New Audi S4 saloon (2008) CAR review

Style is a matter of taste, but you can measure performance. At least some of it anyway. The S4 has been a bit of a performance secret, but the new car might just break through. I first picked up on this thanks to an old Top Gear programme (now showing on Dave) when the outgoing S4 V8 was pitched against an M3 E46, and it was quicker both in a straight line, and round the track. That really surprised me – an S4 faster than an M3? I didn’t know that! But there’s more. The S4’s superior torque thrashes the M3 on in-gear times, too. I was so impressed, and so disappointed by the M3, that I’ve just picked up a sweet used bargain J The S4’s big advantage is of course 4WD, an ace card that BMW refuses to play in the UK. And while the M3 is often touted as more involving in some ways, when it comes to making rapid progress on Britain’s roads that are so often wet and slithery, it must take a masochist with a death wish to try that in any front-engined RWD car with over 300bhp. So I would say that in this class and on balance, a 4WD car is more fun, more of the time, than RWD. The new S4 is pitched against the 335i and here it answers all criticisms with its smart new diff that can dial in under or over steer at will. The Audi driver can choose, but the BMW’s owner has to put up with lary behaviour no matter what. Both cars are very similar on engines/power, and both now come with the amazing dual-clutch gearbox that VAG has pioneered for years. This is the key to those dramatic economy figures, where its clever programming circumnavigates emissions break points. In other words, unless you drive it like a 1.4l diesel, you’re never going to get anywhere near the headline numbers. It’s a game that every manufacturer is now playing and I believe dual-clutch boxes are set to become standard equipment all round quite soon, but I digress. So, being as objective as possible, the S4’s 4WD wins in terms of speed. Being more subjective, when this is coupled to the new trick diff, it now matches the Beemer’s dynamic behaviour if that’s the way you like it. It’s going to be very fast, in all conditions. Whether this enough to beat BMW’s performance brand image remains to be seen, and price will surely play a big part, but the smart money looks to be on the Audi. No change there then LOL Richard.

I guess it depends on the spec levels too. If you cant afford a quattro version of the A4 then the BMW 3 will always be a much better drive.