New S4 Fuel Consumption

[peter skellen]

Hi guys from (at the moment) sunny England!

New to the forum...been surfing for months trying to find a decent site with user-friendly information on the new S4, and have probably skipped this site many a time because of the name. Still, here now! And must say VERY impressed; videos excellent, information from the forum is fantastic.

Has anyone who is lucky enough to own the new S4 been able to judge the fuel consumption, particularly on long cruises (motorway jaunts etc)?

I currently own the old bi-turbo S4 and do about 40k miles per annum, and am seriously contemplating getting the new model, but the figures quoted by Audi for fuel worry me a little. Don't get me wrong, I'm not overly concerned by the frugality of the vehicle (let's face it, I wouldn't even be considering it if I was!), I'd just be interested to know if anyone's got hands-on information.

Oh and by the way, as I said I do plenty of miles, and my current S4 has been absolutely superb. It's showing over 110k miles on the clock, and all I've had to replace is one set of brake pads, a set of track rod ends and get a leaking rear diff sorted (the last 2 items both rectified under warranty), and believe me, I've ragged the car on plenty of occasions since I bought it on 22k miles! Testament to Audi's build quality, if any was needed...

[stratmosphere]

I think you will see 20-22MPG at 80MPH cruising. I got 20MPG with a new car (not run-in). -Pete, Stratmosphere

[Erik]

Originally posted by peter skellen
Has anyone who is lucky enough to own the new S4 been able to judge the fuel consumption, particularly on long cruises (motorway jaunts etc)?

6:th gear doing around 120 km/h it did about 12 lit / 100 km, highway.

...and welcome!

[peter skellen]

Thanks for the info guys.

So, looking like Audi's combined figure of 21.3 mpg is about right (if my maths is right, your figure Erik = 23.7 mpg).

I know car choice is never all about economy, but that's a little steep, considering that I've seen figures of around 23 mpg quoted in a couple of magazines for the E46 M3 when driven "enthusiastically" (ie not even a combined figure). I'm sure I've seen figures as low as 12mpg for the new S4 when driven hard! Still, 4.2 V8 and all that....

A further question if I may: were there any B5 S4's fitted with ESP? I've seen it listed as a spec on many S4 adverts on Audi's site, but my car definitely hasn't got it fitted, so I'm presuming that it's a mistake on Audi's behalf when compiling the specs.
I've driven my brother's boss's S3, and could literally floor the throttle round a soaking wet roundabout and still not loose the thing. The 4-wheel drive system works very well coming out of bends in my S4, but I've always felt a little unconfident throwing it INTO wet corners, whereas the S3 felt almost glued to the road. Does the new S4 have similar traction control systems as the S3?

[Ra5a]

Originally posted by peter skellen
Thanks for the info guys.

So, looking like Audi's combined figure of 21.3 mpg is about right (if my maths is right, your figure Erik = 23.7 mpg).

I know car choice is never all about economy, but that's a little steep, considering that I've seen figures of around 23 mpg quoted in a couple of magazines for the E46 M3 when driven "enthusiastically" (ie not even a combined figure). I'm sure I've seen figures as low as 12mpg for the new S4 when driven hard! Still, 4.2 V8 and all that....

A further question if I may: were there any B5 S4's fitted with ESP? I've seen it listed as a spec on many S4 adverts on Audi's site, but my car definitely hasn't got it fitted, so I'm presuming that it's a mistake on Audi's behalf when compiling the specs.
I've driven my brother's boss's S3, and could literally floor the throttle round a soaking wet roundabout and still not loose the thing. The 4-wheel drive system works very well coming out of bends in my S4, but I've always felt a little unconfident throwing it INTO wet corners, whereas the S3 felt almost glued to the road. Does the new S4 have similar traction control systems as the S3?

I'm allmost certain that the new s4 has a newer ESP then the S3.
but if you just want to know if it has esp?
yes..

(btw, how's the s3
I'm thinking of buying a 225 s3 in the beginning of 2004 but never drove it...)

[peter skellen]

Well it was a 210 bhp S3 that I drove. If you can deal with the size (i.e. a tad on the small size, for me!), I thought it was a great car. Handling was fantastic, and it felt bulletproof. I doubt if many cars could beat it around roundabouts!! (and several tried ) Quite a lot of engine noise in the cabin, very different from the S4, but if you don't mind that, I'd go ahead and get one.