Audi RS 4 Avant 2020 Review

Traditionally, the RS 4 Avant is one of the important bread-and-butter performance models within the Audi Sport division.

The current fourth-generation B9 Audi RS 4 Avant touched down in Australian showrooms in 2018. This month it presents a subtle styling makeover and additional value, but, crucially, the same stonking twin-turbo V6 performance remains.

Audi says the changes have been made to sharpen the RS 4’s appeal in the face of the Mercedes-AMG C 63 S and the forthcoming BMW M3, which will include a Touring wagon variant for the first time next year.

Priced at $147,900 plus on-road costs, the latest RS 4 Avant has received a cut of almost $5000 over the model it replaces.

Standard features include a head-up display, 360-degree camera, adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go function, active lane assist and auto-dimming exterior mirrors.

The 2020 model wears a new grille and redesigned front and rear bumpers, plus reworked Matrix LED headlights.

Inside, the RS 4 gets sport seats wrapped in Nappa leather with honeycomb stitching, plus stainless-steel pedals, illuminated RS door trim, a flat-bottomed sports steering wheel and gloss-black trim details throughout the cabin.

A new 10.1-inch multimedia system is now controlled via a touch-sensitive screen, doing away with a rotary dial controller on the centre console in previous models.

Heated and electrically adjustable front seats with four-way lumbar adjustment and massage function are also standard, as is a panoramic sunroof, tinted windows and an electric tailgate with gesture control.

Optional packages include an RS design pack ($3400) or a carbon and black styling package ($11,200).

The RS 4 Avant is offered with Audi’s service plan package, priced at $1950 for three years and $3050 for five years.

It also comes with a three-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, less than the five-year warranty offered by Mercedes-Benz and others.

Though it is cheaper than before, the core appeal of the RS 4 Avant is the same as it has always been: stonking performance from a sensible, family-friendly wagon.

Beneath its muscular yet smart exterior, the RS 4 continues with a tried-and-tested 331kW/600Nm 2.9-litre twin-turbo petrol V6, shuffling drive to all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic gearbox.

Elsewhere, RS sport suspension and a quattro sport differential mean the RS 4 is able to dole out its performance prodigiously while offering some semblance of everyday comfort.

In its softest comfort setting, the RS 4 reflects road imperfections with a slightly firm bent, but it is neither crashy nor jarring. Road noise is also tolerable for long-journey mileage, while the engine makes light work of around-town duties or open-road travel alike.

Engaging either of the new steering wheel-mounted RS 1 or RS 2 driving modes, Audi’s performance wagon begins to access the upper reaches of its performance. Sharper throttle response, more immediate steering and less body roll and pitch.

Then there’s the sound, which turns from throaty hum to shrieking, gurgling rasp – done so very tastefully, mind you.

In truth, it’s hard to properly exploit the level of performance on offer on public roads, such is the traction, speed and grip from the circa 1.9-tonne wagon.

The RS 4 turns in positively and confidently shifts the bulk of weight from its 4.7m-long proportions to its outside wheels, hunkering down tenaciously.

Its quattro centre differential is hugely effective in allowing you to get on the throttle early, with the full confidence of the car’s fast-thinking all-wheel drive and electronics.

On tangled bitumen, the RS 4 is able to flatter the driver with the way in which it controls mass, accounts for fast changes in direction and even tempers an aggressive right foot.

It is seriously effective in holding licence-shredding corner speed, with incredible in-gear acceleration and braking performance to boot.

Downsides? Aside from an inferior three-year warranty, and the fact it misses out on the dual-screen centre fascia arrangement fitted to other recent Audi models, there’s little to criticise with the RS 4 when you look at it through a performance lens.

In essence, anyone sensible enough to look outside the realms of a modern performance SUV.

The RS 4 offers a sizeable 505-litre boot, split-fold seats and a workable rear seat area with ISOFIX attachment points on the outbound pews – all key ingredients for a well-heeled family car.

The driver and occupant seating position is low slung, to be sure, but the cabin materials and presentation are all first class.

By the same token, the RS 4 Avant holds the kind of understated performance appeal to pass as an executive express or as a go-fast ski vehicle, just waiting for one of those large roof-top pods.

The RS 4 Avant is already considered by many a vanguard of family-friendly performance, and its credentials have been underlined by the latest round of changes.

The RS 4 skirts the brash soundtrack of the Mercedes-AMG C 63 S to offer a sportier, understated alternative to an SUV.

On a twisting back road, few vehicles are this fast, and even fewer are this sensible or nonchalant about it.

How much does the 2020 Audi RS 4 Avant cost?
Price: $147,900 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol
Output: 331kW/600Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 9.5L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 218g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2015)