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Audi S4 test drive (v. long) |
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Written by JST
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Saturday, 18 December 2004 |
I took a 2005 Audi S4 6 speed for a drive today.
Positives:
The Recaro seats are fantastic. They are easily the best seats in this
class of car, providing a great deal of shoulder and upper body
bolstering and offering a nice backrest contour. It always amazes me
how much better the sport seats in VAG products are than their
competitors.
The interior materials are very nice; this is an oft-mentioned Audi
strength, for good reason. This feels like a substantial and expensive
car. The reach adjustable wheel allows you to find a good driving
position, and even with the moonroof there’s plenty of headroom.
The V8 has a lot of midrange torque, assisted by what feels like very
short gearing. This car really pulls hard in pretty much any gear at
nearly any RPM. I was concerned that a “mere” 4.2 liters of
displacement wouldn’t provide a lot of easily accessible power, but
that isn’t an issue with the S4.
The trunk is enormous, and you get a full size spare along with a
warning triangle and an emergency kit. Nice attention to detail.
Negatives:
Alas, there are some pretty serious shortcomings with this car. The
first is just space-related. Interior space up front is good, but the
rear seats are very tight, both in terms of leg- and shoulder-room. The
interior is nice, but while the materials are first-rate, the
ergonomics are questionable. Cupholders above the stereo? Seat heaters
controlled by fiddly knobs way down low on the dash? Why?
Dynamically, the first thing you notice is that the clutch is *very*
jumpy; it make the E46 M3’s clutch seem like a marvel of progressivity
and feel. The brakes similarly require a deft touch to avoid excessive
jerking. Once you get the car moving, it becomes clear that the
steering has a Jekyll and Hyde variable assist mechanism that runs from
Buick light at parking lot speeds to stick-in-molasses stiff at highway
speed. While the steering runs the gamut of stiffness, it always feels
artificial and strange.
The short gearing that’s nice around town is rapidly tiring on the
highway. You look for a seventh gear, as even in sixth the car feels
like its working at 70 mph. There’s a pronounced amount of what might
be driveline whine, too.
I couldn’t find any good high speed curves on the test loop, but a
quick excursion onto a poor man’s skidpad (aka, a roundabout) hinted
that this car will plow just as much as you think it would at the
limit. Later, a glance under the hood reveals an engine cantilevered
well out over the front axle, almost inside the front bumper. Weight
distribution is not this car’s strong suit.
Bottom Line:
This car doesn’t do it for me. Around town, the touchy clutch and
grabby brakes make driving a chore, but the tight gearing keeps the car
from being in its element on the highway, too. Handling is good at low
speeds, and the suspension does a decent job of dealing with the
ground-pounding weight, but the nose-heaviness is a flaw that 340 hp
and AWD can’t disguise.
I can’t help but compare this car with the CTS-V, and in nearly every
area the comparison is not favorable. The LS6 feels like an ENGINE, the
way a V8 should—even with super tall gearing, it has explosive power
and a great soundtrack. The S4 is nice, and quite fast, but it doesn’t
have much of a sense of occasion about it. The CTS has a lot more
interior space, being a bigger car overall, but the weight difference
is negligible and the Cadillac’s better balance makes it seem like a
lighter car. The CTS has better, more communicative steering and better
brakes, and other than the lack of a reach adjustable wheel, better
ergonomics. About the only things the Audi wins on are a) nicer
materials, b) a full size spare and no run-flats, c) Recaro seats, and
d) AWD winter traction.
In a performance sedan, that ain’t enough.
Originally posted on carmudgeons.com.
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JST's Cornered Test Drives 