QS4

sttom, I applaud your new baby (S4) and know you'll love, wash, maintain, and push her well! I adopted my baby off the floor/lot so the fertility gods were working before I got there - I am just happy she's got 4 tires, AWD, and a clean bill of health! Of course I adore the B&O sounds, Nav, and other niceties. Now that we are owners our main job is to pass with care, show respect for the boys and girls in blue, and not tease those models that are less fortunate than us!

Seriously though, I totally loved my 2000 S4 and I am thrilled to have another! These are great cars and I am glad that I can squeeze in the family when I prefer not to drive the wife's SUV. Your last two sentences sums it up perfectly! Enjoy!

togatown

Rule of thumb: If your wife and kids either ride or drive your car > 50% of the time = NO sport diff needed, but if only you drive/ride alone > 50% strongly consider sport differential.

QS4

Good one!

I think your 'get out of jail/speeding ticket' card should come with an "I've got the Sport Diff waiver"! Go on and get outta here, you enthusiast you!

togatown

The "WTF are you doing?" look on my wife's face is priceless, when I go around a curve fast enough to feel it working.

sttom

Update on 2015 (non-SD) Audi S4. For those of you who find a great deal on an S4 but SD challenged, I can assure you the standard rear open torsen differential equipped car is still phenomenal and don't hesitate to buy. This is from someone who previously drove a 2008 Mazdaspeed 3. My brother summed the MS3's handling perfectly. He said it felt like a high speed go-cart on rails. So I know what a really good handling car can do. MS3s defy physics. A FWD car has no business being able to handle the way it does. That being said I am thrilled with the S4. I would imagine the suspension on the SD equipped and standard non-SD, are identical. This explains why you have to go to extremes to tell the difference. I admittedly have not driven the S4 with the SD. Let's look at this logically, both cars have the same suspension setup, 40:60 asymmetric Torsen (Type "C") center differential and the incredible Quattro AWD system. So the non-SD has three out of the four things that make an S4 a great handling car. I went around a 25mph curve this weekend at 60mph on my maiden voyage home from the dealership 500 miles from my house and the tires didn't make a sound, very little lean! For sure, if I ordered a car new from a dealer I would get the SD and adaptive dampening for that matter but I'm not sweating not having it now because the standard still handles better than most. After all, transporter Jason Statham didn't need the SD! :-)

sttom

Sorry about the sideways picture.

togatown

See, proof positive a non-SD Audi will go sideways easier!

sttom

QS4

So I was on a test drive at a local Audi dealership. The salesman and I are going over the option list for the S4. There was not much discussion on most of the items, but there were a few questions on the coveted sports differential! My guy, let's call him Joe, says, "Why don't we let the diff speak for itself?" So out on the road we go! I was lucky because he happened to have a used and returned-lease S4 that we could go for a back to back 'blind' comparison test! One with sport diff and one without - I didn't know which was which!!!

We get out on the road and there is a nice stretch of expressway nearby with just a couple miles between two exits - on ramp, off ramp, on ramp, off! I love test drives and I love these S cars! It was a light traffic day and I was able to have fun the entire time. He's holding on to the handle above the window and I could feel my side pressing into the seat bolsters! Sheeit, these cars have matured since my B5 days!

When we got back, my average Joe asked me if I heard of the unfair Audi advantage? Um, no Joe, what's that?? Of course I did but Joe was making a joke - he told me I was faster pushing the non-sport diff on the on-ramps than the sport diff car!!! He says I pushed those cars harder than anyone he's ridden with and I add a new meaning to the unfair advantage!!

Here sporty sporty sporty!