Bye Bye RS4 - Hello GTR :-)

[tartan_rob]

RS4v8 - enjoy.

[SR71]

After watching it back again my biggest concern is what he had stored on his musicbox

It ought to be what your daughter is doing with her face paint whilst you're watching it...

[karl]

Congratulations rs4v8, I'm sure it was worth the wait!

[neckarsulm]

Saw a woman driving a white GTR in South Bham yesterday (not saying it's a girls car or anything )

[rs4v8]

Saw a woman driving a white GTR in South Bham yesterday (not saying it's a girls car or anything )

Girls car indeed!

Cheers to those with the best wishes

Okey doke folks conclusions RS4 v GTR after a couple of days (my face is sore from grinning so much!)

Pace

GTR takes this one big time. Much quicker. Some recalibration of what is possible is required. In a situation where you are looking at overtaking in the RS, maybe two or three cars, in the GTR you will be looking at four or five and by that time at full chat you will be doing very, very silly speeds. Seriously, it really is that much quicker. Off the line its noticably quicker too. The RS4 can comfortably see off 600cc bikes, certain the GTR will be looking for bigger fish to fry. Rate of acceleration, regardless of the gear you are in is breathtaking.

Handling

Maybe a little unfair as the GTR has some serious tyres fitted. Ignoring that for a second, it is possible to comfortably take some familiar bends near my house at speeds that would have had the RS on the ragged edge.

Stability(in sh*t conditions)

One up for the RS4. Pissing down rain here today and yesterday. Maybe the extreme tyres, maybe the fact that there is more power being applied, maybe the direction the power is being sent to the road. The GTR gets out of shape under hard acceleration more easily than the RS4 does in the wet! Not even close to the point where it is scary, uncontrollable, affects your confidence or ultimately in a way which would slow you down, a bit like in an M3 where you can feel the rear end have a wee squirm under hard acceleration. In an M3 the car's brain backs off the power to stop it getting out of control. The GTR sends the power to the front and doesn't seem to slow things down at all! The GTR definitely feels more RWD than 4WD at times! I'm struggling to think of an occasion where my RS4 ever felt anything other than totally planted in the rain, yes you adjust your driving to suit the conditions, but I don't remember ever thinking "hmm, slippy there" when pushing on in my RS4. This always happens in BMWs and frequently in the GTR in my experience.

Quality

I was expecting to feel the GTR was a wee bit too "rice rocket" however I can honestly say that it feels bombproof. The interior especially (which looks cack in pictures) is a thing of beauty IMHO. Stitched leather dash is really quite 911-esque. The plethora of switches actually add to the interior rather than detract from it. Everything has a reassuring solidity to it. Very Audi actually.

Practicality

Well its a coupe. RS4 wins. However the boot is really quite big, deep and quite long. Plenty of space for golf, kitesurf stuff. Back seats are a little cramped. However, for short journeys no probs at all if the front seats are a little further forward than normal. Not as if there's exactly a huge amount of room in the back of an RS4 for passengers. Rearward vision is a bit compromised but again, it is a coupe. Front splitter on the GTR is very low proven tonight by grounding it on the kerb at the front of a Tesco parking bay. No damage other than some very second hand undercrackers! Despite being lower it is easier to get in and out of the front of a GTR without giving yourself some kind of injury to your lower half. Bucket seats on RS4s really should have some kind of a health warning.

Fuel

On a long steady run the GTR wins surprisingly. Gassing it - RS4 wins and by a long way!

Special? (does it feel)

A tie on this one. The RS4 felt special when i got it as it had just been applauded by the curly haired f-wit on BBC. It was also a bit of a sleeper in that for anyone who wasn't in the know it looks like a normal A4. No-one is going to make that mistake when looking at a GTR as it looks so unconventional. In my eyes it looks amazing but it is a true Marmite car. It does attract a load of attention though. That might not be a good thing depending on your point of view.

Uninvolving?

Read this heaps in reviews. Categorically, this is all absolute BS IMHO. The RS4 is a very special car. However, 500hp in a car that also feels special, feels RWD, has amazing handling, is absolutely bonkers quick, doesn't have a V8 but does have a V6 which makes the most ridiculous, non japanese road car sounding noises you will ever hear (On start up it sounds every bit a race engine coughing into life with a really coarse bark) I challenge anyone to have a drive in one and specifically tell me what is uninvolving about it. Mine has a milltek Y pipe which adds to the noise. Yes it has two less cylinders, yes it sounds different to a V8. Does it sound sewing machine? A big fat no!

Tech overload?

Best thing about an RS4 is that it is a master at doing everything well, track work, shopping trip, ferrying the parents around, horsing on cross country. Get in, turn key, push button, you're off.
I was a bit concerned that the GTRs gadgets would be too "in your face" and that it would be too full on to do the spade work around town. My RS4 had SS+ and I'm happy to report that, in comfort mode and in full auto transmission the GTR is more than capable of ferrying my mum around in absolute comfort. It is very easy to ignore all the polyphony tech gadgetry also. Again, very RS4 like IMHO.

Overall

Feeling pretty fortunate to have owned two very special cars now. I do believe that for my circumstances that the GTR is the only car around which fits what I have been looking for (and I have been looking a lot!). I really did love my RS4 it was a fantastic car. Time will tell on the GTR but I am liking it very much so far.

[scaghead]

good wright up fella, keep us all posted over the comming winter months..

[Revolution]

Great report and glad you're loving it.

Love the line........ "it had just been applauded by the curly haired f-wit on BBC"
I thought it was only me that thinks Clarkson and Co are absolute clowns when it comes to reporting on cars!

Enjoy

[SR71]

The GTR is 95% RWD until it needs to be 4WD....

You can see that by selecting the option on the dash...Rob has it displayed all the time I've been in the car...

Its great watching what that split does depending on how you drive the car...

[pauly-b]

rs4v8 - That's a really good review - I'm not surprised you're loving it. I had a deposit on one last year from Middlehursts but had to cancel - so I'm certainly not jealous..oh no...

[rs4v8]

The GTR is 95% RWD until it needs to be 4WD....

You can see that by selecting the option on the dash...Rob has it displayed all the time I've been in the car...

Yeah, and it feels it! Great fun
I've got the same meter up on the dash showing the torque split.

[rs4v8]

rs4v8 - That's a really good review - I'm not surprised you're loving it. I had a deposit on one last year from Middlehursts but had to cancel - so I'm certainly not jealous..oh no...

Cheers, you should break open the piggy bank!

[rs4v8]

Great report and glad you're loving it.
I thought it was only me that thinks Clarkson and Co are absolute clowns when it comes to reporting on cars!

Cheers. Its deffo not just you! Very bored of all the twee captain slow, hamster, jezza references (FFS the man wears jeans and a suit jacket so is clearly too old to be called that!). Used to love TG but getting a wee bit fed up of it now. Unless Ms Diaz is on it again of course

[sonny]

Great write up there so to say your happy is a understatement lol

Are you going to get her on a track?

[rs4v8]

Em, yes! Understatement of the decade

Nah, consequences of track work going wrong in an expensive car don't bear thinking about for me. I never tracked my RS4 for the same reason. I have two bikes for that kind of silliness

I'd quite like to take it on the track but (as with the bikes when I'm there) I'd be shitting myself for loons pulling kamizaze manoeuvres and torpedoing me. If I could get in on track on my own I'd be happy to rag it to within an inch of its life!

[pippyrips]

5th Gear just put a GT-R up against the new Evo FQ400, uninvolving indeed