FAB101's B9 S4 Avant Thread

[FAB101]

As prompted by Bristle Hound, now that the car has been delivered, this is my own S4 Avant thread.

So, the starting point.

For the last 3 and a bit years, I had been driving an Audi SQ5. Objectively its been a great car, as literally not a single thing has gone wrong or needed replaced, fuel economy has been very good for the performance/size of car, its comfortable and had all the space I’ll ever need.

The problem was I didn’t love the car the same way I did the B8 S4 Saloon that I traded in against the SQ5. Being honest, over the time I owned it, I came to somewhat regret buying an SQ5 rather than an S4 Avant back in 2013………….

So then I started me thinking about what to buy next. After ruling out some of the more mad ideas I had (a completely impractical second hand Maserati GranTurismo or 911), the shortlist ended up with the choice between an S4 Avant or a C43 AMG Estate.

Ultimately the better quality interior and far better discounts/trade-in meant an S4 Avant was purchased back in October from my local dealer.

 

[FAB101]

The car I purchased is a dealer spec’d and ordered car. I was too late in purchasing to amend the spec, but its pretty close to what I would have ordered anyway (other than the panoramic roof and memory seats, which I probably wouldn't have specified). I'm far too impatient to wait until March next year for a car to my exact spec, so happy to compromise and get the S4 much earlier - especially when the lower trade-in value for Mar '17 delivery means its actually cheaper to buy this car than wait for my exact spec.

S4 Avant:

• Navarra Blue
• 19" 5V Spoke Wheels
• Light & Vision Pack
• Privacy Glass
• Flat Bottom Steering Wheel
• Panoramic Roof
• Heated/Folding/Auto Dimming/Memory Mirrors
• Memory Seats
• Rear View Camera
• Storage Pack
• Bang & Olufsen Stereo.

After a frustrating few weeks, where a confirmed week 41 build slot slipped somewhat, the car eventually started to make some progress.

· Left the factory: "orderStatus": "30", "statusDate": "2016-11-24T01:11:31+0000"
· Waiting at the port: "orderStatus": "38", "statusDate": "2016-11-26T01:17:31+0000"
· En-route to the UK: "orderStatus":"39","statusDate":"2016-11-29T01:15:05+0000"
· Arrived in the UK: "orderStatus":"40","statusDate":"2016-12-02T01:11:10+0000"
· Arrived at the dealer: "orderStatus":"70","statusDate":"2016-12-07T01:11:17+0000"

Collection from the dealer was arranged for Saturday 10th December.

 

[FAB101]

Pleasant dealer experience at collection time. A free fill-up for me was provided, with coffee and pastries for breakfast, which was a nice treat. A few of the dealership personnel came to have a chat and look at the car when in the delivery bay, as its the first S4 they've had in the showroom. Car was well prep'd by the dealer, with no marks or issues that I could see, despite looking very very hard to make sure it was perfect.

No freebies for me, beyond the USB cable for the phone, but no complaints as I'd squeezed them really hard on discount/trade-in and they'd already given a big discount on rubber mats/boot liner/mudflaps.

Few Picture below from pick-up.

 

[FAB101]

Initial thoughts on the car are below.

Colour is interesting in the flesh, which is difficult to capture in the the photos. Colour is very rich and depending on how the light catches it, seems to vary from very dark blues though much lighter blues when outside and under artificial lights seems to have some strong purple tones to it. That said, I'm delighted with the colour, especially when my last three cars have been the now standard grey/silver that most people seem to spec their cars with these days.

Tech inside is a very big step forward from my SQ5 and the B8 S4 before that. Will definitely take some getting used to and the comprehensive walk through from the salesman was very welcome indeed.

Delighted with the B&O stereo, had it in both of my last audi's and its far better than the version in the SQ5. Just not sure how much I'll listen to it though - spent most of the journey home with all the windows/sunroof cracked open and the car in dynamic mode! Exhaust is much louder than I thought it would be in dynamic, but sounds great, if not exactly subtle (doubt the neighbours will like it as much as me though!)

Ride quality is pretty good (standard suspension). Definitely a big improvement on the SQ5 and better than I had expected it would be. Yes its reasonably firm, but well damped and doesn't crash through the poorer road surfaces we have up here, unlike the SQ5.

Seats are absolutely brilliant, was easy to find a very comfortable seating position and the adjustable side bolsters mean they really hold you in place. Even the massage function, which I still think might be a bit of novelty and rarely used, seems to be really good.

Really need to get a few miles under my belt now and see what its like on both a long drive and a more spirited one. Also very keen to see what the matrix lights are like. Will post more thoughts once I've done this.

 

[FAB101]

Spent some time detailing the car, a few days after collection.

After a though decontamination and washing, the car was polished and protected with a few coats of hybrid wax to see her through winter. Interior got a good clean as well, as the inside of the glass wasn’t cleaned quite as well by the dealer as I wanted.

Winter wheels and tyres were fitted at the same time. These are genuine Audi 5V spoke wheels with the same part number as those supplied with the car and Continental tyres, purchased from a dealer in Germany via eBay.de. Wheels were in perfect condition, and over 7,5mm of tread on the tyres, so delivery mileage claims seem to be true. Only difference is that they have a grey centre cap, rather than the black centre cap the wheels supplied with the car came with.

Far too many pictures of the end result below.

 

[FAB101]

Following the brilliant instructions provided by mjcourtney on the Myaudi Special Destinations (POI) thread, managed to upload the speed camera details into the car over the air.

It took a couple of attempts, as the car failed to download the data initially, but not exactly unexpected as others had similar issues doing the same.

What proved much harder, was working out how to turn on the POI notifications, so the car would let me know when near a camera. After much frustration, I eventually worked this out. If anyone else is struggling on how to do this, details are below.

In the Navigation Settings, its under Arrival Notifications, which is not exactly the most intuitive title for a menu section used to turn on POI notifications.

Once you're in the Arrival Notifications section:
◦ Tick the box to turn on POI notifications at the top of the screen,
◦ Tick the box immediately below to play a notification tone,
◦ Scroll down to MyAudiSpecialDestinations and open this section
◦ Tick all the boxes for the various types of cameras.

I’ve been out to check that this all works properly (any excuse to take the new car for a spin!!). The speed camera POI notifications do work in the car, which is good, however you don’t exactly get much notice that you’re approaching one – especially if you’re travelling at dual carriageway or motorway speeds. Still, its better than nothing.

 

[FAB101]

I’ve had the car for over a week now, so a few updated thoughts below.

The matrix LED headlights are absolutely brilliant. The majority of my commute is on fairly busy unlit a-roads and b-roads, and while its somewhat strange to watch the various LED’s turn on and off around other traffic, the visibility they provide is superb and (as yet) no-one has flashed their lights to say I’m blinding them. I knew they’d be good from various online and magazine reviews, but I’m blown away by just how good – they absolutely should be right at the top of the list of must have options if someone is specifying their car.

Apple Car Play is really easy to use, although the graphics do look like they were designed by a 3 year old! The ability to easily play podcasts, music etc is great and audio quality is much better than streaming over Bluetooth. Now I just need to start remembering to take my phone with me what I park the car…………..

Speaking of sound, I’m very impressed with the B&O stereo. I had the B&O stereo in the SQ5, but the one in the S4 is a huge step forward and quality is absolutely superb.

I haven’t yet covered 400 miles, so I haven’t really put my foot down properly to explore the upper end of the rev range, but the car is definitely plenty quick enough and you can still make very quick progress using the huge amount of torque the engine has. The car handles very well and I think you’d have to be well into license risking territory to go beyond the limits of grip. There is a good positive weight to the steering when its in dynamic mode, although its perhaps marginally too light in comfort.

Fuel economy has steadily improved as the car gets some miles on the clock. Car returned the mid 20’s mpg when I first picked her up and is now returning around 30 mpg on a commute that covers a mix of A and B roads. Hopefully this bodes well for the few long runs planned during the festive holidays and mid 30's will be achievable.

 

[Brasso]

Spent some time detailing the car, a few days after collection.

After a though decontamination and washing, the car was polished and protected with a few coats of hybrid wax to see her through winter. Interior got a good clean as well, as the inside of the glass wasn’t cleaned quite as well by the dealer as I wanted.

Winter wheels and tyres were fitted at the same time. These are genuine Audi 5V spoke wheels with the same part number as those supplied with the car and Continental tyres, purchased from a dealer in Germany via eBay.de. Wheels were in perfect condition, and over 7,5mm of tread on the tyres, so delivery mileage claims seem to be true. Only difference is that they have a grey centre cap, rather than the black centre cap the wheels supplied with the car came with.

Far too many pictures of the end result below.

Looking great Fab. I agree totally on the colour, a real depth to it, can't wait to see it on a good sunny day, looks great with the wax on it. If you don't mind me asking were the wheels expensive, I've been thinking about a set of winter wheels.

 

[FAB101]

Wheels and winter tyres were approx £1400, inc shipping to the UK. Not exactly cheap, but living in NE Scotland, I think it's worth it for the road conditions up here at this time of year. Although given the dealer wanted £2520 for just a set of 19" wheels, excluding tyres, it's a lot cheaper than it could have been.

The dealer did offer an 18" winter wheel package suitable for the S4, with slightly narrower wheels/tyres for around £1800, but I didn't like the design of the wheels and chose to source 19's myself instead.

If you're thinking of doing similar yourself, see post no. 4 on the "Anyone got any OEM 19in Wheels" thread for some of the detail/translations for searching eBay.de. Most of the business sellers can communicate in decent English which helps.

 

[THQuattro]

Oh mate thats a superb car,great colour and so nice inside luv the seats.

 

[ScottishA4B9]

Lovely car mate. Keep us all updated with how you are finding the car!

 

[Dippy]

Great post @FAB101 - keep it coming

 

[Bristle Hound]

@FAB101 - Another fab navarro S4 Avant !

& another great thread !

 

[FAB101]

Another 500 miles under my belt now, split between two long trips either side of Christmas Day

Fuel economy considerations were not really a factor in buying the S4, but I'm pleased with how it's working out on the longer runs. Traffic was fairly light on the way back home today, using motorway/dual carriageway most of the way at a steady 70 mph, car indicated 36.8mpg. Computer is perhaps a bit optimistic as I calculated it to be 35.5mpg after filling up near the house. I'd say that's a great result for a car with this much performance.

Seats are spot on for long runs, providing plenty of support and comfort when going without stopping for over 3 hrs. Spotify and Podcasts through CarPlay, as wells as google maps, proved their worth on long runs.

However I did find that the notifications for the speed camera POI's are a bit hit and miss. While they did notify when near every camera, the accuracy is very inconsistent and quite often the notifications were when I was almost next to it, rather than a couple of hundred yards before it. It's better than nothing, but if you're planning on travelling quickly, I certainly wouldn't want to be relying on the camera POI notifications.

 

[Keef]

@FAB101 car is stunning!
Did you spec the rubber matts or was that a dealer fit item?

 

[Dippy]

However I did find that the notifications for the speed camera POI's are a bit hit and miss. While they did notify when near every camera, the accuracy is very inconsistent and quite often the notifications were when I was almost next to it, rather than a couple of hundred yards before it. It's better than nothing, but if you're planning on travelling quickly, I certainly wouldn't want to be relying on the camera POI notifications.

That's not good news. I bought my dashcam just for being a dashcam but it also has a camera warning facility which has been truly excellent. I can't understand why the Audi system can't be as good?

 

[FAB101]

@FAB101 car is stunning!
Did you spec the rubber matts or was that a dealer fit item?

Thanks Keef.
Rubber mats are dealer supplied, so easy to get a hold of.

 

[FAB101]

That's not good news. I bought my dashcam just for being a dashcam but it also has a camera warning facility which has been truly excellent. I can't understand why the Audi system can't be as good?

@Dippy What dashcam have you fitted that also provides camera warnings? Was thinking about buying a dashcam for the car and might not be bad idea to have the warnings as well.

 

[Dippy]

I have a Thinkware F750.

 

[SPIKE_]

Beautiful S4, and a great thread

 

[FAB101]

Things discovered recently.....

When you catch up with a Land Rover Defender, its rear lights are not bright enough for the camera to pick up and turn matrix LED headlights off full beam automatically. Have got so used to the matrix headlights working by themselves, took me a few minutes to even notice they hadn't dimmed.