Evo says goodbye to their RS4

[evodeansmith]

As Dean stated the End of Term feature on the RS4 is in the Nov issue which came thru the post today.
Apparently Dean is a fan of the B5 RS4 which is ironic seeing as it got the same sort of reviews from Evo when it was launched.
I presume Dean hasn't formed that opinion from driving one because while I loved mine I never found they offered an awful lot of driving pleasure apart from the straight line performance for similar reasons to Evos opinion of the b8, dodgy damping, grabby brakes, unrewarding gear changes (albeit manual). Simply they feel old today and when new were setup for autobahns not tracks or B roads.
I've never driven a B8 RS4 but the B8s I have driven do look and feel large and can't be far off the c5 a6 platform length.
Is the issue with b8 is that its simply so big that its hard to make it a true drivers car?

I've driven a few B5's and you're right - they are just as, if not more dynamically inept than the B8. However, the reason I'm a fan is because of how bloody mad it was at the time of the launch and the fact that it still looks so bleedin' good - plus I could probably just about afford to own one these days.

[evodeansmith]

Into a Focus.... Gutted

no doubt he wont be, I shall write his introductory piece;
Evo Dec 2013

After my time with the RS4, being handed the keys to a Focus Estate may seem like punishment for not reaching my targets (how much oversteer I can achieve on the way to work being one of them).
However because I can now do my weekly commute on just one tankful, the Focus is actually quicker than the RS4 - not only does the RS4 need two fill ups per week as opposed to the Audi's one, but each time I fill up the Audi, passers by ask me what I think of it while with the Focus strangely nobody takes any notice and I get the job done far quicker.
As an Evo reader you will know that propensity to oversteer is a key factor in determining a car's star rating whether it's Cadwell Park or the A406 and in this respect (for a wrong wheel drive car) the Focus trumps the Audi with lift of oversteer whenever you want it and quite often when you dont, roll on winter!

(OK bored now)

The ST is only marginally better on fuel, which I'll get to in the next intro. And although we're not all oversteer gods I can assure you that the ST is more thrilling on my commute. I do very much miss the V8 howl though.

[neckarsulm]

Nice one Dean, just having a laugh - thanks for coming on the forum

I've had 3 RS4s, the last purchased around a year ago when Monkey enthused in one of his vids (B5/B7/B8 RS4) about the B5 RS4 which was interesting considering it got panned by Autocar back in 2001 against the E46 M3 and 996 C2 in a group test he was on (article written by Peter Robinson but Monkey was in the pics).
There seems to be a rule that over a certain age (10 years), dynamic inability is less important than character, just look at Nick Trott's 911!
How will we look at the B8 RS4 in ten years..?