mlondon

About to buy a new Audi after driving a friends MiniCooper for the last year and a half. (a sardine can on wheels). Live in the San Francisco Bay Area and this will be my daily driver and only want to own one car. Just the wife and myself, no kids. Price is not an issue.

S4 - I dont need or want to go FAST but I really enjoy driving a car with precise steering and great handling. I took a fairly long test drive in the S4 and it feels great. And nice to know the power is there in case I need to remove myself from trouble.

However I'd like to be able to take it to some more out of the way places for camping, etc., or other places where the roads are not so great. Not true off-roading, but some dirt roads/gravel roads, etc. I'm concerned about the lowered ground clearance (does anyone know the actual specification? I could not find online).

I'm also a little concerned about using this car for daily urban driving, shopping, parking lots, etc. And I do not have a garage, so it will stay outside. We love the Estirol blue, but understand we need some kind of clear film to protect it.

A4 S-Line - No sport differential, so probably not as fun to drive. A few mm higher than the S4.

A4 - The best ground clearance, but feels a bit too soft.

Q5/SQ5 - Would solve the ground clearance problem, but WAY TOO BIG.

Allroad A4 - Also too big !!

Would really appreciate some input from S4 owners. How often do you have problems with the ground clearance? How often do you not go down some interesting looking road because of concerns about your car getting messed up? Is it really dumb to take a car like this camping, put on a rood rack for bikes, etc? Any and all thoughts appreciated !

ninjajack

My 2010 model S4 has never grounded despite many Summer's use on unimproved, mud roads. In fact, previous model Infiniti G35X was always scraping!
Even when heavily laden, the stiffer springing keeps the S4 from grounding.

Creatre

Just FYI, the A4 Sline is the same height (same ground clearance) as the S4.

Toecutter

If you want a car that can also go camping then I would suggest you not get the S4. We have a ton of dirt roads where I live and it's very easy to scrape bottom. The front bumper lip doesn't even clear a standard parking block so if you want to go down some dirt roads you'll have to be very cautious.

One other car you might want to look into that handles well, is pretty quick, yet has clearance is a BMW X3 35i.

DrGP

Get the A4 S line if you really don't need the performance. You will never miss the sport dif if you haven't had one.

mlondon

All good suggestions...

It's not just grounding I'm concerned about, it is the various hazards I would need to constantly be on the lookout for, either urban (parking blocks, angled driveways, etc), or country (uneven roads, etc.)

Hmmm, I thought the S4 was 30mm lower than an A4, and the A4 S-line was 20mm. In any case its a small difference...

Yeah, this is exactly what I'm talking about! I had considered the X3, or even the X1. But I really like the interior/options/ergonomics of the Audi. Plus everyone says the Quattro is massively better than the Xdrive. The Q5 seemed HUGE to me (I'm 6' 4", but not "wide"). Totally overkill for a daily driver.

I dont have enough experience with the A4. I know it it is super popular, cant be that bad! You are probably right. But I'm pretty sure the A4 S-Line is 20mm lower than the stock A4 as mentioned above, so more or less the same as the S4 when it comes to clearance.

I know I'm looking for something that does not exist and really do need to get out of my current set of wheels (the Mini) which is fun, but NOT comfortable, and NOT safe. The Allroad might be an answer... But seems big and no S-Line or S option...

Still confused...

Toecutter

The A4 S-Line is pretty nice and I agree it's a good choice if you don't need or appreciate the higher performance that the S4 gives you. I owned an A4 S-Line before my S4 and liked it pretty well. Unfortunately the low ground clearance is really noticeable when one wants to travel a rocky road. I'm not even talking about Jeep roads but graded fire roads presented a challenge.

I was able to nurse my A4 down a few dirt roads but I sure as heck did scrape more than once. Even if one *can* gently and carefully make his way down a forest road, it really isn't suited to that kind of travel so if the OP wants to be able to camp this car is just not a good choice. Going camping with the family is not when you want to worry about getting stuck out in the boonies because your car is high centered or damaged.

OP, since "price is not an issue" then how about a Porsche Cayenne? I think that would give you performance, handling, and off-road ability. Is it too large?

Toecutter

Would you be able to discern any difference between quattro and X-Drive (realistically)? The Bay Area doesn't get a lot of snow and ice, and if you go skiing a few times per year either system works well. On a racetrack the quattro might be better suited but I didn't read anything in your posts to suggest that you're even considering tracking whatever car you buy. For day-to-day driving and on occasional inclement weather I doubt you (or most people) could tell the difference between quattro and X-Drive.

I wonder if/when the Q3 Vail edition is coming out. Maybe that's still in the concept car stage, but it might be a good choice (at least on paper).

Tweakophyte

How is the Allroad too big? It's an A4 Avant, raised and cool-ified.

Macallan21

Don't buy a sport sedan to go camping. My opinion.

Now, the Q5 is the exact same cabin, just stretched taller. The Q5 is based on the A4 platform. All you're getting is a taller car.