socialpro

Last Thursday we picked up an ordered S4 for my wife to replace her 2014 A6 TDI with following specs

Glacier White, Prestige Package, S Sport Package, 19" Wheels, Napa Leather (Magma Red interior)

Here are some of my initial thoughts on the car after spending some time driving around this weekend - some of which have been said / other opinions that I have not came across.

As a side note - I currently drive a 2016 RS7 and had the previous B8.5 DSG S4 - so some of my 'thoughts' may be biased because of my past/current car history.

So onto the 2018 S4 -

Initial Thoughts -- Even though we test drove the same 'spec' as the one we got (minus a few touches) - I find the steering to be overly 'vague' and 'light' for an S car - now that I had some seat time in ours. Almost to the point of making the driving experience a bit 'flimsy'. Even in dynamic there is absolutely no weight to the steering at all. My previous B8.5 S4 had a much better feel to the wheel in dynamic setting. Neither cars had dynamic steering option.

This steering feel was something that I did not even focus to consider much on when we were speccing the car. If it was me - I probably would of gone for the dynamic steering - and kept it in the dynamic/fixed ratio setting as I do on my RS. In comfort - where the 'dynamic' steering option is pronounced, I do not enjoy that on my RS - so its still a toss up on which steering would of been better in the end. Both nearby dealers did not have one car with dynamic steering on the S4 to test drive at the time of ordering.

My wife thinks the steering is 'fine' on this S4 and she likes a light, non-weighted touch to the wheel.

Next up: Acceleration.

Yes - the transmission is smooth overall - but in no way does it feel 'sporty' to me. The car does get up and go once at speed - but off the line, and at 'low' speeds there is almost some sort of hesitation of the car manipulating gears to try and figure out what you are trying to do. The car DOES feel torquey-er over my previous B8.5 S4 AT speed. As the car is still being broken in - I did not do all out acceleration runs - or take her past 5K revs yet.

Exhaust Sound: I'm very partial to the way this car sounds. As mentioned by some others - there is always a slight constant drone as long as your foot is on the pedal - and almost a 4-cylinderish like sound to the exhaust. It's not overly off putting - and does add a bit of 'aura' and 'perception' of acceleration and speed - but if given the choice - I would rather the exhaust / soundkator be completely silent.

Now onto the great - the suspension on the car is GREAT (with the s sport package adaptive suspension). I have it set to comfort. Even in that setting - it is firm yet much more compliant over the previous S4. It takes bumps VERY well yet you have no problem feeling the road as you drive.

Fit and finish on the car is OUTSTANDING. Inside and out. On par if not better then the best of cars there are.

I might even think they did a better job on this then the outgoing RS7. The new tech is great. MMI is lightning fast. Bang and olufsen sounds great - and I love the fact that it now comes standard. I LOVE the heads up display in my RS - and highly encouraged we get the prestige package so we get the heads up display in here.

Outside of the exhaust sound / drone car is whisper quiet and floats down the road with ease.

What my issue with the car is - it feels like its somewhat confused on what its trying to be.

On the previous gen - B8.5 - to me there was a much clearer separation between an A4 and an S4. On this gen (and I drove both A4 and S4) - the lines seem to blur much more - and what this S feels like is an A4 with some 'tweaks' . The B8.5 S4 felt / drove MUCH sportier to me (I should make a side note that my wife DISLIKED driving my previous S4 heavily).

This current S4 borders on how our A6 TDI drives - but in a 'smaller' package - with nicer features, slightly faster and better fit and finish. The B9 S4 leans more 'luxury' than 'sports' if that makes any sense. For my wife - that is perfect but I prefer a bit more of an 'edge', and more of a 'mechanical' feel - that the B8.5 gave so much better.

Given all the other choices and competition in the segment - the S4 for what it offers is still a clear winner. It IS overall TONS of car for a $60K price tag. We were both not fans of the C class or BMW's 3/4 series offerings - and really did not consider anything else.

I'm looking forward to getting more seat time in the car - and seeing if my long-term perception changes over the next few months / years! Hope this helps anybody who is considering one or looking at initial impressions to help guide their way.

Spartan-S4

Congrats on the new S4!

I will comment on this part of it because I think this is happening with a lot of cars and here's why...the quality/tech on these cars now is so amazing that it's hard to notice a difference.

The type of comment you made is also what we heard a lot of with the Mustang from 2014 Gen 5 when it switched to the 2015 Gen 6. A lot of Mustang owners that drove both said the new one didn't feel like they were driving a Mustang/sports car because it was so refined from the previous gen. They didn't feel that 'rush' or feel like they were as connected to the road because the new car was so improved it got rid of a lot of the 'roughness' of the previous gen and what people associate with a sports car. Many also said they didn't feel it was fast/felt fast even though it was better in every way. The engineers did such a good job it almost 'disassociates' you with the feeling.

So now the same thing sorta applies here with the B8...the B8 A4 was definitely made for everyday use and didn't have much of a sporty feel at all, while the B8 S4 was definitely made to be sportier and it felt that way because you could actually feel the difference between the trims & you can hear/feel the difference in the B8 S4 with the engine/components.

Now to the B9, the improvements on the B9 A4 are so advanced from the B8 A4, from the new body, new frame, new suspension, new everything, etc etc that the S4 will not feel as different/sportier because the A4 is just that damn good/improved from the previous gen.

So what I think you're experiencing is something similar. Your previous B8 S4 just isn't as good as this new B9 S4 but because it wasn't, it gave you a feeling that it was a more sportier/rougher sportier experience. Many people equate sporty with a rougher ride, feeling of acceleration, etc.

This kinda experience can be felt all over various tech/items from cars, guns, etc from previous models to new ones where the tech 'disassociates' the user.

socialpro

Thank you --

Yes - in many ways and on paper the B9 is 'superior' to the B8.5 S4. And I will agree that the 'base' A4 is leaps and bounds improved over the previous version.

To me - the previous integration of the (s4) supercharged engine with the DSG transmission was a winner - and in some ways 'more' than just the sum of the parts. Everything worked so well together.

On the B9 - between a bit of turbo lag and the 8 speed Auto transmission - yes it is a 'smoother' uptake and ride overall --- but def misses the mark on snappy quick shifts and the get up and go of a stop.

Again - there are two perceptions to every side and where I thought the B8.5 was 'brilliant' - the misses thought it to be much more 'jerky' and 'aggressive' for a daily driver - issues that the B9 rectified.

tmfstyle

Thanks for the write up. Have not driven an S4 yet but I am considering it as a replacement for my 2013 BMW 135is. Briefly considered trading in the 135is for an BMW M240. Found the M240 steering light and vague. But that seems to be true of many current generation cars including my 2016 SQ5. At higher highway speeds my 135is feels better planted and more confidence inspiring than my SQ5. I was hoping the lower center of gravity of a sedan might help. At first I thought that it was just taking time to dial in a more natural feel for electronic steering. But it seems that the German luxury brands (Porsche notwithstanding) deliberately engineered that light isolated feel into their cars because they believe that is what customers want. I don't see much difference between BMW, Mercedes or Audi. I'll probably go with the S4 because the local Audi dealer is better than BMW or Mercedes. From reviews I have read, dynamic steering in Audi's and similar options in BMW and Mercedes have as many negative attributes as positive and overall are a wash when compared with standard steering.

zamboni27

I really don't think this car suffers from turbo lag. Peak boost is at almost 1370 rpm, which is practically idle in the world of turbochargers and MUCH sooner than big NA V8's in today's cars.

Having driven many turbo cars, I think this is throttle tip in rather than lag. I bet this can be fixed with a tune. When I put mine into S mode, it's dramatically more responsive than all other drive modes.
You can also tell in manual mode taking off from 1st gear. I just don't think the ECU reacts to throttle as quickly as we all want it to. Also, you'd feel turbo lag in all gears as you accelerate.

I'm going to get the DTUK or Rennchip to see if that helps. I'm also curios if the "pedal" thing that Rennchip offers does anything to help.

socialpro

Yes - many of the newer cars - especially the german ones I have been in -- have been going lighter and lighter on steering feel over the years - so much so that it is affecting even the 'sportier' lines of cars.

I have dynamic steering on the RS7 - and highly dislike the 'variable ratio' steering in comfort setting (dynamic steering working as intended) - although do tend to enjoy the fixed ratio in dynamic, but understand how that could also be 'too much' for some people.

Overall - I still find the B9 S4 very enjoyable to drive - and the overall quality of the car is top notch bar none.

Our last 3 audis we have owned the reliability has been stellar - so that helped seal the deal on picking up another one - and did not really see a viable alternative to the S4 that we enjoyed. We considered a fully loaded A4 briefly - but for a bit extra money found that the S4 offered 'that' much more.

Good luck and let me know if you have further questions or concerns about the car!

Spartan-S4

I forget which post it was in but one user made a minor exhaust mod and they said all the lag was gone after that (can't remember what mod they made)

markcincinnati

Great write up. I came to my 2018 S4 from a 2014 S4. I agree with much of what you wrote. I read test reports of the RS7 that praise the 8-speed transmission. Apparently, the S4 did not exactly copy its programming, based on reading your post.

Overall I have very few issues with the 8-speed in the S4, but after spending over 50,000 miles with the DSG in the '14 -- and loving it -- I wonder why there was a change to the 8-speed in the S4 and the adoption of the 7-speed in the A4. It seems backwards to me.

I do like having the extra gear from the perspective of keeping the engine in its sweet spot -- but the thing is, with maximum torque before 1,400RPM, it almost seems a contradiction. I'd love to drive the 2018 S4 with the DSG just to see how it would feel. Not gonna happen, as they say.

I leave my transmission 99.9% of the time in S, which seems to me to mimic (somewhat) the feel of the DSG (which I also always kept in S). In D, this new S4 seems, almost, "broken," like the emergency brake is engaged or I'm trying to tow something that weighs "a lot."

I set my exhaust sound to comfort and keep engine/transmission and steering in dynamic and all is well -- all is pretty quiet. When driving aggressively, the "fart sound" during up-shifts is both pronounced and welcome. I have UHP summer tires, for now (they'll run out of tread by 12,000 miles if history is any predictor of tread life) and plan to get UHP A/S's by "cold weather."

The brakes in this S4 are wonderful, and even without the sport diff, the "brake based torque vectoring" works -- frankly this S4's TV via brakes feels better than my 2012 Acura TL Advance with SH-AWD (but to be fair, the Acura was/is 90% FWD until pushed then it seems to push more power to the rears -- somewhat reluctantly.)

The new S4 is the product of "marketing" -- and that is certainly not meant to be a slight. What the S4 is, fundamentally, is "an A4 that knows somebody." If you're used to an Audi model that begins with "RS", it is important to remember the S4 is built on the same assembly line as the A4 -- the S4 is the top of the line, actually it is somewhat of a competitor to the top of the line BMW 3 series -- which is NOT an M3. The S4, I think, does bring with it a more sporting personality than the 3, but the S4 wants (if a car actually can "want") to be bought by as many people as possible. This generation focuses on sportiness -- within a luxurious (or "entry-level" luxury) envelope. Sportiness is not a bad thing, but it is not a sports sedan in the sense that an RS4 would be.

If you get a chance, and I believe we will have a chance, test drive the upcoming (sort of soon) RS5 SB. This version will (based on early announcements) ride on the same wheelbase as the S4 (whereas the RS5 will have a shorter wheelbase) and it should give a driving experience similar to what an RS4 sedan would likely present.

The S4 is, perhaps, very sporty, but it was really meant to appeal to people who are willing and able to spend "in the $60's" -- these folks are probably looking for some performance, maybe even a lot of performance -- within a sophisticated and luxurious package. Some of us will (or would) consider an RS version -- I'd venture, most will not. The S4 seems like such a bargain and delivers so much performance -- within a luxurious "compartment" -- it has hit marketing's target sweet spot. My guess is, the S4 has the tip-tronic transmission to meld luxury and performance as seamlessly as possible at its price-point.

Were there a 2016 RS7 in my garage, I might get out of it and get into a 2018 S4 and, for a moment or three, think the S4 was in "limp-home" mode.

But, the RS7 on the showroom floor here in River City is MSRP'd @ $112,000+. Not quite double the MSRP of my Prestige S4.

I was encouraged by the announcement of the RS5 SB.

I'm probably -- since I'm in my 60's -- not Audi's target for the RS, although it certainly appears (here in Cincinnati) the S cars are driven/owned by (primarily) middle-aged folks, which may be a reflection of income more than anything else. What I mean is that there just aren't that many millennials -- yet -- flocking to the S cars (again, here in Cincinnati, which seems to have "mostly" emerged from the Great Recession).

My $.02.

ajpuciat

Believe I count as a millennial - love the car. Outstanding vehicle. If there was an RS available... Honestly I'd probably still get the S. For me it was the sweet spot for luxury, price, and performance.