[Brunotheboxer]

Originally Posted by gIzzE

Now here's a stupid fuckin' idea.....why not take them both out on a proper test drive and see which one you prefer???


I have had the 335i and I was looking at an S4 avant, now to put this in perspective I had an M3 SMG coupe and an A6 3.2 avant at the time after wanting another M3 again as the 335i was nice, fast, but a little dull. Also my 2005 A4 avant was the worst car I have ever owned, hated it in so many ways it is untrue, nose heavy, poor gearing, nasty clutch, and just horrible to drive in anything but a straight line.

However I bumped into a someone from one of the magazines one evening and he had the S4 avant press car, with S-Tronic and just about every option you could tick, he had been driving an E92 M3 previously, and he said the new S4 was great, a car he would probably spend his own money on.

I decided to take the S4 out, managed to get it for the whole day which was a bonus.

Firstly the interior is great, couple of odd things like the way the air vets are different heights from passenger, middle and drivers side which makes the cabin look awkward, and for some strange reasson the cd player is high and the climate low leaving a black slab of plastic in the middle of the dash, but overall it is a nice place to be. The pedals are better positioned than the previous S4 and the seats are much nicer, the old car looked like it had nice seats but they were not great considering they were Recaros, I think the under thigh support raises more on the new one, more like the BMW sport seats.
The new MMI system is pretty nice, although not actually as good to use as iDrive, easier to learn but using it you have to delve deep into menus to do the simplest of things, like call home.
But all in all a good infotainment system.

The car actually feels similar to my old 335i, just as quick, but smoother, more refined (which to me is not a positive) but as quick, however the first thing you notice is the steering feels more artificial, even setting it to the sportiest of settings the car doesn't have that balance you have with a BMW, don't get me wrong, the best all round Audi ever made after the RS4 (not tried the R8) and I would take it over the RS4 as I prefer the DSG 'box.
But going across the twisties it just didn't reward you in the same way the 335i does, it does it all in a very cultured relaxed manner, no drama, no fuss, it just takes you through the bends. One problem is you can't feel what the car is really doing beneath you, each time you do a stretch you can get faster and faster, you get to remember how fast you can do each corner, but that is not the same as feeling what is happening and reacting on the fly, at least with the BMW you can tell when it is going to let go.

All in all a really nice car, and one I would definitely own, for me the 335i always felt a real step backwards from my M3, but then it was a CSL so was in a different league feedback wise, but then after selling the CSL and getting the 335i I went back to a regular SMG M3 and still thought it was 100x better than the 335i in every area other than outright pace (my 335i was remapped so quicker.)
So I wouldn't actually want either, I would have the S4, but in avant guise and as my second car, it just isn't fun enough, if you want a fun car buy a used M3, if you need a sensible car that can gobble the miles in complete comfort and far faster than most things out there then the S4 is great, if you want something that is going to make you want to go out and drive just for the sake of it then get an M3.

Originally Posted by domobrown

Just having driven the B8 S4, I can say wow. My brother's friend is a salesman at an Audi dealership, so he let me rip the car a new asshole. That thing goes, no doubt. My cousin's stock 335i is a bit abrupt on torque delivery. The S4 was very smooth on power delivery. The ride was firm, but wasn't uncomfortable. It didn't have the Audi Drive select or S Tronic, but it had the new torque vectoring differential. First impressions: black really showed off the lines in the light and was very classy. Some guy was taking delivery of an Ibis White S4, and that looked fantastic. The car hasn't been started the whole day, so hearing the car start up with a roar was exciting. It was throaty, but it was never intrusive in the cabin. The clutch was smooth and kind of soft, but it let me feel the biting point. The interior smelled distinctly Audi. The seats were THE BOMB. Great leather surface, although I noticed it absorbed my finger oil easily. Pulling out of the dealership, I was instructed to turn out into an empty straight where all the cars there are test driven. I rolled onto the throttle and was quickly gaining speed. No supercharger whine at all, just that deep V6. I didn't want to redline it, the car only had 126 miles and the engine was slightly cold. At the end of the straight is a bridge, and after that a series of sharp turns with wet patches(likely due to the sprinkling system)I naturally, wanting to experience this new Quattro trick diff, jammed the throttle and yanked the steering wheel. It was an odd experience to say the least. The car remained perfectly calm, even through the wet patches, and sailed through like the road was dry. It didn't feel natural, but it was definitely impressive. The steering was light, but not too light. It was easy to maneuver it back to its space later on. Unfortunately, I was too caught up in driving, so I didn't test out the audio or MMI. I can say that the buttons have a crisp feeling when you touch them. BMWs have a soft feel when you press into the buttons. The Audi had a crisp click, and each button didn't require much force to activate them. I kinda liked that, nice feedback coming from the buttons. People say the car doesn't have steering feel, but that is absolutely wrong. Although not as direct as say, my cousin's 335i sedan, I could feel what the tires where doing to a certain extent. Overall, I would definitely try out the S4. One test drive could change your mind!

Thanks for the GREAT reviews.