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After 18 months in an M3 I've just bought a B8 S4, got a really nice spec and can't wait to collect it tomorrow. Felt like a nice place to be when I drove it, reminded me of the RS4 but just seemed a lot more up-to-date.

It's a 2009(59), saloon, S Tronic gearbox
30k miles
Silver, black silk nappa leather
Carbon trim
19" wheels
Super sports seats (heated)
Drive Select with sports diff
Radar cruise control
Advance parking + camera
B&O sound
DAB radio
Bluetooth
Sunroof
DVD nav
Ipod connection

Good spec
But looks plain Jane!

HYFR wrote:Good spec
But looks plain Jane!

I haven't been to Halfords yet for some fluffy dice.

Does it feel noticeably lesser than the M3 in terms of performance?

nice spec..

Real world driving the std S4 and M3 will not be a whole lot in it. Only thing I like about the M3 is the steering feel. So much better than the S4. That's the only thing I really don't like about mine.

What made you go for the S4? Seems like a step backwards from the M3 V8!?

Enjoy anyway, and good to have you back.

Stealth appeal

Can't compare to the M3 as I don't collect the S4 until tomorrow, after a few drives on my own I'll have a better idea. During the test drive it felt quick and very stable, I do miss Quattro!

As for why I made the move, my M3 was stolen once (away from home) and recovered with it's tracker, then after it had been repaired somebody tried again from right outside my house, put a bit of a downer on the whole thing.

It was an expensive car, MPG was shocking but it was a nice car, I just fancied something cheaper but still with performance, the costs involved have meant I could buy the S4 outright, which is nice

Super stealthy!! Welcome back Daz

Initial impressions of the S4, very, very nice indeed!!

M3 needed high revs to make it shift and lacked that low down grunt, if you floored it the gears would drop and the revs would be up at 7,000 very quickly, once at those kind of revs it was a very fast car. The S4 feels similar in many ways, I know the supercharger works differently to a turbo but there does seem to be a bit of lag while it spins up, but once you feel that surge it wouldn't be too far behind an M3.

The drive select, dynamic steering and sports diff are very good, I've found myself accelerating into corners already and the car sticks like glue, I'm also nowhere near what this car can do so that's going to be interesting.

I bought my M3 in the early months of a year when it was wet (as always), every time I floored it the back end would be all over the place, you had to be going completely straight and even then it would struglle, the S4 is a completely different car, obviously thanks to Quattro and the sports diff, so much more confidence.

Without a shadow of a doubt it's been the right move for me, I don't miss the M3 in the slightest and after a few days in the S4 I'm loving it.

glad your enjoying it buddy


now get to MRC and unleash the potential

My plan is to drive it until this time next year, then think about making some mods like stage 2, exhaust (probably AWE).

For now I'm happy to just enjoy the car as it is, which I am doing!!

That is a great looking car, nice one. Spec is bang on too.

Interesting that you came from an M3. I was looking at an E92 M3 before a good mate made me aware of the B8 S4 and I've never looked back. What you said about the V8 power delivery is bang on, below 7k it's gutless. To some that's part of the appeal, having to ring its neck to get the best from it, but to me mid-range power is far more usable and with the S4 you get that. Yes, the M3 may be a sharper tool out of the box, but the S4 isn't really that far off, especially on a wet/damp road which lets face it is pretty much all year in the UK, and the S4 can easily be enhanced to exceed the M3's capabilities. Plus it's a far nicer place to be.

You mentioned a feeling of lag when you nail it. With the supercharger boost is delivered constantly so there's no delay in terms of power delivery, it's all to do with the transmission. Mine's also Stronic and when you jam the throttle down the gearbox has to drop 3 or 4 cogs before it can then smoothly engage full power via a small amount of clutch slip. The whole process seems a bit lethargic so I find myself in Dynamic mode or manually shifting to avoid that but it still catches me out occasionally. Can't help feeling that I'd have more control with a manual gearbox but there so damn rare, and in traffic the auto is bliss. Can't win 'em all!