So, first of all, spec of the car:
62 plate S4 B8 Avant, Ibis White, Black Edition
Audi Drive Select
Heated Front Seats
Technology Pack High
Phone Prep Low
Hill Assist
Reasons for speccing it this way:
Some people might say I should have gone for the Super Sports seats but my wife hated getting in and out of them in the RS4 and since she's pregnant again she'd be travelling in the back a lot if I'd kept the RS4! Obviously she won't be pregnant forever but she did hate them. Furthermore, my young son who is nearly 3 was kicking the back of the seats in the RS4 more than he's doing in the S4 with 'normal' seats. The sports seats do seem to take up a lot more room.
I also didn't spec the rear diff which after reading some reviews on here I kinda wish I had. I tried to get Audi to change the spec but I was too late. Oh well, you don't know what you don't have.
The only other thing I regret is not putting the storage pack on which at a hundred quid seems a bit of a bargain.
Technology pack and phone prep kits are fantastic, so easy to use. I have an iPhone and the integration with it in terms of calls and playing music on it is seamless. The only issue I have is having to put the phone in the glovebox for playing music. Surely it would have made sense to put the connector in the front armrest?
Ride / handling:
So much more refined than the RS4 which is what I was looking for (well the wife was!) and I don't see my son's teeth chattering as much in the back! The RS4 ride was very firm although I loved it and the handling was out of this world. Moving to the S4, well it handles like a boat sometimes. Going fast into tight corners doesn't really fill me with confidence. I'm not sure if the rear diff would sort this out. This is my major gripe with the car but in saying that I'm not pushing it that much with a family in the car.
Noise:
Sounds great from inside the car but no-one in my street knows it's me coming home at night or leaving in the morning! The V8 noise from the RS4 was sublime and everyone knew it was my car. My wife has a 2.0 TDI 170 A3 and that's noisier in the street! Am I right in saying the engine noise is electronically 'manufactured'?
Performance:
Superb! I honestly don't feel it being slower than my RS4. I had that on a dyno a year before I sold it and it was putting out 390. Say it lost another 10 by the time I sold it, we're probably talking about similar outputs on both cars. However, the RS4 had that raw acceleration that just hit you with a kick at 5000rpm. The S4 just glides to a ton, far too easily.
Build quality / looks:
Night and day which you would expect as there's 6 years of difference. The B7 platform was looking really dated in my opinion although I still like seeing a nice saloon with the flared arches. The B8 is so well put together outside and inside. As has been said many times on here before it just looks any other black edition A4 that you can buy. It's definitely not getting as much attention as the RS4 did.
Things to get done:
Well, following the gripes I have above there's a few things I'm thinking about getting done. First of all I'm looking at using MRC to fit ARBs, a milltek and do the remap. I'm still wary about the drivetrain warranty. I might wait until my first service and speak to someone in Aberdeen Audi about their thoughts on this. No point in hiding it as they'll find out what's been done the minute they plug the car in.
I'm also thinking about getting the RS4 honeycombe grille fitted. Not a fan of doing cosmetic mods to a car but this might make a difference. Anyone got any other ideas?
So in summary, very happy with the car. For what I paid (£6k or so off the list price) I don't think there's many cars out there that can touch it. Another £20k+ for a B8 RS4 just wouldn't have made sense for me financially and I also need a more refined car for the family.
I'll add to this when other thoughts pop into my head.
i would agree with MRC doing any work there an 8 hr drive away but the only ones i would let fettle my car i ARBs should tighten up the handleing with out making the ride harsh i belive now the remap is an ecu out job as they can't reprogram via the 
