DHA Posted October 15, 2005 Report Share Posted October 15, 2005 My S4 review. I ordered my B7 S4 from Reading Audi in January this year. I was given a reasonable discount after taking along a quote from an internet car-buying site. The spec I ordered was S4 Saloon in Phantom Black Pearlescent paint, RS6 style alloy wheels, rear parking sensors, black leather/alcantara interior, heated front seats, BOSE, DVD sat nav+, tiptronic with paddle shift steering wheel. I was told to expect delivery in mid March; the approximate lead time was 12 weeks. When March arrived I decided to call the salesman (who I am told no longer works at Reading Audi) to find out when my car was due. I was told in 2 weeks. Thankfully for me I was under no pressure to sell my other car at the time, however I did wonder how close to delivery he would leave it. The delivery date was arranged and I requested that at the PDI autolocking was set, two touch locking and “Euro” plates fitted. The day of delivery arrived and we went to Reading Audi at the arranged pickup time of 12 noon. My car was outside the dealership and looked great in the sun. However I did note that there were no “Euro” plates on it. We were made to wait an hour by the salesman, him being busy was the excuse, despite having arranged a time suitable to us both. The hand over was fairly simple with just the usual forms to fill in and the usual sales pitch. I asked about my PDI options and was told that autolocking was enabled. However two touch locking was no longer available as it was causing lock barrels to fail. The “euro” plate option was brushed over and no effort was made to provide an excuse for these not being fitted. So after 7780 miles here are my impressions of the car as a whole: Looks The car is very subtle, totally different to the M3 coupe that I used to own. This was a good thing in my opinion as it meant you could park it and not gain too much attention. The B7 front and rear, which has caused much debate here on TSN, was to my liking. It made the car look different from earlier models which I think a facelift should do to some degree. The RS6 wheels looked better than the Avus wheels I felt and I was pleased that I had ordered them. The only thing that let me down after a few months of ownership was the S-Line models that Audi sell. It was often the case that a S-Line and an S car would look almost identical. I can see that Audi want to market themselves as more sporting but I think that the increase in sales of S-Line models has possibly cheapened the S brand. This is only my opinion but my S3 looked totally different when sat next to an A3 1.8T Sport however my S4 looked almost identical next to an S-Line saloon. Audi have rectified this with the styling of the RS4 but I think the S4 should be more different to the other models in the A4 range. The twin tailpipes were also to my liking. I’m not usually a fan of 4 pipes at the back (I really don’t think it suits the 997 Carrera S) but it worked very well on the S4. Interior A usual masterpiece by Audi. Having owned products from Audi, BMW and Porsche, for sheer ergonomic excellence Audi cannot be beaten. Everything is well designed, within easy reach and of a perceived high quality. The Recaro seats were very comfortable, they almost hugged you when you were sat in them. I never felt any aches in the car even on long journeys. I think the aluminium interior option helped lighten up the otherwise black interior. Drive 344bhp, V8 soundtrack, tiptronic. Simply point and press the accelerator. Initial traction was perfect. You could easily make rapid progress in the S4. In fact at times it was almost too easy. The tiptronic box really suits the car. It makes the driving very relaxing when you want to and the Sport option allows for a more aggressive style. The manual mode was more of a gimmick and I rarely used the paddles on the steering wheel. The V8 sounded good from outside the car but was not always noticeable inside, which is a shame. I did look into an upgraded exhaust but cost and my new car stopped me from buying this. There was only on part of the acceleration that let me down. It was when you were at about 60-70mph and went to accelerate. No matter which gear you were in the car always felt a little flat and did not provide the vigour that it did at a lower speed. Apart from that it was always performing excellent, day in day out you got the same from the car. Audio & sat nav The BOSE system was very good in the car. I have never been into aftermarket audio as I prefer everything to be designed to go with the car at the factory so have always used Bose or HK audio upgrades. I know people criticise BOSE in Audis but I found it very good. The MP3 playback was good. It worked from both CD-R and SD card. Despite what the manual says you can use 1GB cards. The Sat Nav+ was faultless, much better than the BMW sat nav I have used previously. Costs It’s a big engine in a heavy car so I wasn’t expecting Toyota Prius rivalling economy. I was surprised at the overall economy when I looked at the DIS reading before I sold the car. It was 22.3mpg over the 7780 miles I had driven. This was a mix of urban and motorway driving. I would expect the economy to increase a little when the engine loosens up but 22mpg from a 344bhp saloon is not that bad. I had a puncture in one of the tyres and that was £162 to replace. Other than that there was no other costs to speak of. The DIS also said 11100 miles till next service. Every 19000miles for each service is also very good given the performance of the car. Depreciation was about £5000 over the 7 months of ownership from new. Overall I was sad to see the car go. It was a very capable car that could easily transport 4 adults and luggage. Understated but with a rasp from the exhaust when you needed it. An everyday proposition but could still keep you entertained on the roads when you wanted some fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UBM Posted October 15, 2005 Report Share Posted October 15, 2005 Nice story Dave! Wish you still had it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DHA Posted October 15, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2005 Yes and no to be honest. Have not got my own car at the moment so am running around in the gfs cooper S which is very fun to drive so at the moment I am not missing having my own car. And the fact that the new one arrives in less than two weeks probably clouds my judegment a little. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazza_g Posted October 15, 2005 Report Share Posted October 15, 2005 top reveiw mate only 2 weeks wait now for the new arrival ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riz Posted October 15, 2005 Report Share Posted October 15, 2005 [ QUOTE ] top reveiw mate only 2 weeks wait now for the new arrival ! [/ QUOTE ]Ermmm im sure thats what he said Riz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DHA Posted October 16, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2005 11 days now.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P_G Posted October 17, 2005 Report Share Posted October 17, 2005 Nice review. I must read this forum a little more often, Why and what are you trading up for?? I don't suppose you know whether the stealer you sold it back to has sold it on have they? Have seen one on the Audi website that sounds fairly similar but no heated seats, although I have seen Audi sometimes do not put full details on (did this on my S3 and forgot to put on sunroof as an option). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DHA Posted October 17, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2005 Went to Guildford Audi as far as I am aware. Changing to another Boxster S. I didn't fully use the S4 as a 4 seat car and the Boxtser is the only car I have regretted selling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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