2012 S4 initial thoughts.
Posted: Wed Apr 18, 2012 10:56 am
So I picked up my FL S4 Avant yesterday afternoon and have so far covered 200 miles and thought I would write my initial thoughts. I will start by saying that I am comparing it to a 2011 Octavia VRS which I have had at stage 1 which was a great car and for the price I believe it can’t be beaten. I don’t mean to come across negative about the Octavia if it seems that way in the following thoughts.
Slightly disappointed that I had to take an avant over the saloon but this was the only available FL S4 I could find in a sweep of every dealer within a 160 mile radius! Got to the dealership and I couldn’t see it anywhere (they put it away as it was raining) so had to wait in the dealership with two of the guys in there telling me what a great car it was and how it looked amazing. After waiting for what seemed like an eternity they salesman came and got me. The grin and the chuckling to myself told the salesman everything he needed to know. I was blown away, I really didn’t expect it to look so sweet, it doesn’t look too sensible like the pictures suggest, it has real presence. The black against the white looks sublime, the front end looks aggressive, pleasantly surprised with the DRLs (the mrs thinks the car is telling other cars to p*ss off).
Opening the door I felt like entering a completely different world compared to the Octavia, it feels very executive, much tighter and solid than the VRS the build in miles better. I did notice that some of the dash materials are actually shared with the Octavia. Sitting in the seats was more comfy than my sofa and it feels very snug and secure. The multi adjusting seats make for a far more comfortable and relaxed driving position. There is more room between passenger and driver and the centre console has a very nice layout with lots of little buttons. The dealer set up my iphone and I can control my music from the steering wheel which I like. He then cranked up the B&O speakers, they are as expected very crisp and didn’t disappoint. The important bits:
I have read numerous posts on RS246 forum about the disappointing exhaust note so I asked the dealer to start it up for me. No offence to but what are these guys on about. It sounds AMAZING. Lovely purr on start up and slightly raw when revving it up (more chuckling to myself when I heard it). The steering is extremely light at low speeds and with the flat bottom steering wheel and driving position doesn’t get in the way of my legs. Leaving the dealer was slightly nerve racking as I hadn’t got used to the start/stop and the parking brake with the hill hold. People moan about start/stop but I love it. I get to hear my S4 start up every now again, what can be annoying about that! I took it easy for most of the way home but thought Id have a couple of blasts. First blast I felt underwhelmed and thought oh no what have I done, I should be blown away. I then realised I am now in a 7 spd DSG and not 6 which meant I dropped to 4th instead of 3rd. Next run I did it properly and dropped to 45 in 2nd and wallop big lump of toque and off I went, was expecting this much power and I actually tweaked my neck! The gear shift made a pop on the up change and exhaust note was spot on. Again, why are there complaints about this I ask? In every gear even foot down 7th at 50 you can hear the exhaust, not intrusive but alluring. There were no dramas at all with flooring it at low speeds in the wet, no torque steer no juddering just linear acceleration. I was still pinned to my seat and I was at the speed limit (it moves through the speed faster than you think. It is definitely quicker than my stage 1 VRS at all speeds. In S mode the gear blips the throttle on shifts and produces more lovely exhaust notes. Having never driven properly a 4WD car I couldn’t believe the grip in corners, very composed indeed. The car doesn’t feel big like the VRS did, it feels smaller and goes where you point it better, hope that makes sense.
Nice touches are the footwell lighting, the vanity mirror lighting, the hill hold, no handbrake, the extra cycle of the wiper blades 5 seconds after doing a windscreen spray, the side skirts, S4 badging on the front callipers amongst many other things.
I know this car is twice as much to buy as the VRS was but for me it is a lot more than twice as good. I felt sad as I felt like I was discarding the VRS as old reliable. I will put some pictures soon I just need to work out how to blur the number plate. For now I will post some interior and side shots.
I will update the review when the car has run in a little as I want to take it easy for a little bit. Hope you enjoy the review.
Slightly disappointed that I had to take an avant over the saloon but this was the only available FL S4 I could find in a sweep of every dealer within a 160 mile radius! Got to the dealership and I couldn’t see it anywhere (they put it away as it was raining) so had to wait in the dealership with two of the guys in there telling me what a great car it was and how it looked amazing. After waiting for what seemed like an eternity they salesman came and got me. The grin and the chuckling to myself told the salesman everything he needed to know. I was blown away, I really didn’t expect it to look so sweet, it doesn’t look too sensible like the pictures suggest, it has real presence. The black against the white looks sublime, the front end looks aggressive, pleasantly surprised with the DRLs (the mrs thinks the car is telling other cars to p*ss off).
Opening the door I felt like entering a completely different world compared to the Octavia, it feels very executive, much tighter and solid than the VRS the build in miles better. I did notice that some of the dash materials are actually shared with the Octavia. Sitting in the seats was more comfy than my sofa and it feels very snug and secure. The multi adjusting seats make for a far more comfortable and relaxed driving position. There is more room between passenger and driver and the centre console has a very nice layout with lots of little buttons. The dealer set up my iphone and I can control my music from the steering wheel which I like. He then cranked up the B&O speakers, they are as expected very crisp and didn’t disappoint. The important bits:
I have read numerous posts on RS246 forum about the disappointing exhaust note so I asked the dealer to start it up for me. No offence to but what are these guys on about. It sounds AMAZING. Lovely purr on start up and slightly raw when revving it up (more chuckling to myself when I heard it). The steering is extremely light at low speeds and with the flat bottom steering wheel and driving position doesn’t get in the way of my legs. Leaving the dealer was slightly nerve racking as I hadn’t got used to the start/stop and the parking brake with the hill hold. People moan about start/stop but I love it. I get to hear my S4 start up every now again, what can be annoying about that! I took it easy for most of the way home but thought Id have a couple of blasts. First blast I felt underwhelmed and thought oh no what have I done, I should be blown away. I then realised I am now in a 7 spd DSG and not 6 which meant I dropped to 4th instead of 3rd. Next run I did it properly and dropped to 45 in 2nd and wallop big lump of toque and off I went, was expecting this much power and I actually tweaked my neck! The gear shift made a pop on the up change and exhaust note was spot on. Again, why are there complaints about this I ask? In every gear even foot down 7th at 50 you can hear the exhaust, not intrusive but alluring. There were no dramas at all with flooring it at low speeds in the wet, no torque steer no juddering just linear acceleration. I was still pinned to my seat and I was at the speed limit (it moves through the speed faster than you think. It is definitely quicker than my stage 1 VRS at all speeds. In S mode the gear blips the throttle on shifts and produces more lovely exhaust notes. Having never driven properly a 4WD car I couldn’t believe the grip in corners, very composed indeed. The car doesn’t feel big like the VRS did, it feels smaller and goes where you point it better, hope that makes sense.
Nice touches are the footwell lighting, the vanity mirror lighting, the hill hold, no handbrake, the extra cycle of the wiper blades 5 seconds after doing a windscreen spray, the side skirts, S4 badging on the front callipers amongst many other things.
I know this car is twice as much to buy as the VRS was but for me it is a lot more than twice as good. I felt sad as I felt like I was discarding the VRS as old reliable. I will put some pictures soon I just need to work out how to blur the number plate. For now I will post some interior and side shots.
I will update the review when the car has run in a little as I want to take it easy for a little bit. Hope you enjoy the review.
