reviews of a B9

[Graeme4130]

I can almost predict what they say about the DRC vs standard suspension
The thing that interests me the most about the DRC is the ability to have it in full comfort mode, as that's what I do 99% of my driving in.
When I drove a non DRC car earlier this week, it was way harder than the DRC car in comfort.
I think Merc are genuinely the only car in the segment that have really nailed the happy medium between a car that rolls along comfortably but still is taught enough to be decent when you're pushing on.
The BMW M4 suspension is bloody awful for anything other than when you're nailing it, but then it's amazing

[535dboy]

My merc is still more than comfortable in Sport plus mode, probably still better than my B8 was in comfort!

[PSB1]

I've got a B9 (A5 sportback) on loan today. As a platform overall, the interior really is a step up on the B8. The cheap plastic quota is massively diminished. That alone, makes we want to test out a B9 RS4.

[cuttsy]

Just grabbed a copy interesting read.
Here are the Track figures:
Dry Circuit
Audi 1min 17.0sec
Merc AMG C63 Saloon 1min 15.1sec
Wet Circuit
Audi 1min 9.3sec
Merc AMG C63 Saloon 1min 20.0sec

So it is quicker in the wet than in the dry?

[535dboy]

Different tracks aren’t they?

[Graeme4130]

My merc is still more than comfortable in Sport plus mode, probably still better than my B8 was in comfort!

Audi could learn a lot from Merc on ride quality. I tested a new C63, and although the car wasn't for me, the ride was amazingly good

[kmpowell]

The BMW M4 suspension is bloody awful for anything other than when you're nailing it, but then it's amazing

A friend of mine bought a new M3 last summer. I was talking to him recently on WhatsApp...

... if it wasn’t for the fact he’d take a bath residually, he said he’d sell it tommorow.

[RS Owner]

That could be me (it isn't).
I collected a new M3 1st September and started researching a replacement around xmas.

My main issue is the back end on the current M3 can snap quite dramtically, which BMW guys tell you is fun, but on the road it really isn't. Also it's useless in traffic light Grand Prixs.
I plan to come back to Audi Quattro late this summer, not decided whether to go RS4 or RS5? I don't need an estate or even rear doors.

[535dboy]

I’ve driven a few on track - they aren’t great there either although to be fair I don’t think an RS4 would be either.

[N13LXC]

I’ve driven a few on track - they aren’t great there either although to be fair I don’t think an RS4 would be either.

You know what's great on a track? a Catherham...because it's built for it. when I had the B8, it never crossed my mind to use it on a track - partly as it was a stipulation on the finance and partly as I like to drive other people's cars on track, not my own...best fun I have had on a track was my mate's beater corsa with a wee 2.0 pushing 150hp...felt like a king in that thing...but man it was slow! haha

Think we all want roughly the same out of these cars...comfy when we need it, fast when we want it...and not dying in a fireball when we eff it up!

[Graeme4130]

I had an m4 cab for nearly a month at the end of last summer
Whilst it was fun, it wasn’t fast as it just went sideways everywhere and the gearbox and ride were complete <beep>
The bmw would be fun on the track, but I suspect you wouldn’t see which way a c63 went in the dry in either a b8 RS4 or the BMW

Just read the autocar article, and I think it’s very balanced. They write a good article at autocar and I like how they don’t focus on the hooligan element that other mags seem so insistent on using when reviewing cars that ultimately, get bought generally as every day modes of transport
The lap comparisons with the amg were a bit misleading though, as the RS4 was tested recently on a ‘damp’ day, and the c63 data was from a dry day in 2015
Having been round Mira’s handling circuit a few times, it’s super grippy in the wet, so it doesn’t make as much difference as some tracks would, but even so, it’s misleading slightly
Also, the handling circuit is actually quite tight, which plays into the Audi’s hands as that initial low gear drive is quite key to a fast LapTime, so that perhaps offsets the different test conditions

Like said above, none of these types of cars are really suited to the track at all, and the b8 is a pretty rubbish track car
Plus, compared to my race bike, pretty much anything other than an atom or radical feels very slow and very heavy, so I tend to avoid tracks in cars

[Eddie555]

That eyeball popping out looks scary Graeme.

[535dboy]

I’ve driven a few on track - they aren’t great there either although to be fair I don’t think an RS4 would be either.

You know what's great on a track? a Catherham...because it's built for it. when I had the B8, it never crossed my mind to use it on a track - partly as it was a stipulation on the finance and partly as I like to drive other people's cars on track, not my own...best fun I have had on a track was my mate's beater corsa with a wee 2.0 pushing 150hp...felt like a king in that thing...but man it was slow! haha

Think we all want roughly the same out of these cars...comfy when we need it, fast when we want it...and not dying in a fireball when we eff it up!

Or a Lotus (check sig below!)

One of the days i was on at silverstone once an Rs5 went hard in to the pit wall - obviously he thought 4 whee drive would save him!

[Ian_C]

Brilliant photo G

[Graeme4130]

That eyeball popping out looks scary Graeme.

Eyes of concentration (read as ‘fear’ )