5 Things I Hate about my 2018 B9 S4
04-29-2017, 03:35 PM
#1
5 Things I Hate about my 2018 B9 S4
The intent is not to flame - but to provide a slightly different perspective than what I've seen posted here thus far. Let's also get something out of the way - as the current owner of an R8, I'm a big Audi fan.
Here's my 2018 B9 S4 in question - Fully loaded, with all options, including sport diff and some of my thoughts after 800 miles behind the wheel.
#1: The engine. This is very much a function of personal preference, and i'm sure they'll be a ton of folks that love it - and get excited at the prospect of a mere tune radically upping boost/power - but i'm not a "specs" guy. I care about how an engine delivers power, how it feels - how linear/progressive it is, and most importantly, the fun factor. This isn't a fun engine. Stab it to half throttle and the transmission dutifully kicks down swiftly and the car thunders forward with a strong and impressive rush of torque. Floor it... and curiously it feels about the same. Sure, it's faster the more you involve the loud pedal (more on that part later), but it doesn't feel it, or sound it. Racing to redline offers the same thrill of using a Dyson vacuum to clean the floor - it does an incredible job, but it's not very exciting. The former supercharged lump on the other hand, offered a more progressive build of power/torque and was a blast to thunder to redline off of each gear, with the joy increasing each 1K RPM until crescendo. The turbo engine is admittedly more powerful, but lacks character and intrigue. The S4 lost character when it went from V8 to the supercharged V6, and I feel it's taken yet another hit with this turbo V6.
#2 The sound. The exhaust from the cabin is boomy and flat. From outside the car, it sounds neat - especially when racing away, but inside the cabin in dynamic mode it sounds immature and boy racery and not in a good way. The former supercharged V6 sounded raucous and exciting - snap crackle popping its way to redline, and largely quiet and minded its own business when you kept your foot out of it. This V6 Turbo on the other hand boom's in any mode the second you apply ANY throttle. At 70mph on the freeway, accelerate leisurely up to 80 in comfort mode and you hear the annoying drum of the exhaust hum, and then extinguish to a merely annoying drone once you're at speed. Sure, you can easily drown out the hum with a little volume from the stereo, but it's annoying nonetheless. It's a sporty car, so I can handle a little exhaust noise at cruising speed, but the "hum" from this exhaust isn't "cool sports car sound" it's "annoying modified exhaust" sound. Having daily driven a Viper Venom 1000 for nearly 50K miles, I can handle some rumble - but the octave and tone isn't a good one. The supercharged 6 sounded better, and the former V8 sounded worlds better. Sound (for me) is one of the most important elements of a sporting cars experience - and there's not a single passenger i've taken in my R8 that doesn't have the sound of that engine screaming past 8,000 RPM tattooed in their brain.
#3 Steering feel. Rather - no steering feel, it's absolutely rubbish. With an AWD car, you expect to lose some connection, and even more so with electric steering, but this is just awful. Chuck the thing in a corner hard enough to hang the rear out (which you can only do with the optional sport diff) and you get positively no sensation or feedback in the steering wheel - it's not much different than pulling out of a parking lot - strictly in terms of steering feel, feedback, load, etc. The car has preposterous limitations (I recently embarrassed a P90D driver in the twisties around Mendocino and left him for dead as he was driving at 10/10's sliding) but you get absolutely no feel while driving the car that you're approaching a limit of any sense, or even driving fast. The car is composed to the point where it's downright boring to drive it at triple the speed limit. The former car, while likely much slower on a windy road, at least felt a lot more engaging and gave you the impression you were at least partially participating in something exciting.
#4 - The back massager. Well, not really a back massager - more of a lower back massager, and I mean lower, lower. Try it out at a dealership and prepare to laugh. Why they wouldn't make this massage your entire back, is beyond me. Keep in mind - I think having a back massager in general in this car is somewhat silly - but for god's sake, if you're going to add the feature, at least do it right.
#5 - The electronics. They're inconsistent, buggy and often annoying. Example 1: when you put the car in reverse, the rear camera goes on, which is fine, but then when you put it in drive it stays on (why?) until you've gone a certain distance. While the rear camera is on, you cannot access any other features, including voice commands, so as I pull out of the garage to get a signal for the GPS, I can't add the destination in my driveway, or even stop (in drive) and hit the voice command, I have to drive a little ways down the street, then hit the voice command button, or manually turn off the camera first. Example 2: when the lane keep assist loses the lane, it doesn't chime a warning or make a big deal out of it - it just turns a small green icon to grey (even while it is "driving itself") so if you're not paying attention, you'll find yourself in a very scary position as the car doesn't turn at all around a turn, or starts to drift into oncoming traffic or a sidewall. Again - not 100% sure why you'd want "self driving" in a "drivers car" but I digress, if you put the feature into the car - do it right. Example 3: if you take a hard (and I mean hard enough to break the rear tires lose - so pulling 1G) it will shut off the center display and all of its features (including the stereo) and has to be manually turned back on. If you turn a little less hard, it will merely change the radio station, and black screen the display (music will still play though) and it will promptly come back on after the turn. After experiencing this, I went to the dealership and tried it with another new S4 (much to the shock of the poor sales rep) and re-created the problem on another car. Granted, this is only on VERY sharp and hard turns - but it's an S car for goodness sake, this shouldn't happen on ANY car, let alone an S! Don't believe me? Watch the video...
Now what's great about the B9s4?
1.) It has incredible capabilities. Without any sort of driving skill and in any weather you can swing this thing around turns that will bend space and time. Crashing a B9S4 requires a hardware (or software) failure, or tremendous stupidity.
2.) It's very luxurious. Rides like a dream, quiet (save for the exhaust) and the interior is STUNNING.
3.) It's a superb daily driver.
Overall - it's a great car, and a keeper, but I see it less as a sport car, or sporting sedan, and more of a really, really good A4. I bought it outright, so i'll keep it for quite some time, but if you're looking for an engaging experience, wait for the RS4.
Here's my 2018 B9 S4 in question - Fully loaded, with all options, including sport diff and some of my thoughts after 800 miles behind the wheel.
#1: The engine. This is very much a function of personal preference, and i'm sure they'll be a ton of folks that love it - and get excited at the prospect of a mere tune radically upping boost/power - but i'm not a "specs" guy. I care about how an engine delivers power, how it feels - how linear/progressive it is, and most importantly, the fun factor. This isn't a fun engine. Stab it to half throttle and the transmission dutifully kicks down swiftly and the car thunders forward with a strong and impressive rush of torque. Floor it... and curiously it feels about the same. Sure, it's faster the more you involve the loud pedal (more on that part later), but it doesn't feel it, or sound it. Racing to redline offers the same thrill of using a Dyson vacuum to clean the floor - it does an incredible job, but it's not very exciting. The former supercharged lump on the other hand, offered a more progressive build of power/torque and was a blast to thunder to redline off of each gear, with the joy increasing each 1K RPM until crescendo. The turbo engine is admittedly more powerful, but lacks character and intrigue. The S4 lost character when it went from V8 to the supercharged V6, and I feel it's taken yet another hit with this turbo V6.
#2 The sound. The exhaust from the cabin is boomy and flat. From outside the car, it sounds neat - especially when racing away, but inside the cabin in dynamic mode it sounds immature and boy racery and not in a good way. The former supercharged V6 sounded raucous and exciting - snap crackle popping its way to redline, and largely quiet and minded its own business when you kept your foot out of it. This V6 Turbo on the other hand boom's in any mode the second you apply ANY throttle. At 70mph on the freeway, accelerate leisurely up to 80 in comfort mode and you hear the annoying drum of the exhaust hum, and then extinguish to a merely annoying drone once you're at speed. Sure, you can easily drown out the hum with a little volume from the stereo, but it's annoying nonetheless. It's a sporty car, so I can handle a little exhaust noise at cruising speed, but the "hum" from this exhaust isn't "cool sports car sound" it's "annoying modified exhaust" sound. Having daily driven a Viper Venom 1000 for nearly 50K miles, I can handle some rumble - but the octave and tone isn't a good one. The supercharged 6 sounded better, and the former V8 sounded worlds better. Sound (for me) is one of the most important elements of a sporting cars experience - and there's not a single passenger i've taken in my R8 that doesn't have the sound of that engine screaming past 8,000 RPM tattooed in their brain.
#3 Steering feel. Rather - no steering feel, it's absolutely rubbish. With an AWD car, you expect to lose some connection, and even more so with electric steering, but this is just awful. Chuck the thing in a corner hard enough to hang the rear out (which you can only do with the optional sport diff) and you get positively no sensation or feedback in the steering wheel - it's not much different than pulling out of a parking lot - strictly in terms of steering feel, feedback, load, etc. The car has preposterous limitations (I recently embarrassed a P90D driver in the twisties around Mendocino and left him for dead as he was driving at 10/10's sliding) but you get absolutely no feel while driving the car that you're approaching a limit of any sense, or even driving fast. The car is composed to the point where it's downright boring to drive it at triple the speed limit. The former car, while likely much slower on a windy road, at least felt a lot more engaging and gave you the impression you were at least partially participating in something exciting.
#4 - The back massager. Well, not really a back massager - more of a lower back massager, and I mean lower, lower. Try it out at a dealership and prepare to laugh. Why they wouldn't make this massage your entire back, is beyond me. Keep in mind - I think having a back massager in general in this car is somewhat silly - but for god's sake, if you're going to add the feature, at least do it right.
#5 - The electronics. They're inconsistent, buggy and often annoying. Example 1: when you put the car in reverse, the rear camera goes on, which is fine, but then when you put it in drive it stays on (why?) until you've gone a certain distance. While the rear camera is on, you cannot access any other features, including voice commands, so as I pull out of the garage to get a signal for the GPS, I can't add the destination in my driveway, or even stop (in drive) and hit the voice command, I have to drive a little ways down the street, then hit the voice command button, or manually turn off the camera first. Example 2: when the lane keep assist loses the lane, it doesn't chime a warning or make a big deal out of it - it just turns a small green icon to grey (even while it is "driving itself") so if you're not paying attention, you'll find yourself in a very scary position as the car doesn't turn at all around a turn, or starts to drift into oncoming traffic or a sidewall. Again - not 100% sure why you'd want "self driving" in a "drivers car" but I digress, if you put the feature into the car - do it right. Example 3: if you take a hard (and I mean hard enough to break the rear tires lose - so pulling 1G) it will shut off the center display and all of its features (including the stereo) and has to be manually turned back on. If you turn a little less hard, it will merely change the radio station, and black screen the display (music will still play though) and it will promptly come back on after the turn. After experiencing this, I went to the dealership and tried it with another new S4 (much to the shock of the poor sales rep) and re-created the problem on another car. Granted, this is only on VERY sharp and hard turns - but it's an S car for goodness sake, this shouldn't happen on ANY car, let alone an S! Don't believe me? Watch the video...
Now what's great about the B9s4?
1.) It has incredible capabilities. Without any sort of driving skill and in any weather you can swing this thing around turns that will bend space and time. Crashing a B9S4 requires a hardware (or software) failure, or tremendous stupidity.
2.) It's very luxurious. Rides like a dream, quiet (save for the exhaust) and the interior is STUNNING.
3.) It's a superb daily driver.
Overall - it's a great car, and a keeper, but I see it less as a sport car, or sporting sedan, and more of a really, really good A4. I bought it outright, so i'll keep it for quite some time, but if you're looking for an engaging experience, wait for the RS4.
04-29-2017, 11:51 PM
#6
AudiWorld Member
Well thank god I'll never have the money to drive an R8. Anything less than that must feel like complete ****. It does cost an extra $100k+ more, right? Going to an S4 will be a substantial step up for me. I suppose there is much to say about perspective.
.
.
04-30-2017, 01:05 AM
#7
AudiWorld Junior Member
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: A place where I'm halfway to getting my degree. But with life reminding me, it's not easy.
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Now what's great about the B9s4?
1.) It has incredible capabilities. Without any sort of driving skill and in any weather you can swing this thing around turns that will bend space and time (and turn off your radio and MMI screen hands free. Look MA, LITERALLY, no hands
) .
Overall - it's a great car, and a keeper, but I see it less as a sport car, or sporting sedan, and more of a really, really good A4. I bought it outright, so i'll keep it for quite some time, but if you're looking for an engaging experience, wait for the RS4.
1.) It has incredible capabilities. Without any sort of driving skill and in any weather you can swing this thing around turns that will bend space and time (and turn off your radio and MMI screen hands free. Look MA, LITERALLY, no hands
) .Overall - it's a great car, and a keeper, but I see it less as a sport car, or sporting sedan, and more of a really, really good A4. I bought it outright, so i'll keep it for quite some time, but if you're looking for an engaging experience, wait for the RS4.
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04-30-2017, 03:44 AM
#8
If you read my thread from a couple of days ago (My Test Drive) you'll see I agree with you on the engine sound. As to the screen staying in rear view mode until you reach a certain speed, my A7 does that also, and it bugs me too.
04-30-2017, 03:58 AM
#9
AudiWorld Expert
Those of you that had a chance to drive both, does the 4.0 V8 in the S6 feel and sound more engaging than this new V6 in the S4?
Granted, the s6 is bigger and heavier, so it probably feels less sporty overall, but i was just curious if anyone could provide some first hand experience.
The main thing drawing me to the new S4 is that digital cockpit, but I also want something classy and fun to drive. And my point of reference is not an R8. It's a 15 year old BMW 530i.
Granted, the s6 is bigger and heavier, so it probably feels less sporty overall, but i was just curious if anyone could provide some first hand experience.
The main thing drawing me to the new S4 is that digital cockpit, but I also want something classy and fun to drive. And my point of reference is not an R8. It's a 15 year old BMW 530i.
04-30-2017, 05:29 AM
#10
I'm 98% certain that the camera has a setting that switches the view of the "camera(s)" from rear (and surround view) when the transmission is in "R" to front (and surround view) with the transmission is shifted from "R" to "D" (or "S" in my case.)
There is a setting in the MMI that makes this happen -- since I am not, at this moment, in the car (and I have had the car for about 30 miles), I don't recall where it is. However, I really appreciate the switch from rear and top view to front and top view based on the transmission's engagement.
We have an SQ5 and an S4 parked beside one another -- the third garage space used to contain another car, now it has trash cans and a refrigerator in it -- so, having the front/rear camera switch while maintaining the top view perspective, allows me to get close, but not too close to my wife's SQ5.
I would hope -- and, frankly, assume -- that the R8 at more than a $100,000 price premium over the S4 would make driving the S4 a bit disappointing.
Other than my above camera comments -- which hopefully make clear, I do like the front rear camera perspectives -- I can comment on the sound.
My S4 is a Prestige model, too -- and it is VERY quiet. When I set the "engine sound" to dynamic or even auto, the sound is not as pleasing as my outgoing 2014 S4 sound (which I kept set to dynamic).
At this point, using the Individual Audi Drive Select adjustment, I have the engine sound set to comfort -- which I will say is due to my displeasure with the kind of a droning sound the new S4 seems "tuned" to offer.
Since I am a believer in the "guidelines" provided in the owner's manual -- no more than 2/3rds throttle for the break in period -- I have NOT floored the car, yet. Once I get to over 600 miles on the engine, I will probably violate the letter of the law insofar as the break in instructions go.
The outgoing S4 sounded GREAT -- and my wife's SQ5 does a pretty good 2014 S4 sound imitation, too (despite the tiptronic).
The issue is the difference -- had I not driven into the dealer in a wonderfully sweet sounding S4 (especially at full cry), I would probably be "less offended" by the 2018's aural qualities.
I have another issue -- however -- which is most certainly (and hopefully) due to the newness of the feature: car play. It is maddening -- not exactly intuitive (especially for someone who is a Windows 10 user, although I have had iPhones since the iPhone 5).
I used my 2014 with my mobile phone (iPhone) via Bluetooth, even though I did keep the 6S plugged in (and in the glove box) to maintain a full charge. From time to time I would use is with the hard-wired software (I bought the thirty pin adapter from Amazon to allow me to convert the "big" connector into the "little connectors" of the iPhone 5 and newer.
I assume I will get used to and actually enjoy Car Play -- so far, though, it is (for me) a bit of trial and error.
In sum, my ONLY real disappointment is with the loss of the snarl and deeper bass sound of the engine/exhaust of the the 2014.
The other overall redeeming qualities of the S4 Prestige with Driver Assistance are minor.
This is our third S car with the red leather interior -- this one is the best version yet.
There is a setting in the MMI that makes this happen -- since I am not, at this moment, in the car (and I have had the car for about 30 miles), I don't recall where it is. However, I really appreciate the switch from rear and top view to front and top view based on the transmission's engagement.
We have an SQ5 and an S4 parked beside one another -- the third garage space used to contain another car, now it has trash cans and a refrigerator in it -- so, having the front/rear camera switch while maintaining the top view perspective, allows me to get close, but not too close to my wife's SQ5.
I would hope -- and, frankly, assume -- that the R8 at more than a $100,000 price premium over the S4 would make driving the S4 a bit disappointing.
Other than my above camera comments -- which hopefully make clear, I do like the front rear camera perspectives -- I can comment on the sound.
My S4 is a Prestige model, too -- and it is VERY quiet. When I set the "engine sound" to dynamic or even auto, the sound is not as pleasing as my outgoing 2014 S4 sound (which I kept set to dynamic).
At this point, using the Individual Audi Drive Select adjustment, I have the engine sound set to comfort -- which I will say is due to my displeasure with the kind of a droning sound the new S4 seems "tuned" to offer.
Since I am a believer in the "guidelines" provided in the owner's manual -- no more than 2/3rds throttle for the break in period -- I have NOT floored the car, yet. Once I get to over 600 miles on the engine, I will probably violate the letter of the law insofar as the break in instructions go.
The outgoing S4 sounded GREAT -- and my wife's SQ5 does a pretty good 2014 S4 sound imitation, too (despite the tiptronic).
The issue is the difference -- had I not driven into the dealer in a wonderfully sweet sounding S4 (especially at full cry), I would probably be "less offended" by the 2018's aural qualities.
I have another issue -- however -- which is most certainly (and hopefully) due to the newness of the feature: car play. It is maddening -- not exactly intuitive (especially for someone who is a Windows 10 user, although I have had iPhones since the iPhone 5).
I used my 2014 with my mobile phone (iPhone) via Bluetooth, even though I did keep the 6S plugged in (and in the glove box) to maintain a full charge. From time to time I would use is with the hard-wired software (I bought the thirty pin adapter from Amazon to allow me to convert the "big" connector into the "little connectors" of the iPhone 5 and newer.
I assume I will get used to and actually enjoy Car Play -- so far, though, it is (for me) a bit of trial and error.
In sum, my ONLY real disappointment is with the loss of the snarl and deeper bass sound of the engine/exhaust of the the 2014.
The other overall redeeming qualities of the S4 Prestige with Driver Assistance are minor.
This is our third S car with the red leather interior -- this one is the best version yet.