impressed and obviously my drive was a bit short. So he invited me to the S5 launch and took me over to an Audi I'd not seen before. He said what do you think of this and I said it looks damn fine and am guessing its got a V8 in it, he said yep.
So on Sunday I am back for an hours drive in the RS4 (Saloon hopefully this time) and then an hour in a Sprint Blue S5. This will give me more time to properly put the cars through their paces and see if I change my mind.
So favourable points of the RS4 are its truly amazing build quality and its straight line performance. Also the prices seem reasonable at 42k-46k for a 12month old example.
Will report back at the weekend on how the S5 drives which by the way I love the look off and if I think any better of the RS4.
Would still like to find out if the Avant is an equal to the Saloon like Audi say, they guy knows I don't want an Avant and as such is not trying the hard sale on me, but he was adament they both drive and handle identical apart from the fact the Avant is 50kg heavier which I suppose is not gonna transform the car anyway.
Got to the Audi dealer, was short on time however they quickly through me into an RS4 Avant. Was not too happy about this because its the saloon I am interested in. Upon throwing many questions at the sale guy who tells me the Avant and Saloon both drive the same etc. etc. due to having the same wheelbase etc. etc. First of all is this true?
The car had the lighter RS4 seats, damn comfy and nice plus he mentioned something about uprated suspension, Audi option.
Anyway started the car up, radio off and set off in the car amongst rush hour traffic. Like the EVO the car was so easy to drive, as in clutch control, gears etc.
Don't shoot me now, but I forgot to press the sport button which makes the seats hug you and makes the throttle response crisper, suspension and power remain unchanged so not a big boo. Anyway upon leaving the Audi car park I noticed the steering, it was so light, once out onto the main road with some speed it got gradually heavier, kinda annoying really but at least it had some weight to it now.
Driving the car in traffic was a breeze and I soon found some open stretches and country roads. The engine sounds nice inside, lovely V8 burble but just a little on the quiet side. Power delivery well the car does not feel particular quick at all, but my god the speedo goes round pretty quick. Its certainly a car that when you think your travelling at 30 your actually doing 50 and 100 leptons feels more like 60-70. Like I say the speedo goes round in a rather quick fashion and shows no signs of slowing not even when entering 3 digit area.
I drove the car on my route home and back so roads I know, same roads as I took the EVO etc.
There is a long sweeping bend which gets sharper and sharper which in the dry the Mustang can do 55-60 with ease, though I do slide across the seat and you can push to around 70mph but that promotes some tyre squeal. So in the Audi I entered the corner doing 50ish, did not go any faster because I simply had no communication from the car but as I went into the corner it felt like the rear-end went to step out, then for a millisecond the car felt a little unstable under me but then it just planted itself, maybe it was some kind of traction or 4WD system doing some trickery but it did not feel natural.
Anyway took some more corners and even though the car grips the steering feels completely disconnected from the car and its also pretty slow, as in the steering is sluggish in comparison to the Mustang and some of the other cars I've driven. I could also certainly feel the cars weight in the corners as well, basically even though it corners quickly it makes you feel very disconnected from the road and in some ways just feels plain strange.
Now what I did like was the interior it really did just oooze pure quality, certainly the best yet. The seats were superb they held you perfectly in place, so no sliding about like in the Mustang but they are very comfy too. The suspension was a little harsh but perfectly fine.
The good points are its certainly quick, it feels slow due to the disconnected feeling and it don't really push you back in the seat but the speedo goes round in no time. Standing start acceleration is fantastic, I had no issues with traffic light grand prix the car just took off and flew. The car also picks up very well in higher gears from low RPM too, so the torque is available from down low and the cars gearing is relatively short too which no doubt gives it the impression of having more torque.
The bad points is it very muched reminded me of my 3000GT driving experience. Completely disconnected and slow steering which I found rather off putting, its certainly not a focused drivers car at all. The handling, well it grips well and no doubt the onboard computers keep it on the black stuff but I could certainly feel the cars weight in the corners, it did not feel chuckable at all, but it did grip well.
I can see why some like it so much due to the fact the car shields you from road feel and noise, plus makes driving fast incredibly easy, not to sure on how the chassis handles when you go past its limits though.
Anyway the sales guy could see I was not too impressed and obviously my drive was a bit short. So he invited me to the S5 launch and took me over to an Audi I'd not seen before. He said what do you think of this and I said it looks damn fine and am guessing its got a V8 in it, he said yep.
So on Sunday I am back for an hours drive in the RS4 (Saloon hopefully this time) and then an hour in a Sprint Blue S5. This will give me more time to properly put the cars through their paces and see if I change my mind.
So favourable points of the RS4 are its truly amazing build quality and its straight line performance. Also the prices seem reasonable at 42k-46k for a 12month old example.
Will report back at the weekend on how the S5 drives which by the way I love the look off and if I think any better of the RS4.
Would still like to find out if the Avant is an equal to the Saloon like Audi say, they guy knows I don't want an Avant and as such is not trying the hard sale on me, but he was adament they both drive and handle identical apart from the fact the Avant is 50kg heavier which I suppose is not gonna transform the car anyway.
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