Test drive today

[RS4Guy]

Off to Crawley Audi today to have a test of their B8 RS4. I suspect it's the same one everyone else has been trying as they have borrowed it from Audi UK.

It's going to have to be quite something to convince me to trade the B7. Especially as the new RS6 looks so appealing.

I'll share my thoughts later...

[535dboy]

Saw that one yesterday.

Has a Maidstone dealer no plate on it

[MikeFish]

How did you get on?

[RS4Guy]

My thoughts:

First impressions weren't great. It is the same Sepang Blue car with the pale interior and small alloys (from Audi UK) as has featured in other threads on here. I went to see it at Crawley Audi as I get on really well with one of the Sales Guys there. He agreed, the spec that has been chosen for the car by Audi UK does not do the car justice.

Personal preferences aside and not wishing to cause offence to anyone who's dream spec is that car, it was time to consider the merits of the new RS4. We went through some of the choice options on the car. This particular car has the dynamic steering and sports DRC suspension, but for some reason it doesn't have the sports exhaust option (more noise essentially).

So how did it drive? I was sceptical about the S-tronic box and how I'd get on with a focussed driver's car like the RS4 not having a manual box. I love my B7 and this was my main concern. I started off as the passenger as the salesman took me along their reasonable circuit route, which involved plenty of country roads with bends and negative camber and showed me what the car could do. He demonstrated the different modes of the S-tronic gearbox. I was impressed with what it could do and the car's general turn of speed on B-roads. I know that on paper it is a quicker car than the B7 and it felt significantly quicker to be fair (I know my RS4 is down on power - about 375PS at present).

Time for me to drive and actually the new RS4 did not dissapoint. Throttle response was great and there was no hesitation as the car picked up speed. The gear changes from the Stronic box were smooth and lightning fast. In sport mode, the car will rev all the way to the red line and it sounds fantastic even without the optional sports exhaust. In manual mode, things get better still. The flappy paddles on the sterring wheel were great, complete control of what is going on and the gearbox will not shift up if you want to hold the gear you are in round a tight corner even though you are hitting the limiter. It was basically a super-fast manual gearbox - happy days!

Handling was phenomenal. No more understeer in corners, the back end of the car lost traction first (slightly damp road conditions) momentarily shifting drive frontwards and I could feel the front wheels pull the car back into line. Grip was superb from the Toyo tyres the car was fitted with. This level of confidence willed me to drive the car harder and attack the corners more. Suspension on this car is DRC but with three options for the damping (i guess) ranging from comfort to dynamic. In fairness, dynamic was quite harsh and is probably best resevred for the track. Comfort level was great. The menu options on the screen allow the driver to select their personal preferences so steering was set to dynamic to offer more feedback, throttle response and gearbox was also in dynamic, with suspension in comfort. This gave a nice balance and compliant ride whilst driving swiftly.

Final part of the test drive was a quick blast up the motorway starting with a long sweeping left hand slip road that gets progressively tighter midway through before straightening out again. Again, the roadholding was superb here, helped by the fact the S-tronic gearbox shifted through the gears with ease and no loss of lateral grip. Did the same when I left in my B7 and the experience was not somewhat less exhilirating.

Oh, almost forgot - launch control was a complete hoon!

So, the B8 RS4 has surpassed my expectations and any concerns I may have had have been resolved. Will I be buying one? No! Only because I've just heard about the new RS6 which is available in just 7 months time! I get the impression it will be possible to order the RS4 even after the RS6 is out, so I think I'll try that before I decide where to put my deposit. Cannot wait. In the meantime, I shall continue to enjoy my B7 which still puts a massive smile on my face.