B7 RS4 compared to RS5

Post by **Noyjatat** » Mon Dec 03, 2012 9:29 pm

Well on Saturday I took my old girl for an MOT. Having just come out from a major service at Audi I was confident she would fly through and took her to the place I bought my car from. It a specialist garage who hold a limited stock but get whatever you ask for. In the showroom they currently have an RS5.

That being the case I decided to have a good look around her. There is a robustness to the build that the B7 RS4 also has but I think it seems to have been on the protein shakes. The doors have a very satisfying weight and clunk closed like the top hatch of a Chally 2 tank. On sitting inside I felt the car close around me and the coupe feeling and shaping of the dash made me feel like the electron missing from the make up of a base element that's just bonded back again!

I like the way Audi have gone with the interiors shaping everything to the driver. The move of the centre control knob (feel free to chuckle, you always have to have a knob in there. In this case there are two one is a part of the car, the other is sitting in it!) seems to fall in line with other German manufacturers but is not something I like. The use of the centre armrest is now free and easy without the handbrake handle existing in more recent models. The cabin in the front is great and very comfortable and user friendly. The rear loses a considerable amount of space in comparison to the B7 RS4. The obvious roof line differences mean that a few of the guys over six feet who find themselves regularly in the back of my car would struggle to find comfort on a journey of any length.

Walking round the car I took a closer look at what makes the RS5 so popular. The front is everything the car is, great lines, aggressive profile and just the right amount of mean. Coming to the side of the car my thoughts were the same but at the rear I found myself disappointed. The angles seemed off and the spoiler although I am sure is needed just came across as being wrong and looked tacky when raised especially the recess where it sits when stowed.

So after a good 15 minutes doing the rounds on the car I went back to have a brew and seat at which point Jeremy (one of the sales guys came over to say hello). "Just got one in out back that we will be valeting soon, you want to take her out for a bit see if you like them or not?"

Well I had a long hard think about it and half a second later I took the keys off of him and jumped in. Inside the leather had been changed to a custom red in keeping with a red found on brembo calipers. I had a good look around the controls (no 'S' button, wonder what this dynamic one does) before setting off and started her up. The engine note was refined if a little quieter. Wait a minute those doors seemed thicker, window down a bit, small blip! Ah there she is and off I went.

The garage is located just off the A14/A12 junction at Ipswich so I dropped down onto the dual carriageway and burbled along in comfort mode for a couple of junctions. Having driven an S5 I was expecting the gearbox to be good but I think this one is a little better. The comfort mode makes the gear changes with seamless ease and the pick up is a fraction of heavy foot away. It's one of the few autos I have been in that I did t go for the clutch once. I think this is mainly because the set up is so good that by the time you think you would need to press the clutch it's already sorted it out for you. The view from the car is good and easy to work around your blind spots. The accelerator is not overly sensitive, the steering though felt unconnected, light and altogether poor. On the roundabouts I felt unconfident in the car and its handling on the road due to almost no feedback through the steering or the suspension and body roll. This could just be me not being used to the car.

So two junctions down and off at Asda. Roundabout, okay now lets see what dynamic does! Clear slip road button pressed and foot to floor!

All I heard as the exhaust note picked up to match my RS4 is sport mode was Achmed the Dead Terrorists voice going "Holy Crap!"

Onto the A14 and the road is clear all the way to the next junction, okay let's stretch her. The exhaust note picks up as the revs rise and it effortlessly eats up the road. A couple of lane changes to get a feel and still to steering is bugging and the ride again does not feel as solid. Okay traffic comes on as I reach the next junction and I take my foot off to allow the car to engine brake. The gearbox drops one gear and I make a head movement like I am on the Wayne's World set while Queen is playing, a second gear change and the same. Before another I hit the comfort button and she puts away her claws and stops trying to make me head butt the front bumper. Another quick poodle around the edge of Ipswich town centre and I head back to the garage.

Getting out of the car I love it, the comfort mode means you can burble around at any speed and not wake a baby inside of outside of the car. The ride and gear change is so comfortable and smooth you forget what your in. Flick to dynamic and she turns from a ginger tom into a 600 pound tigress. The car looks great from the front and side but loses its appeal a little at the rear. The interior is plush and well laid out as expected and feels like a big blanket about to hug you. The rears seats although usable are a little limited as to who you can get in but it is a coupe after all.

So another 15 or so minutes and I have talked myself into looking at buying one next year. I chat to my guy Simon there to band around some figures and a timetable for me to work to and I head round to get my car from the MOT area.
I start up my girl, put her in gear and drive home. 20 minutes later I arrive home, I phone Simon and apologise and tell him its not for me. Dropping onto the A14 I hit the 'S' and stretch my girl down the slip road, moving onto the dual carriageway I select the cruise to 80 and burble along. Coming off a couple of junctions later I push her along at sixty in the national speed limit country roads and find myself smiling. I can feel everything the car does. The steering gives me the feedback to feel out and adjust the power through the bends, the suspension eats up the cambers I have covered a thousand times and pitches the car through the corners with the smallest adjustments of the steering wheel and I realise there is no comparison.

Whatever changes they have made to the RS5 they have in my opinion overengineered it. I love the comfort mode, the gearbox, the interior and for the most part the exterior but the feel of the car to the road just isn't there. It no longer has that direct link from the meat sack inside through the mechanic and electrics to the road underneath her tyres. To me it's a great car for the modern generation of Audis and lifts the benchmark for those cars but and this is only my opinion and open to discussion by other members who may or may not disagree. It's quicker, faster, and arguably prettier but its not the drivers car the B7 RS4 is and I won't be changing to anything else quite yet!

Post by **Spaceman_RS4** » Mon Dec 03, 2012 9:55 pm

Cracking write up there but really enjoyed that little read and a nice comparison. Thanks for that bud.

Post by **adsgreen** » Mon Dec 03, 2012 9:57 pm

It's a common theme that I don't like with modern sports cars.
Like most new stuff the rs5 is a very capable car and I doubt many owners are disappointed or unhappy.

However - my question is 'where's the fun?''. Horses for courses but for me I would have a slower car that feels alive than one that is more capable and 'faster' but sanitised.
I know I bang on about it but its why I love cars like Elise's. I would say to anyone to try the toy-baru cars. Slow as an mx5 but day to day at license safe speeds they are as much fun as any other supercar.

Post by **TimDogg** » Mon Dec 03, 2012 10:03 pm

Yeah, excellent mate - my RS4 is stored at the moment and now I miss it because of you

Great write-up buddy, might go find one at the weekend to play with.

ads - I agree, my wife's MX-5 is great fun and the GT-86/BRZ is going to be a real pull for guys looking to step away from big car motoring.

Post by **Nickyboy** » Mon Dec 03, 2012 10:51 pm

Great read.

Post by **RobM** » Mon Dec 03, 2012 11:08 pm

Spot on mate. Well put.

You've described perfectly what I found when I drove my brother's S4 when compared to my '94 2.8E Coupe quattro. The S4 was so impressive in it's own right, as a car, but by comparison a numb, dead thing in terms of driver feedback. I would find it hard to fall in love with.

When I bought the RS4 I was concerned that I'd find that it too would be just too refined when compared to my old non-tech quattro. I needn't have worried

Sure, It hasn't the same level of exposure to the elements of driving that the 1994 car has (which, by the way, I still love to bits) but it's next generation+ upsides in terms of it's extraordinary levels of grip, dynamic balance, lateral roll control, THAT engine....more than make up for a small reduction in feedback in comparison with the yawning gulf that exists with the 'S'. I'm not even certain yet that the RS does give less feedback. I'm open to it just being that I'm not tuned in to it yet.....Not understanding her language completely.

I haven't worked up to making the RS dance for me yet, in the way that the old quattro does, but I know she can and in time will, when we've made friends.

I've not driven the S5 but I reckon you've had the same experience as I had with the S4.

Ads: I'm with you and Tim - MX-5's and the like, rock. There's something deeply satisfying about a small lightish car that's not overburdened with poke and finding the last n'th through a corner that maximises exit speed onto the next straight.

Straight line speed is ok but it's the bendy bits that make life interesting for me.

Post by **Noyjatat** » Mon Dec 03, 2012 11:28 pm

Glad to see there are other members on here who have found the same to be true for them in comparison. I look forward to hearing other people's opinions too.

Post by **locksrs2** » Mon Dec 03, 2012 11:34 pm

Perfect write up

Post by **ROY** » Mon Dec 03, 2012 11:41 pm

Awesome write up - a great read !!

Post by **Noyjatat** » Tue Dec 04, 2012 7:57 pm

Cheers for the feedback on the write up guys it's much appreciated especially as I did the write up on my IPhone.

Post by **stu** » Tue Dec 04, 2012 8:09 pm

Thanks for taking the time to write up your RS5 test drive - interesting stuff.

I like the way you ended up changing your mind after the drive home in your own motor. I wonder if the sales guy saw that coming...

Post by **Noyjatat** » Tue Dec 04, 2012 8:32 pm

He may of he knows how much I love my car. I have yet to drive a better one.

Post by **LTDemps** » Wed Dec 05, 2012 3:26 pm

Mega write up. I love my S5 to bits, it is amazing! But sometimes it can feel slightly detached. And after driving your RS4 it is obvious that one is definitely more a 'drivers car'. Good to hear about the gearbox though, as when I upgrade it seems they only make automatics now, which is slightly concerning. But if they are getting it right, then I'll be a happy bunny.

Post by **RS4ABM** » Wed Dec 05, 2012 4:39 pm

Awesome read, may have to go and have a play too

Post by **d9lek42** » Wed Dec 05, 2012 5:19 pm

Cracking read mate...

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