jjsC6

What other cars did you consider? The obvious competitor seems to be a BMW 340/440, but I've never been able to come to terms with the interior of the 3 series. The Infiniti Q50 Red Sport? I'm curious as to what other folks are considering. My though right now is actually a BMW 540. If I commuted on really fun roads the S4 would be an obvious choice at this price point. But to the OPs point earlier, most of us just commute in them. And living in Houston, it's a very boring commute.

dbuxton13

Closest to the price point:
BMW 340i xDrive and 540i xDrive
Cadillac ATS-V
Infiniti Q50 Red Sport 400
Jaguar XF S
Mercedes-Benz C 450 AMG Sport 4MATIC (and the obvious C43)
Volvo S60 Polestar
Audi A6
Acura RLX Sport Hybrid

Cars sometimes compared against the S4, but cost way more:
Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio
BMW M3
Lexus RC F
Mercedes-Benz C63
Audi RS4 (obviously)

Very enticing, but the rear seat space kills it for me:
Audi RS3

Again, the compare/contrast details for each of these would go on for many paragraphs, but suffice it to say, no matter how much I rack and stack the options, the S4 keeps coming out on top for me, personally. This car gets right the things that matter to me, and the things that some people are critiquing are generally aspects that just don't register high enough against my values. Also, for the last 8 or so years I have been drawn to the Audi brand, and the 4 rings. Vorsprung durch technik... Progress through technology, resonates with me. And as an air force pilot, the S4 cockpit is very techie/gadgety (making up words) and set up in a way I enjoy.

Since I currently live in Germany, I have been able to test drive the German-spec S4 on the autobahn, and it is truly a thrill to crank it up all the way to its speed limiter. It just goes and goes relentlessly all the way to 250kph. Looking forward to taking my own car to the Nurburgring when it finally comes (it's about an hour away from where I live). So many awesome German cars everywhere I go around here... the wait is murder. Have to hold off just another month to order, because the road I live on is under construction and the detour is a long crappy dirt road. No way am I taking my new car on that road.

veyronRS7

i have to agree with this logic, the review feels very subjective at best....especially comparing to the R8 experience.

aj6

Most of the negatives in this thread I consider to be positives, such as the mannered driving characteristics and ZF transmission. The lack of "character" and the sound feedback are disappointing to hear though. Some hate it, and considering the R8 and B7/8 S4 allegedly had some of the coolest sounding engines ever it's a high bar to meet. But I'm coming from an A3 so it'll doubtless be music to my ears. I listen to the "let's drive" S4 video on youtube a few times a week just to hear that sweet sound and anticipate mine for when I get home.

For what it's worth I have a field grade buddy out here that's buying a M3 when he gets home, and the gatekeepers on those forums are also poo-pooing that sound like it the greatest atrocity to befall mankind. Everything with a grain of salt.

The good news is that markcincinnati is coming around on the transmission bit:

Glisse

Personally, I find negative comments in owners' forums of at least equal value to unbridled praise. At the very least, it gives me something to look out for when considering the car. So thanks, OP, for taking the time to post your thoughts.

Perhaps the OP could have softened the headline and language a bit, but I have seen similar templates used in other car forums (certainly Mercedes) with predominantly US membership so it seemed well intentioned to me.

I agree with the comment on engine feel and exhaust. They are both flat, and lacking some character compared to the supercharged engine with dual sequential transmission from the B8. And I still have my B8 S5 as well as a B9 S5, so get to compare each and every week. I drove the B9 before ordering it, so knew exactly what I was gaining, and losing.

As Superswiss said, this is a function of turbocharging / high torque at low rpm / maximum test cycle efficiency / transmission maps. Which is affecting all manufacturers, who are going in the same direction. So it is a bit like driving a black Model T and saying I preferred the feedback from my horse. That era is going, if not already gone. Because after this phase comes electric.

I don't agree with the comments on steering; compared to what equivalent car? And my B8 is a 2010 build, so has hydraulic steering. But really, this takes a drive around the block to work out whether you hate a car's steering or not.

The lighter and stiffer chassis of the B9, along with the revised suspension, makes for a fundamentally better riding/steering/handling car than the B8. Whether those higher limits make for a boring driving experience, as the OP seems to feel, or an improvement is pretty personal. One person's "feedback" is another person's loss of traction.

i will say, having driven all the variants, is that the shorter wheelbase of the S5 Coupé is quite noticeable, and that car feels relatively more nervous (in the rear end) than the S4 in these conditions. And I quite liked that myself.

Perhaps if the OP had started with the 3 things he loved about his new S4, then he wouldn't have upset some people as much. But whilst I think my B9 S5 Sportback may be a bit more enjoyable if it had the engine and transmission and sound from my B8, that doesn't stop it from being a very good package. To the extent that we are trading our B8 S5 cab for a B9 S5 cab - it is simply a better car.

The MMI system cutting out is odd, I have never experienced that at maximum G. But I would be loathe to have a dealer pull my car apart to find what is loose without them having some idea to start with. I noticed that the VC lost the navigation information (direction arrow screen immediately switched to time/date) at the same time as centre console screen cut out.

markcincinnati

Considering that there have been a few folks -- including me -- who have commented about the "droning" (engine) sound of their new S4's, I have another update.

I have noted on other threads that the droning sound was mitigated by the following setting of the Audi Drive Select -- Individual Mode.

Engine/Transmission - Dynamic
SteeringEffort - Auto
ExhaustSound - Comfort

These settings, now at 900 miles on the vehicle remain, and I underscore that 99% of the time I drive the car with the transmission in "S" mode.

I have washed the car four times.

It has had ONLY top-tier gasoline in it.

The droning has steadily subsided -- today it was particularly muffled, but even moreso after driving to lunch, parking it and then driving back to the office.

It is "as if" something has settled down or settled in and the droning would really no longer be worth mentioning. I'm thinking of changing the exhaust sound to dynamic, in fact.

If you had been one of the folks concerned about some unpleasant aural emanations, I, for one, can attest to a rather sharp drop - off in said sounds.

I'm anxious to hear the thing at full-cry, which I will leash loose in about 100 miles.

markcincinnati

40 miles to 1,000. I was forced to sneak flooring the S4 today after lunch -- to get out of the way of another driver that I had determined was having a stupid attack.

This has become one of the most eerily quiet cars I've ever owned.

OK, so when I floored the S4, the engine sound -- although clearly the product of some decent sound deadening, -- was almost as nice as my 2014 Supercharged S4's growl; as you may recall, I recently traded from the 2014 to the 2018 S4.

I'm just about to declare the '18 drone free (except when I drive it in D and call for some acceleration, but not so much as to cause a downshift.) In S mode the RPM's are high enough to completely mitigate the issue.

Now, onto the S vs D issue. Someone posted here that in "S" mode the RPMs are always at 3,500.

Well, using the paddle shifters it is POSSIBLE to keep the revs at 3,500. In S, the car is doing 83MPH at 2,000 rpm (in 8th gear.) and this is just the way it works out, this is not the result of paddle shifting to keep the revs low. In 8th gear on a flat Interstate, the revs seem to ebb and flow between 1400 and 2200 based on road speed. I've had it to 93MPH and it seems to me it was at 2200+ (since it is not a digital readout of RPM, I could be off 100 one way or the other at any given time.)

I notice NO "same day service" when using the paddle shifters. The gear changes using the paddles are NOW! Right NOW! Not quite as seamless as the DSG -- but frankly the programming and the technology is so good, it really makes me almost forget the DSG.

No kidding, when I up or down shift using the paddles it is very easy to believe I'm in an 8-speed DSG.

If you know this one, sorry.

The sound of the exhaust is lower, louder and more menacing when the car is in dynamic mode than in auto or comfort. Then, the sound is a bit more ballsy when you leave the engine setting in dynamic and change the exhaust to dynamic too.

If you set the exhaust to Auto, it [the exhaust] is quiet(er) when the engine setting is Comfort. When you change the engine to dynamic, it [the exhaust] reverts to louder.

It is my belief that if the exhaust note is set to auto and the engine is, likewise set to auto that as the engine/transmission "learns" to be more dynamic based on your driving style (this session), the exhaust sounds gets louder and deeper or softer and less deep in concert with what's going on with the engine/transmission setting of the Audi driver select.

Of course, you can also set the interior COLOR to track the ADS setting too -- why?

Because they can.

Drive it like you live.

Tatge

@markcincinatti, is there a fuse for the soundaktor? If so, try pulling it and comparing the drone to when the soundaktor is enabled. Unless you are able to do it via software...

aj6

To be fair to everyone, I made this comment and it was in reference to the S programming in the 2015 A3 with the 6-speed DSG. That car actually does keep the revs that high in S mode, which is likely due to the gearing and the significantly less powerful/torquey powerplant. Mark has since alleviated any fears about the S programming in the S4. It actually sounds like Audi made it the intended drive mode for what most of us are looking for, without being overly aggressive.

markcincinnati

I'm just about at the point, where I'm movin' on -- part of the reason, I'm thinking, I noticed the drone, is that the car is vewy vewy qwiet.

If it wasn't for the low rpm torque, I'd almost be willing to say this S4 has the least amount of drama of any S4, perhaps, ever.

I, for one, like the move toward more luxurious power and performance. But, this car has evolved the luxury quotient, PERHAPS, to pave the way for the RS cars. I remember my first S6, it was a very high strung 5 cylinder model with a manual transmission only; it had 20 valves and a turbo plus a very mean sound under WOT. As time passed, the S cars did become better performers, to be sure. At the same time, however, they continued to provide the driver (and passengers) with very low drama. I took an S6 out (several times) for a test drive and the thing would get to triple digit speeds with such ease and so little drama, I assume it came with a glove box full of speeding tickets because it was a foregone conclusion that you would drive it at 100MPH on a regular basis.

The S4 is now like a bullet travelling in a vacuum -- no friction, no sound, just unfettered and drama free speed.

The reason for doing this? To pave the path for a high-drama RS 4, perhaps.

I have to assume the RS 3 with the five cylinder engine, will remind those of you who -- like me -- had a 1995 S6 in dark green metallic with a pure white leather interior with a standard built in voice controlled phone. Until the 2018 S4, that S6 was -- of nearly 30 Audis -- my all time favorite.

Will there be an RS 4? Gawd, I hope so.

I believe there will be another RS 5, so you know an RS 4 is at least possible. And, I'm talking about a sedan version, not only the avant version.

I can dream can't I?

Since I have not driven an RS 7, I have to assume the RS 7 is a high drama S6 -- only with more power (and costs about $40,000 more).

Still dreaming.