[gIzzE]

I absolutely adore Audis, I love the image, the design and the interiors, over the last 4 years my wife and I have owned an A4 avant, A3 S-Line, A4 cabriolet, A2, A6 sport avant, I then bought a 535d m-sport touring a 120d M-Sport and an M3 CSL. Then I sold the 535 and the M3 and bought an S4 avant, trying to get into something fun and practical.

What a fukin' joke that car is!!!

The interior is OK and......yeah that's all the positives.
Where do I start??

Gearing - absolutely dire!! sat crusing at only 85mph and it is doing over 4000rpm and only returning 18mpg (UK so around 15mpg US).
Also the gearing so is short, you can't pull away smoothly in first, so I just used to use 2nd, 4th and 6th, and then moan about 6th.

Pedal position - the pedals are so fucking hire!!!! I used to get cramp after 30 minutes of driving, if you sit on the sofa now and try and get you toes to touch your shin you will see what I mean, it is crap!!

Throttle - The throttle is set up to be far too sharp, so again this combinded with the high gearing makes driving through traffic an absolute nightmare.

Handling - it doesn't!! simple as that.
If you want a nice safe car for the wet months or snow then yeah it is fine, but you would be better with a 2.0T Quattro, the car understeers like mad, the suspension is wallowy and crashy at the same time, how the fuck do they manage that!???
And when you lift the hood you can see why, there is a big heavy V8 block sat in front of the front axle, not over it, it is actually in front of it!! No wonder it handles like a boat.

Steering - no feedback whatsoever, far too assisted so it feels really light, and the steering wheel is massive, feels like something off a bus not a sporty car.

The sound system - it uses Bose and it is absolutely dire, very bright and extremely harsh.

Seats - It uses Recaros, but they are hard, don't lift up at the front enough you you feel like you are sliding off them and the bolsters seem to be designed for fat bastards as they don't hold you in place at all.


I managed to live with it for nearly a month, but then it had to go, absolute tosh, you have to need quattro or be an Audi fan boy to say it is a good car. I took out a couple of RS4s and they are better, but still pretty dull. So in the end it was back in a BMW, beautifully balanced, great handling, comfy seats that position well, pedals in the right place, a smooth throttle map that means you can drive it relaxed or press on when you fancy, steering feedback so you know what your car is doing, far quicker and just a much better all round package.


Oh, the guy I sold it to had come from an X5, he sold it last week meaning he managed to keep hold of it for just under a fortnight!!