However, after using it as my daily driver to and from Bristol Airport between Feb and May, I have to say the novelty was starting to wear off as I was becoming de-sensitised to the car plus the wallet was taking a hammering with the 84 mile round trip on and around the Mendips seventeen days a month. The solution........? I went and bought an '03 Passat TDi 130 and I haven't looked back. I now relish my days off where the RS4 gets pulled from behind the gates and I genuinely enjoy the drive, the sound and the performance....it's like that first test drive all over again. The missus just sighs, rolls her eyes and calls me a child but I don't care!
The point is that the RS4 sits nicely under the radar for those who don't know or don't care for cars, but for those who do the reaction is always the same, a knowing smile and a genuine interest in what it is like to drive and own. Everybody who gets in it are instant converts both male and female alike and the look on their face as they get projected towards the horizon with that epic sound is one to behold. I love it for that alone.
Ownership:
- Apart from a couple of minor points that needed sorting at point of sale from Portsmouth the car has cost me very little in 8000 miles. (Admittedly depreciation and petrol are a bit steep but the same is true of any 'halo' car).
-The service is 1k away and the quote is £399 from Yeovil Audi.
-I'm thinking it will need new pads all round and possibly discs on the front in not too many miles and Stoke Audi will be the port of call there I think.
-New tyres will be needed in 2-3k miles and I'll go with the Vredesteins.
-I only noticed the carbon fibre covers missing from the engine about a month ago when I cleaned the engine bay (no, I didn't check when I picked the car up
) but ebay came up trumps (£70). A quick clean and all was sorted....
For the future:
- Non res, valved Millteks. (I nearly managed to sneak these in under the radar a couple of weeks ago but was captured by the fun police, so a New Year arrival is looking favourite).
So, after lurking around for ages, I thought I'd give my ha'penny worth of insight to just how easy these cars are to live with and, if you are thinking of buying one, do it!
