DrGP

Looks like a great car. Love everything about it. I had 2 red B8 S4s and now have a black with the 2 tone red interior. You should be really happy with that car. Enjoy!

iflywoe

there will always be audi s4's out there, if I was you I would drive them , and see if you can find a 2013 or newer one with a manual. be patient you will find what your looking for.

iflywoe

and spend some time with us, you will get lots of info

Emwonk

I flew to Sioux Falls, SD., yesterday, bought the car and drove it 650 miles back.

Ten hours is a lot of time to get familiar with a car.

First thoughts: Very happy with the car. It's fun to drive, fast enough for a daily driver and it has the practical aspects of 4 doors and AWD. I like the options and the manual transmission is highly preferred and I understand hard to find used. I like the seats in terms of comfort and design. (Mine are grey with red centers.)

I am not practiced enough with the shifter and clutch to REALLY drive it hard, so I'm looking forward to getting up to speed.

Coming from E30 325is, e36 M3 (later supercharged), a 335i and a current e46 M3 I feel qualified to help weigh in on which car is "best."

It's complicated, and I'll give it more thought before stirring that pot. Before I get around to my "review," I'm curious if there are and cross-brand folks on here. I'd be curious how you feel BMW and Audi cars compare?

I'll be back....

safetywork

Long time loyal BMW here too (two e36 M3s, e46 M3, plus lots of other none M cars).... this is my first Audi. The S4 is a great car, perfect compromised car for me. It does everything well. My S4 is a 2013, with the none hydraulic steering, the lack of feel is one of my complaints the other is smallish fuel tank.

The M cars (especially the e36 M) provides better steering feedback. The s4's mechanical grip is incredible but the M cars are more fun/interesting to drive. I have the optional sport diff on mine, it definitely helps reduce the amount of understeer. I know the s4 is faster and better in almost every aspect as my e36 M but I do miss my M.

I've taken the S4 to the track once so far and it did a pretty good job. You can feel the weight though, definitely need to upgrade the brakes and it needs more camber! I've done the stage 1 software upgrade, which I would highly recommend (once you're past your warranty). Wow! What a difference! This is my first force inducted car, just astonished at what can be done with a software upgrade. With that being said however, I am somewhat looking at the used car market for another M. I prefer the e36 M over the e46 M but this time around, I think I may go back to e46. My wife was shocked I sold the e46 and kept the e36....if I get another e36, she'd think I lost my mind (it would be my 3rd e36)....we'll see.

Enjoy your s4...if you still have your e46 M, you pretty much have my ideal garage. Hopefully you'll be able to keep both. I really regret selling my e36 M (but I did make the new owner promise me to give me first rights of refusal when its time for him to sell) so hopefully it'll come home someday.

StumpJumper

VAG = Volkswagen Audi Germany

those "mods" are no different from the custom coding you can have done on a BMW, the big difference is the software is readily available and easy to use, you can also use it for maintenance work and diagnostics, you can get it here, if you plan on having any VAG product it's a worthwhile investment: Ross-Tech: Home

read about the settings you can change here: VCDS & Hidden menu: The complete list


there's a relatively new piggy-back on the market, discussed at length on that other site, it sounds promising but there aren't any long-term usage details yet since it's so new

StumpJumper

I forgot - if you don't want to spend the money on the VAGCOM, or if all you're interested in is some of the more common coding modifications, the "carista" app for IOS and Android is pretty functional. It won't help the BMW until it's out of beta but that's probably not too far off.

Emwonk

Thanks for the VAGCOM guidance. It looks complicated beyond my powers.


I'm curious if the dealer can make the changes to those settings, if I give them a list? BMW has a number of dealer-configurable settings.


I am keenly interested in a piggyback, IF it is reliable and effective as the Burger Motorsports system, and will not throw codes into Audi Detective Tools that I cannot easily erase. MY BMS piggyback in the 335i was very very nice. However, I have a CPO and I don't want any risk of messing with that.

Emwonk

Caveat: The BMWs I've owned that are most-comparable to the S4 are 1999 e36 M3/2003 E46M3 (in garage) and 2007 335i. This is somewhat apples to oranges, but given both are fruits I am OK with that.


Cost -- Seems higher for used s4 vs. used 335i. Used S4 feels lower cost than used e92 M3. That is a feeling, not economic science.


Build Quality -- The S4 feels like it is more solid (sturdy) in the physical nature of the car. Sort of like the sheet metal is thicker. The body perhaps is more rigid.


Interior --


Space-4 people can ride in tolerable comfort. Not a comparison with my 2-door BMWs. Just a nice fact.


Seats -- -- The S4 seats are painfully inferior to the seats on the 335i in terms of 10-hour comfort. They are close to even yet still "behind" the comfort level of the E46. And superior to the beat-the-hell-out-of me-in-5-hours E36 m3. Side bolster adjustment appears missing at first search on the S4. It is borderline too narrow for me for a long drive. I am in better than average shape for a 51 year old who is 6 feet tall, and the seat squishes my butt a bit too much.


The previous owner stretched wrinkly waves into the left driver-butt bolster in merely 18,000 miles, implying the seats are a too narrow for the average S4 owner. Another 2 inches wide (maybe 15 fewer pounds) would do it.


Shifter -- Far superior to ANY BMW I've shifted. Not crispy- perfect, but engagement is FAR more positive and FAR less mushy. Clutch seems easier to operate/shift smoothly.


Controls -- Just what the ....&^#@$%. There are so many layers within layers on the S4 -- and one button on the console controlling what another button does on console or steering wheel or buried in the nav screen settings that it's a real bitch to adjust anything compared to the iDrive in the 2007 335i. Sometime I will count all of the control buttons just to see if I can do it.




Sunroof -- I vastly prefer the push-the-button control on BMWs to the spin the **** sunroof.


Trunk -- Nice and large!


Exterior --


Beauty factor -- I like the design of the 335i and M3s better. The Audi is not ugly. Just not as sleek and timeless.


Function factor -- I miss the pathway lighting on the 335i door handles. Not a big deal.


Paint -- Looks very high quality. Nice deep red color. I'm guessing it will outlast the BMW finish, but I don't care since the car will be gone before it matters.


Exhaust -- an E46 M3 exhaust note is a near-replacement for sex. The S4 -- not so much. (Am I correct in understanding I am hearing the engine partly through the sound system, even when the radio is off? If so, where do I disconnect that nonsense? If I want fake exhaust I will put a 12 cylinder Lamborghini soundtrack on the stereo.)


THE DRIVE


Drive settings -- The drive setting resetting itself when one restarts the car is annoying. I suspect the 9 possible combinations of "individual" settings will prove impossible to optimize at any perceivable level of difference. The "dynamic" setting is far less "dynamic" that the simple "sport" button on the e46 M3. Push that in the M3 and there is a noticeable hint of immediate "afterburner" effect. S4 settings are far more subtle. I can feel zero difference between "Auto" and "Comfort." I am very curious what imperceptible thing is happening with steering between one setting and the next. Maybe I am too much a brute to perceive the differences.


Sport Differential -- I have zero awareness what this does compared to the non-sport that I drive on faith it matters. Adding a true mechanical Quaiffe differential on the 335i yielded zero perceptible difference even up to the point where I was driving more than hard as I pleased on the street with all traction control off. Perhaps sport differential is the same level of benefit? Still I wanted it because I heard it mattered.


Handling -- I won't even bother comparing it to the feel of driving an M3. (Nothing can.) However, without driving both I would feel like the S4 is a car that handles amazingly well. It handles more than well enough to get a 4-door-commuter job done with a lot of extra fun to spare. The S4 is middle aged old Elvis, perhaps a few years before the heart attack. Still cool, but not moving anything like sleek Young Elvis.


Speed -- Perhaps feels (and in fact measures) faster than an e46 M3; closer to matched with the 335i, and no comparison to a 335i with a piggyback. However, anyone who buys an S4 with speed as a big deal is in fantasy-racer denial there are a lot of less expensive (easily modified) cars that are seconds faster in a 1/4, and even a lot of more expensive cars that are seconds faster.


Still, I wonder how the S4 would compare with the M3 between 60 and 120 MPH. I'll never know, so it won't matter.


It is fast enough to be fun, too slow for serious drag racing, too expensive to gut and make into a track car, and fast enough to get in big trouble if caught street racing.


Fuel Economy -- Good like the 335i. Highway miles = ~27 mpg at 75. Great given the power. Superior to the e46 M3 with more rated power. ~24 max with the M3. So a few dollars here, a few dollars there. No big deal.


Modification -- Apparently much more difficult to chip than a 335i, without fear of warranty destruction. That is a bummer.


These are mostly opinions, and facts vary based on the presenter. I read a long string in the comments section of an online car review that argued whether Mustang/Camaro are greater than S4. That's a laugh. Sort of like a guy with a can of worms and lead weights on a thick line telling the guy with a fly rod that he can't cast as far, or hook as big a fish.


Final grade -- I love it. It balances my garage with a practical-yet-fun car I am OK getting wet and plowing through salty snow; and a pristine 35,000-mile e46 M3 I can take out on sunny days when I want an Ultimate DRIVING machine. Best of both worlds.


The Subaru outback my wife drives can sit in the driveway. (Remote start in winter sealed that deal. Hey -- that would be nice on the Audi...)

yaya1582

I would go with..2013 Audi S4 Black LOADED FLAWLESS Warranty thru 2017!
Good luck.. both great cars.