AUDI S4

What does the Audi S4 have to say to its competition?  Supercharged.  Dual Clutch Transmission.  Torque Vectoring Rear Differential.  Them’s fightin’ words!  Well we managed to get our hands on a 2011 Audi S4 Premium + with the DSG transmission (Audi’s Dual Clutch) and Sport Rear Differential.  But does it have the guts to take on its Bavarian brother?

(More after the jump)

It was only a few years ago when the tables were turned and the world was comparing a 333hp M3 to a 400+hp RS4.   Now, the 2011 S4 (B8 body style) has a 333 horsepower v6 whereas the M3 has a 414 horsepower v8.  It is borderline absurd to compare the two cars with such a horsepower discrepancy and what’s more, the M3 costs between $15 to $20,000 more.  Even AUDI doesn’t try to compare the car – they have claimed that its a competitor to BMW’s 335.  So what are we smoking?

Exterior

On the outside, the S4 is not imposing at all.  It has some nice 18 inch wheels standard, bigger brakes which say “S4″ on them and quad exhaust tips.  It also has some chrome trim bits and chrome mirrors.  But that’s it really.  No wild arches, not even a flagrant air-dam like on the B5 and even B6 S4s.  From the outside if you didn’t know what you were looking for you might mistake this for any old A4.  So will the understated S4 assassinate the M3 like a stealthy ninja, or will it fade into the darkness with the rest of the normal cars forgotten for the ages as something that could have been a contender?

Engine

The S4′s engine isn’t any old engine.  Code named 3.0TFSI, it is a supercharged(T?), it is direct injection, and it is good.  Due to the relatively high compression and supercharger, the engine has torque available almost everywhere – 325 ft-lbs of it.  Well, that’s what AUDI wants you to think.  You see, here is the thing – the S4 on paper looks like a great competitor to the 335i.  Both are available in AWD, both are forced induction, direct injection, 3 liters, and 300(ish) horsepower.  Except the S4 just isn’t all of those things.  It has 300+ horsepower . . . maybe . . . to the WHEELS.  That’s right folks, AUDI has underrated this bad boy severely.  Perhaps it is to separate the car from the “RS” models, but whatever the case, people over the internet estimate that the S4 is really pumping out something like 360 hp+ to the crank.

Interior

Now how about the inside?  The S4 has some great recaro-esque seats wrapped in alcantara and leather.  The interior feels sporty and luxurious.  The Audi MMI with nav is a marvelous piece of voice-activated technology.  BUT (and this is a big one) it is quite annoying to use.  Sure it has so many features and it is definitely better than the i-Drive(youcrazy) that is in the BMW.  But it needs a few of the RIGHT buttons.  Particularly it needs the old reliable 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 type buttons on the console to just mash when you want the damn radio station to change because it keeps blaring Lady Ga Ga or something about wishing on airplanes like shooting stars.  The only easy-to-reach button is the “off” switch which fortunately shuts up Ga Ga or B.O.B. when you need it to.

The Drive

In a straight line race the S4 mocks the 335, and if you get the 335 with all-wheel-drive, the S4 decimates it.  Around a track the S4 is also faster with anecdotal evidence from track enthusiasts around the ‘net reporting their S4′s clocking in substantially lower times than their 335s.  So its suspension is no slouch despite its weight.  But there must be a drawback right?  what about the transmission choices?  Even here Audi has jumped over the 335 into M3 territory – it is available with a dual-clutch sequential manual gearbox called which AUDI calls the 7 speed DSG or S-Tronic.  This transmission promises lightning fast shifts like the M-DCT and the 2011′s get launch control which makes every average joe look like a star on the drag-strip  (more on the trans later).

What’s more the S4 now comes with a torque-vectoring rear differential.  The differential uses mechanical clutches to vary the torque in a turn so that the inside wheel gets more torque promoting neutral steer instead of understeer as was normally the problem with the nose-heavy awd lummoxes that audi used to call A/S4′s.  This 1100 option also allows the driver to select auto, comfort, or dynamic modes not only allow for sharper steering, throttle, and shifting, but also set up the diff to “gasp” oversteer a tad if pushed hard enough.  Yep, the “dynamic” mode is Audi’s answer to “M-Drive.” . . . sort of.

So the S4, better than a 335 – surely.  But now the guts of the story – is it the M3′s time for the hamper?  Simply, no.  The S4 is not better than the M3 and here’s why:  it is missing what the French call “je ne sais quoi.”  What am I saying the French don’t know anything about cars, lets do this in English.  It falls short of the M3 in four ways, two of which are easily rectified, the other of which are not:

1.) The S4 is faster than a 335, but not as fast as an M3, and certainly not as fast around a track.
2.) The DSG transmission is a GREAT transmission, but it is not the M-DCT.  The DSG has silky smooth shifts, but it doesn’t give that same sense of “kick” and feel that the M does.  Also the “manual” mode is still automatic in the sense that it upshifts at readline – and most of the time annoyingly well before redline.
3.) The S4′s steering feel is not on-par with BMW.  The M3 feels like you are really DRIVING the car.  However, to quote Family Guy, “In Audi S4, CAR drives YOU!”  In the S4, it is almost as if you simply tell the car what to do then it’s hands-off: “voice activation on – now take this S-curve at 53.7 MPH – engage” and the car does it flawlessly.  When you are in the M3, however, it is a visceral experience with road, car, and driver connected.
4.) AWD is fun especially in the snow but RWD is really where its at for raw driving experience.

Moddability

Items 1 and 2 can be fixed to some extent with modifications.  A $1500 ECU reflash from Stasis (complete with warranty) or APR tuning will bump your horsepower dangerously close to the 400whp  mark and you may be eating M3s for breakfast (with the right octane).   The transmission also may be flashable soon depending on offerings from a few companies one of which is HPA – notable for its DSG reflashes in VW/AUDI 6-speed units.

Final Thoughts

The most troubling differences between the M3 and the S4 are the handling and the drivetrains.  The steering feel is rectified slightly by the “dynamic” mode that comes with the sport differential, but even this only makes the steering heavier.  It is just a notch away from the M3 and it will likely never get there in any S or RS model.
AWD can also never be “fixed,” but who would want to – that is why you buy an AUDI: legendary Quattro.  Sure its great to be total jerk and do donuts in a parking lot or put on a smoke-show at a race-track, but I would prefer to be able to drive home from work when it snows and not have to take a bus.

So what would we take?  The S4 really has the whole package.  Great exterior, great interior, wonderful engine, awesome modding potential, and steering that gets as close to BMW as possible… all for 20,000 less than an M3.  If you’re wondering what we traded the e46 M3 in for, then we’ll give you one guess.

So what is the verdict?  Well it’s number crunching time.

Engine Performance: 4/5
Handling: 4/5
Driving Feel: 4/5
Exterior: 4/5
Interior: 4/5
Moddability: 3/5
Price: 4/5
Overall Score: 27/35  Numerically it beats the M3, this car is definitely Clutch!  If the M3 were in the same price-range, however, we would definitely opt for the M3.  But looking at the whole picture, the M3 is not worth 15 to 20,000 more than the S4.