S4 - 1000 Mile Mini Review

So here's a short review of my car after the first 1000 miles. These are purely my opinions and shouldn't be taken too seriously.


I've been inching my way up the performance ladder over the last 10 years or so. Here's how I got to the S4: Peugeot 206 XSi -> SEAT Leon Cupra (MK1) -> VW Jetta 2.0 TDi -> Audi A4 2.0T FSI (B7 - not quattro, Shark Stage 1 remap) -> S4.

What was the spec?
- S4 saloon in Phantom Black, Pearl Effect
- Audi Drive Select
- Quattro sports differential
- Hill Hold Assist
- Black styling pack
- 3 spoke flat bottom steering wheel
- Parking system plus
- Year 4 warranty

You didn't spec damper control?
Nope. I've got half an eye on keeping this car for the long term and decided against it as a potentially expensive thing to repair in future. I know you could say the same about most of the car but this was an easy one to de-spec. For anyone wondering if this is a bad idea I can say I have no problem at all with the standard suspension. It's comfortable (more than my S Line B7 was) yet does the job in the corners.

Where did you buy it from?
Reading Audi. I did quotes on carwow with Maidstone Audi being the best price. I then emailed the local dealers to see if they were interested. One said "no thanks". One didn't reply. Reading Audi came close enough to be worth doing. Maidstone is 100 miles from me, Reading Audi is 1.8 miles from my office.

So what do I think of it overall?
Love it. I think it's a great all rounder. It's fast, it has 4 doors and a big boot so I can still do the Dad taxi act. The engine has great performance and plenty of future potential should I wish to explore that later. On the economy front, I don't think the mpg is at all unreasonable for what you get. My current average over the first 1000 miles is 24.7 mpg. I've seen 31-33mpg on my run into work in the mornings.


I would agree with Warren's comment on the A5/S5 forum about the engine feeling lazy at times. From a standing start I find the car can pile on the speed impressively, you get to 70mph in no time. On the move it does pick up quickly but it just doesn't feel punchy. Not in the same way my turbo B7 did. This may just be because the V6/supercharger combo is more linear than the boooooost nature of a turbo, especially a remapped one.


What do you like?
The engine and S-Tronic is a great combo. And the little things: DAB radio, SD card slot and Xenons!

What don't you like?
Stop/start. I gave it a fair shot but it's a bit annoying. Sometimes it works fine and doesn't intrude. Other times I wonder what it's up to. For example, if I brake to a stop at the lights the engine turns off, if I put the hand brake on the engine restarts. Why?!

The wipers. Don't laugh. They work fine but I just find the arms look a bit feeble and cr*p, like something from the bottom of the parts bin. My B7 had meaty wiper arms.

The design of the back of the saloon, the Avant looks better at the back.

Anything else?
Well, I've had real problems adjusting my seat to suit me. I just cannot seem to get it 100% comfy which is amazing considering the many ways you can adjust it. Comparing with our other car I've decided what it seems to be is that if I sit at the distance I would like to be from the pedals, the steering wheel is then too close (with the wheel adjusted right back). This is not solvable as my arms and legs are fixed lengths. For reference I am 5' 9" and wear trousers with 30" legs. What has helped a lot is the accidental discovery you can twist the seat control to alter the pitch of the seat. Mine seemed to be sloping downwards, tipping me out of the seat which wasn't helping.

This is something that I didn't encounter on any of the test drives I took but I'm guessing the excitement and adrenaline covered the issue. I guess this is one reason to ask for an extended test drive!

How do you find S-Tronic?
Again this is something I really like. It makes traffic a lot easier, removing the clutch work of stop/start traffic. My car is used for commuting only so this is a big bonus for me. Also being brutally honest, I'm a bit cr*p at changing gear so it flatters the idiot in me. I think now the car is beyond 1000 miles I'll be trying the paddles a bit more for those situations where I know I want to overtake stuff. I do find the gearbox makes the very occasional clunk at low speeds, which seems to be in keeping with what other people have found.

And hill hold assist?
I'll be honest I specced this because it was £65 and I didn't know if I'd need it but for the money it hardly seemed worth debating. I actually use it a lot but not for hills! In stop/start traffic it applies the brakes once you come to a stop which I find is what I use it for the most.

What have you done to the car?
So far just filled it up with petrol and had it professionally detailed. I chose CQuartz Finest to provide some protection, it has a 2 year warranty.


And this is what happens when it rains.



And finally, some photos.

Ooh you cheeky Monkeys! I don't have long arms. I'm obviously just uniquely unsuited to the seat. Will keep messing with it. Never had this issue in any car. Adjusting for pedal reach is about all I've ever done. Ho hum.

Hey Keef,
I hope you're well? Yep just cracked the 1000. You can see the date in the photo above. I collected the car on 9th June so it's taken me just shy of 3 months to do! I had planned on some longer runs to do it quicker but due to work and family commitments it never happened. Some weeks I only do 66 miles! I realise I'm merrily paying for a huge chunk of depreciation but I figure this is my attempt at a non sensible car so I don't worry about it.

I reckon the Shark Performance stage 1 remap would sort the punch issues on the car. It did wonders for my B7 and made it feel like you thought it should have been from the factory. You can see what I had to say about the B7 here:
http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/2-0-tfsi-shark-stage-1-remap-coming-next-week.193653/

I won't be doing any modding whilst in warranty though. This is too expensive a car to have a warranty claim declined.

Keep us posted if you do go for an exhaust. Would be interesting to hear what the soundtrack is like.

Thanks for all the comments. It's great to see what everyone thinks and glad we don't all agree, it'd be no fun if we did.

To clarify on the performance, I'm not disappointed with the car, I think it's plenty fast enough. I just think there is hidden potential in the mid range that would give it the "punchiness" I talk about. I imagine razza1's Stage 2 S4 is punchy at any speed.

I did spec sports diff, just not damper control. There was a secondary reason to not speccing damper control, I was trying to keep the options list short! I know it is not an expensive option but I had to stop somewhere. The car was already well beyond what I intended to spend on my next car so I had to try and keep a lid on it. A short options list was a must.

I should have added one more point to the review, so here it is: have you done anything stupid?
Yes! I grounded the car whilst trying to park it half-and-half on the kerb. Fortunately I've scuffed the sump guard and stopped as soon as I heard a crunch. Still it made my heart sink, especially as I'm so OCD about my cars.