Excelsior7

I didn't like how it flowed. I only really messed with the Drive select screen, but it seemed really hard to actually get anything meaningful accomplished with it. I never tried the Nav or audio much.

I'm just saying experiment with it a bit before you commit to waiting a whole year.

If you really want a better nav system, just go look at BMW. The current gen iDrive is miles ahead of MMI 3g in usability and interface, and in my opinion, the new one as well.

cumicon

Does anyone have any idea what the 2013 'refresh' will entail? Is it just going to be cosmetic changes? I can't decide whether I should buy the 2012 in a couple months or wait another year for the 2013.

Rian

Thanks for your comments. I agree day by day, month by month adding up to the year is a very long time to wait. I'm coming from the "L" lux brand and I was originally going to go with the 335i as my first intro into the Euro brand, but after reading numerous problems with the HPFP, waste-gate rattle, dealerships accusing owners of putting poor quality gas into their cars because you know **** retentive BMW ENTHUSIAST
are dumb dumbs when it comes to their cars and gas quality (I'm kidding!), I decided against the 335i. I really didn't want that kind of headache. I know exactly what I am getting into when I go with the German car this time around and I'm willing to put up with certain things, but not have a clear and definite fix for HPFP and being given the run around by BMW is scary to say the least. As we get near 2012 and 2013 I'm sure we will see pic of the BMW F30, but I really don't want to be a beta tester for that car either. I'm leaning strongly toward the S4 at this point. I guess I could go with another "L" IS3xx, but I really want to have a German car experience and Audi fits the bill for the moment. Life is too short to not experience different car brands. At this point of my car buying days, I'm willing to sacrifice a moderate amount of reliability for the sake of driving pleasure.

Rian

The guess at this point for 2013 is the B8 S4 should have the Goggle MMI NAV system and some small cosmetic changes. I haven't been following the Audi brand in the past so maybe some of the elders on the board can comment on how Audi releases updates to their "S" cars. I'm wondering how the B5, B6, and B7 "S" cars have changed during their tenure.

Excelsior7

I enjoyed the 335i a lot. It's a great car. I did have the HPFP go bad at about 8000 miles, but it never so much as coughed in the next 32,000

It's a different experience than the audi, to be sure. The BMW feels tighter, more connected with the driver, and more tossable. The S4 is heavier, and feels it, but it also feels supremely planted, and with the Sport diff, it's amazingly agile. I've been driving mine in the snow the last couple of days, and compared to my old WRX that was on similar tires, it's night and day.

BMW NA are just horrible. Years ago my dad had a BMW motorcycle that had a notorious clutch problem. Despite the ubiquity of it, BMW NA said it was "Rider error."

I agree with you wholeheartedly. The main reason I got the s4 over another BMW, besides the AWD system (BMW's AWD is kind of a joke), was that I'd never driven an Audi before.

normandie44

Any of you had a Euro delivery experience for an S4, looking for a 2013 model soon.
BTW I could see a TT RS engine for a light S4, the sound is pretty nice and better than a stock S4, just a tough.

sakimano

who knows...but I think the trend is to make bigger cars, and leave the smaller cars to new models a.k.a. an A1, or A3 sedan. I don't think an S4 will have a 4 banger in it anytime soon. Maybe the I5T...but even then I'm not so sure. Don't forget...that article you guys are referring to had an ASF A5. Not an S5...an A5. Sure a small 4 banger will be the normal engine for most of the cars Audi sells (something like 75% of units sold are 4 bangers) but in an S4 that's 186" long...and only getting bigger...I don't think it makes any sense.

Despite the oil crisis, hp still sells cars, and getting big HP from turbos is horribly unreliable. This car shipped with 333hp on the brochure, but its more like 360 or whatever you want to believe (such a mystery!) so I can't see them trying to get 350+ hp out of a 4 cylinder engine. The torque curve would be so **** the feel of the car would suffer dramatically.

Go ask your friends with big turbo A4 1.8T/2.0Ts how reliable they are. Yikes.


As for the OP - local rep told me 2012 S4 with August 2011 delivery would be do-able, for a friend who I advised to buy the B8 S4.

sakimano

while I agree about the 3.0T I wouldn't go that far with your argument that they keep engines for a long time.

Look at the 2.0TFSI from the B7 A4. Gone in 60 seconds.

sakimano

is the new A6 ASF? Though I read that.

giovanni0330

For 2013 the S4 is going to use all R8 parts and have a 12 cyl engine.

well - figured as long as everyone is speculating (guessing) - why not... Probably best to wait for confirmed information to make a decision on =)