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Another quick question!

As someone who has never driven an s4 before....how do I know whether the car is performing properly on a test drive?

I should probably elaborate a bit Aside from listening for any odd noises, looking for tell-tale smoke or feeling inconsistancies when accelerating/changing gear etc....how do I know whether there are any hidden problems such as boost leakage or faulty sensors (lambda/maff etc) affecting the performance of the car? If for instance there was a problem as mentioned above, would the car still drive smoothly or would it feel odd?

Sorry, I know its a bit of a "how long is a piece of string" type question but these are the sort of things that go through your mind when your weighing everything up. Just a bit worried whether I would know if the car was not "pulling" as hard as it should

Thanks again!

Nick

all of this has been addressed several times on the site, just keep hunting for info and your questions will be answered.
if your sure you want an S4, you could invest in VAGcom before you get it, then you could check for faults as soon as you go to see cars. make sure you test a few. another good idea is to go somewhere with a rep such as fontain (think they know most of the common problems) their cars should be running as they ought to then you have a comparison.

oops, apologies. I have read a good few pages of topics on here (hence knowing about the sensors/leaks etc..) and printed a copy of the buyers guide pdf and checklist to take with me.

Nick

Its difficult. if you dont know what performance to expect it is hard to gauge if the car is running right. At the end of the day if it drives well - all the little niggles are easily fixed (MAF, boost leaks etc) its just a matter of getting them checked/sorted once you take ownership of the car.

I bought mine from a dealer and I had a boost leak and failing MAF - even though the car drove perfectly and I thought the performance was great. Only someoen with the right tools can check these things properly for you. perhaps find a local enthusiast with VAG-Com or agree with the seller to take it to a 2.7T specialist for a full healthcheck before parting with the cash.

Test drive? You guys are paranoid. Tested mine on the way home

Unless you have bought the car from an enthusiast, It will very very very likely be NOT running correctly.

Saying that if you are not used to an S4 it will probably feel fast. The bonus is once you get the problems fixed you will not believe how fast it will now feel!!!!