MTMnet

1. Is the S4 clutch somewhat more difficult to shift smoothly or would I just need to drive it more to get use to it vs. my Allroad 6 speed?

2. Does the S4 Avant drive/feel different from the Sedan?

3. How come the Automatic transmission gets better gas milege?

Thanks,
Mike

DrGP

The clutch is tricky, Avant is hardly any different if at all. Can't explain the mpg difference

donp

Tip gets better mileage because if you drive easy it will have you in 4th gear before you know it.

silberpfeil

...but not both. The clutch combined with DBW makes it very tricky.

2953

...<font color="003366"> shifting a manual gearbox car.

During low coolant temperature operations, every time the throttle is backed off when the car is shifted, hydrocarbon emissions shoot upward. As engine displacement increases, the deleterious effects of hydrocarbon spiking rises inordinately.

Since cold-start operation is part of the U.S. EPA test larger displacement engines with manual transmissions <i>tend</i> to be penalized by this. As with a planetary gear automatic gearbox, the DSG trans can make each shift without backing off the gas all but eliminating the hydrocarbon spiking issue.

Hope that answers your question.</font>

SelmerMk6

they are really experienced manual drivers, it's usually very ugly. I kind of like that, especially when it's my turn to show them how to drive a car with this much power and torque in such a small package. Yes, it takes some time getting used to this car but with a little practice I have found it can be driven smoothly at slow and fast speeds.

MTMnet

Thanks for the info!

JDBlueAudiS4

The S4 clutch is very easy once you get the hang of it. The avant and sedan feel different on the road but not that much. Both drive exceptionally well. The MPG difference is do to how the car shifts as well as many other things. A Tip is normally in a higher gear then you would be in a manual car

wahoo99

??? Can you not 'slip' the clutch a little? I'm looking into a '05.5 S4 but haven't test driven the manual. Is the car testy or is the clutch just stiff? After driving my 3 series, the clutch has gotten significantly stiffer over 5 years. I routinely start in 2nd but need to 'slip' the clutch when I'm in rush hour.

I driven several muscle cars and I'm curious to what you mean by slow and smooth or fast?!?

Captain Sheetmetal

More so than on other cars. At high speed and normally associated high RPMs, a mismatch is much more jarring than at low RPMs.