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Fancy swapping to a RS4 myself. Should be ok on the servicing as bro runs the workshop at the local Audi dealer, but , and I just know this is a stupid question, how much worse is it going to be on fuel ?
Seen them for £24-25 on a Y and X with 50k on them. So is plausable to have it for a year and not cost a great deal more than the S3.
Got me excited now see.
Chris.
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I've been on the 'RS4' route myself. started with 2 S3's, then an S4 then an RS4 and now back to another S3!
yes RS4 is a great rare car, awesome looking car on the road, plenty of performance from a lovely flexible silky-smooth engine (which I really miss!) and easily tunable (just don't get carried away on false promises from ALL tuners!)
Petrol wise, I got around 21MPH with a mixture of motorways and heavy right foot.
If you do get one, don't necessarily insist on getting a low mileage one like most people want (and will pay lots more for) - pay more attention (actually lots more!) to how the car has been treated (has it been thrashed from startup? regularly serviced? enthusiast owner or ex-company car? brakes OK? ) - Get a specialist to check the car out if higher mileage. Turbos are very costly to change - engine out job (do the clutch at the same time), but the KO4 on the RS4 is bullet-proof like the S3/TT as long as they've been looked after OK.
I think the clutch changes are inconclusive on the RS4 - some owners have had them changed at low miles, others still OK at 50k.. Mine was still original and fine at 40k miles when sold (and I drove it like it was made - enthusiastically!). Bit like the gearboxes - yes the later cars had strenghtened syncros in the lower gears but again not all early cars suffered.
Also don't be put off by the soft wheels - covered by lifetime warranty as long as you haven't been silly driving over railway sleepers!
Don't expect it to perform outstandingly well on the track - relatively fine on the straights but serious weight has to be transferred somewhere when cornering hard (usually rear end!) which looks like the car is tipping over (if you can stop!) - semi-sorted with suspension upgrade/brakes but then you'll have the modding bug which is expensive, addictive and to be honest, you'll be let-down by a total lack of support by the main UK Audi tuners if things go wrong (trust me there are some real horror stories out there!).
Rear passenger compartment wise, don't expect more space than the S3 - leg wise it is as cramped due to those pesky big Recaros.
If you can afford it, then do it and enjoy it. I did and would have another. One thing to definitely do - change the exhaust for a Milltek or similar - it really adds character to the car.
