Car magazine on the new S4

[Michaël Barbé]

http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Community/Car-Magazines-Blogs/Tim-Pollard-Blog2/Audi-S4-Avant-the-best-non-RS-Audi-on-sale-today/

MB
:rs6kiss:

[tailpipe]

The new S4 is a bit of an enigma.

Although it has the new 3.0-litre V6, the economy isn't very good compared to a V8. (Car's long-term Lexus IS-F is returning 24 mpg versus the S4's 21.5. What various responses to this article point out is that the real reason it has a V6 instead of a V8 is to save weight. I am not sure I believe this. That said, the A4 is quite heavy. Whatever it does to pare weight down, Audi needs a V8 in both the A4 and A5 series that delivers better fuel economy than both the S4's 3.0 litre TFSI and current S5's 4.2 V8.

[Marv]

I've had my new S4 (Avant S-Tronic) for two weeks now (will post some pics when I have a moment) and I'm really, really enjoying it.

I've only done 500 miles so the engine is still settling in. The fuel consumption so far is pretty bad - similar to what car magazine got @21 uk mpg. It's only marginally better than my old RS6! I can't see it being any better than the old V8 S4.
The 'official' 29mpg is all smoke and mirrors. If you leave the gearbox in auto 'granny' mode and potter around it never goes above 2k revs and is in 7th gear by 40mph - I'm sure you can get 29 mpg like this. However no-one with an S4 drives like that. Let's see how it changes as the engine beds in...

[Benman]

I've had my new S4 (Avant S-Tronic) for two weeks now (will post some pics when I have a moment) and I'm really, really enjoying it.

I've only done 500 miles so the engine is still settling in. The fuel consumption so far is pretty bad - similar to what car magazine got @21 uk mpg. It's only marginally better than my old RS6! I can't see it being any better than the old V8 S4.
The 'official' 29mpg is all smoke and mirrors. If you leave the gearbox in auto 'granny' mode and potter around it never goes above 2k revs and is in 7th gear by 40mph - I'm sure you can get 29 mpg like this. However no-one with an S4 drives like that. Let's see how it changes as the engine beds in...

Marv,

Your post sums up my thoughts on how IMHO the B5 was and still is the best S4 when it came to fuel economy. True, the weight distribution is worse, but the overall weight is way down compared to the new S4. And the 29mpg is very doable in a B5.:cheers:

Ben:addict:

[M3 owner]

IMHO the B5 was and still is the best S4



& the best RS4 peroid.

[PetrolDave]

The 'official' 29mpg is all smoke and mirrors.
Most cars have their engine management calibration deliberately tuned to provide large MPG numbers on the EU cycles. Since those cycles don't reflect the real world it's just about impossible to get anywhere near the "official" figures in ANY car.

[Marv]

Marv,

Your post sums up my thoughts on how IMHO the B5 was and still is the best S4 when it came to fuel economy. True, the weight distribution is worse, but the overall weight is way down compared to the new S4. And the 29mpg is very doable in a B5.:cheers:

Ben:addict:

Yeah, it almost feels like a step backwards. I had a B5 RS4 before I got my RS6 (second child meant I needed more room). I got the same number of miles out of a 60 litre tank in the RS4 as I did out of the 82 litre tank in the RS6 but then that's V6 vs V8 so no surprise there. I was hoping that the new S4 would be better than the old RS4 - not looking likely. Still I'm not too grumpy, the new S4 is a peach.

On weight thing, the hand book for the new S4 Avant quotes 1780kg manual and 1810kg S-tronic based on 90% full fuel tank, 75kg driver and no optional extras. It's way heavier than the B5 car but a lot bigger too. On the plus side, it's lighter then my old RS6 avant and much, much better balanced.

Marv

[Marv]

Most cars have their engine management calibration deliberately tuned to provide large MPG numbers on the EU cycles. Since those cycles don't reflect the real world it's just about impossible to get anywhere near the "official" figures in ANY car.

Agreed, but it's odd that the V8 S4 was much closer to official figures than the new V6 Kompressor seems to be :confused:

[Leadfoot]

Yeah, it almost feels like a step backwards. I had a B5 RS4 before I got my RS6 (second child meant I needed more room). I got the same number of miles out of a 60 litre tank in the RS4 as I did out of the 82 litre tank in the RS6 but then that's V6 vs V8 so no surprise there. I was hoping that the new S4 would be better than the old RS4 - not looking likely. Still I'm not too grumpy, the new S4 is a peach.

On weight thing, the hand book for the new S4 Avant quotes 1780kg manual and 1810kg S-tronic based on 90% full fuel tank, 75kg driver and no optional extras. It's way heavier than the B5 car but a lot bigger too. On the plus side, it's lighter then my old RS6 avant and much, much better balanced.

Marv

If economy is important to you may I suggest a jug of coke set on the back seat, nothing better for focusing the mind but the thought of sticky liquid going everywhere. :hihi:

But seriously, the new engine is a gem, when you consider how quick it is and the overall weight of the cars tested one can only assume that the quoted figures are actually well short of reality. I didn't notice whether you have a manual of S/Tronic, which is it?

[Marv]

If economy is important to you may I suggest a jug of coke set on the back seat, nothing better for focusing the mind but the thought of sticky liquid going everywhere. :hihi:

But seriously, the new engine is a gem, when you consider how quick it is and the overall weight of the cars tested one can only assume that the quoted figures are actually well short of reality. I didn't notice whether you have a manual of S/Tronic, which is it?

Like I said, I'm not too grumpy about fuel. Everything else is spot on :wo:

I went for the stronic in the end after much heart/head debate. Heart wanted manual, head said stronic. Head won on basis of
i) Mrs Marv wanted auto box (the things we do!)
ii) Do a fair amount of town driving
iii) Lower UK tax on the stronic
It's a great box and the shift speed and rev blipping are better than I could ever do in a manual but it just doesn't have the same feel you get when you change gear yourself.

The engine is a gem, the throttle response is brutal. The only slightly odd feel is that the top of the rev range is 'flat' for want of a better word. In the the B5 and B7 RS4 your get a real surge to the red line. It's not that the S4 runs out of puff, it just doesn't hit that 'oh my god' level I've got used to. I'm waiting for MTM to work some magic :MTM:

[Benman]

Like I said, I'm not too grumpy about fuel. Everything else is spot on :wo:



My original intent was not to bash the B8, but merely point out it is not as efficient as the B5 was. For all the hoopla over modern day engines, I feel in the mpg department, all manufactures (including Audi) are not as efficient as could be. Hell, with a GIAC chip, my B5 made over 300hp and 300lb/ft and still got 29-30mpg on the freeway! And that was with engine technology 10 years old!

:cheers:

Ben:addict:

[PetrolDave]

Agreed, but it's odd that the V8 S4 was much closer to official figures than the new V6 Kompressor seems to be :confused:
Not that odd...

All forced induction engines have a bigger difference between real world and official figures than equivalent output NA engines.

Why? Because the official cycles have driving patterns that tend to force fairly high levels of boost, and when boost is high consumption is worse.

[PetrolDave]

The only slightly odd feel is that the top of the rev range is 'flat' for want of a better word. In the the B5 and B7 RS4 your get a real surge to the red line. It's not that the S4 runs out of puff, it just doesn't hit that 'oh my god' level I've got used to.
The B6/B7 V8 S4 was pretty similar IMHO, the last 1000rpm before the redline was pretty breathless too. I rarely hit the 6800rpm redline in my B6 S4 because it just didn't like getting there, on the other hand the 8250rpm redline of the B7 RS4 is all too easy to hit! It just throws itself at the redline with gusto.

[Ruergard]

My original intent was not to bash the B8, but merely point out it is not as efficient as the B5 was. For all the hoopla over modern day engines, I feel in the mpg department, all manufactures (including Audi) are not as efficient as could be. Hell, with a GIAC chip, my B5 made over 300hp and 300lb/ft and still got 29-30mpg on the freeway! And that was with engine technology 10 years old!

:cheers:

Ben:addict:

And not to talk about the sound from that engine, simply stunning! :love:

[Benman]

And not to talk about the sound from that engine, simply stunning! :love:


Good point! I'll second that.:cheers:

Ben:addict:

[gjg]

Marv,

Your post sums up my thoughts on how IMHO the B5 was and still is the best S4 when it came to fuel economy. True, the weight distribution is worse, but the overall weight is way down compared to the new S4. And the 29mpg is very doable in a B5.:cheers:

Ben:addict:

Ben, 29 mpg may be doable, but not with you behind the wheel .... :hihi:

[Benman]

Ben, 29 mpg may be doable, but not with you behind the wheel .... :hihi:

:applause::applause:

I did that once coming back from the Miller Motorsport Roadcourse in Utah. On the track, I got closer to 9mpg, but coming back I saw over 29mpg on an entire tank. Had wife and kid in the car so was putting along. ;)

Ben:addict:

[Leadfoot]

I got 29.5mpg out of my S4 4.2L once, on a motorway run at a stead 70mph and believe it or not an incredible 40mpg out of my 225 TT Coupe.

P.S.
I wasn't always blessed with a 'Lead' foot. ;)

[Benman]

P.S.
I wasn't always blessed with a 'Lead' foot. ;)


That is the key.

On the new S4, perhaps others will get better economy out of it.

Ben:addict:

[chewym]

The new S4 should be able to get pretty good fuel economy on the highway as it won't be running high RPM like the B7. Especially with the S-Tronic.