Audi RS 4 Avant Competition Plus 2022 Review

The regular 2022 Audi RS 4 Avant is priced from $154,591 plus on-road costs, allowing plenty of breathing room between it and the substantially more expensive BMW M3 Touring that will be priced from $177,500 plus ORCs when it eventually rocks up next year.

That creates space for Audi Sport to offer extra spice to its fast wagon in the form of not one, but two performance-enhancing option packs.

The first is the RS Competition pack that’s priced from €7875 ($A12,100), and the second, which is designed for harder-core track work and rusted-on Audi Sport enthusiasts alike, costs €11,875 ($A18,127).

Australian pricing for the new RS Competition packs is expected shortly.

The first of the two kits available on the 2022 Audi RS 4 Avant, the RS Competition pack, has been largely created to ramp up the fast wagon’s visual punch, but it boosts performance too.

Tick the box and the car’s factory speed limit is raised from 250km/h to 290km/h.

What’s more, you’ll fall in love with the pack’s all-new RS sports exhaust, which adds the bark missing from the standard car.

Bringing yet more car park appeal is a set of new 20-inch alloy wheels, Matrix headlights, RS Competition puddle lamps and extra blacked-out exterior elements.

Inside, there’s microfibre and leather sports seats, a faux suede-wrapped steering wheel and gear lever, plus a reduction in sound-proofing that’s claimed to enhance the repertoire of the new sports exhaust and contribute to a weight saving of around 8kg.

For those who track their RS 4 or want to sharpen up its responses on-road, Audi Sport recommends paying more for the RS Competition Plus pack that adds a set of adjustable coilovers, a more aggressive quattro rear sport differential and a fixed-rate steering rack.

Track-focused Pirelli P Zero Corsa tyres are also available that maximise the RS 4 performance, while engineers have also tweaked the RS 4’s eight-speed automatic transmission for faster, more precise shifts.

As standard, the fast Audi wagon comes with a long list of kit that includes three-zone climate control, an electric tailgate, Virtual Cockpit, premium B&O sound system, a head-up display and semi-autonomous stop-and-go cruise control.

The 2022 Audi RS 4 Avant should be among the safest in its class and has a five-star rating from both Euro NCAP and ANCAP, based on testing of the donor A4 sedan – albeit back in 2015.

Highlights of its safety armoury include autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane keep assist, driver fatigue detection, blind spot warning and rear collision alert.

There’s also a side curtain for the second row of seating should an impact occur.

It was touch and go whether or not Australia would even take the RS Competition Plus pack on the 2022 Audi RS 4 Avant, such were concerns over the new adjustable coilovers.

The fear was that some owners might be tempted to drive in its lowest (-20mm) track setting that could cause damage on our notoriously poor roads.

But, somehow, Audi Sport and its suspension partner KW managed to reassure Audi Australia that they would work here – and the new suspension is key to unlocking the extra dynamic flair from the RS 4’s chassis.

If you’re wondering why extracting more power from the 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 wasn’t on the menu, blame cost. Not the actual price of liberating more kilowatts, but the huge bill that comes from meeting ever-stricter emissions regulations meant it was simply not viable.

More power would have also meant bigger brakes and added weight – and that’s something engineers didn’t want, especially since at 1745kg the RS 4 wagon is actually among the lightest in its class.

By comparison, the BMW M3 Touring tips the scales at 1865kg – more than 100kg heavier.

It’s not common for car-makers to revert to adjustable suspension on a series-production sports car, not least a family wagon.

But according to Audi Sport, many owners were already resorting to aftermarket suppliers to enhance their car’s road and on-track performance and Audi Sport knew it could do better.

The result is a three-way adjustable coilover that can be tweaked for height, compression and rebound. The drawback is that for most of the tweaks it’s a wheel-off job, but luckily Audi Sport supplies a handy operator’s manual with recommended settings.

As well as being adjustable, the springs have also been swapped out for a set of coils around 20 per cent stiffer.

With the new suspension set-up, engineers addressed another issue on the ‘to do’ list concerning the RS 4’s variable-ratio dynamic steering.

Apparently, most owners love the set-up around town, where the rack is quickened for ease of use and slowed on the highway for increased stability. Enthusiasts, meanwhile, hate its lack of consistency, especially on track.

The solution was a new steering rack but, again, costs were prohibitive, so another solution was sought, one that saw engineers lock the steering rack in a single ratio.

Next, a revised quattro diff was added that is more aggressive in its reaction, aiding turn-in and allowing more exit oversteer to reduce understeer.

Calibration was key to all the enhancements and that included the eight-speed automatic, which now boasts shorter shift times.

Finally, Audi Sport even went as far as developing a new bespoke tyre based on the track-focused Pirelli P Zero Corsa that saw the ABS and carbon-ceramic braking system retuned.

The result is a car that can now brake to standstill up to two metres earlier from 100km/h.

Thanks to its grippier rubber, quicker-shifting tranny and fractionally lighter kerb weight, the 2022 Audi RS 4 Avant is quicker than ever, despite no increase in power for the 331kW/600Nm 2.9-litre biturbo V6.

Against the clock, 0-100km/h now takes just 3.9 seconds with the RS Competition Plus pack – 0.2sec quicker than the standard car, while top speed has risen to 290km/h.

How fuel efficient is the Audi RS 4 Avant Competition?

The 2022 Audi RS 4 Avant is claimed to average 8.8L/100km under the WLTP test regime conditions while emitting 201g/km of CO2.

Those figures compare favourably with the BMW M3 Touring xDrive that can only manage 10.1L/100km and 229g/km of CO2 – not that many will buy either car on efficiency grounds.

It would have been great to drive the 2022 Audi RS 4 Avant Competition Plus pack-equipped car against a fast wagon with the standard suspension set-up, but there wasn’t an opportunity.

Instead, we urge anyone in the market to try both before they buy because we have concerns over how the stiffer set-up will affect the standard car’s supple ride.

Luckily, we did find some poor pieces of road while driving the RS 4 Competition Plus, and came away impressed at how the suspension coped without any of the crashiness normally associated with cars fitted with aftermarket coilovers.

Praise must be given to the dampers that in Audi’s preferred fast road testings coped beautifully with everything from cobbles to sharp mid-corner bumps.

So with any ride concerns out the way, you can then begin to enjoy the heightened responses offered by the Comp Plus pack.

Off-centre, the steering feels sharper and more precise, while a lack of body roll encourages more spirited driving.

The fixed-ratio steering rack also feels like a big improvement and the freer-flowing exhaust adds drama without unwanted boominess while cruising on the highway.

Braking remains immense, although grip was unusually lacking. That said, the alpine roads we drove on were very dusty.

On track, what we love about the more controlled ride, quicker responses and enhanced precision carries over, but is magnified with the suspension lowered to a maximum of 20mm below the standard car’s ride height.

Audi Sport says to fully exploit its chassis calibration, the RS 4 Avant must be driven in Dynamic mode with the transmission in Sport or manual mode.

Grip and adjustability are in another league compared to the standard car, and the stability control rarely intrudes.

Offering quick changes of direction, mighty braking and punchy acceleration out of corners, the Audi wagon is fun, fast and engaging.

Of course, it’s really too heavy to be the perfect track tool. There’s still understeer to be found and we’d worry how quickly it would chew through its front tyres with regular hot-lapping.

But the RS Comp Plus pack helps bring out the best in the already fast and very capable standard RS 4.

We also expect it will narrow the dynamic gap between it and newer rivals, like the BMW M3 Touring.

Almost five years on and the 2022 Audi RS 4 Avant still offers one of the very best cabins in its class.

We love the RS sports seats for their blend of both comfort and support, while for fit and finish the fast Audi is near faultless.

Despite not being a fan of flat-bottomed steering wheels, the RS 4 tiller is hard to criticise as the quick rack means you rarely have to spin the rim around in your hands, while the faux suede wrap adds grip and feels special.

Even though it’s getting on, the Virtual Cockpit digital instrument cluster is still clear, easy to use and customisable with Google Maps.

Boot space in the wagon remains a highlight, with the RS 4 Avant offering up to 495 litres with the rear seats up and 1495 litres with them stowed.

In the flesh, even with the arrival of newer metal like the BMW M3 Touring, the 2022 Audi RS 4 Avant remains one of the best-looking wagons money can buy – and the arrival of both RS Competition packs only enhance its appeal.

For many, the basic RS Comp pack will be worth the extra outlay for the exhaust, rims and styling upgrades alone.

And if you savour ride comfort, it might be best to leave it there.

If it were us, however, we’d find it difficult to resist going the whole hog and ticking the substantially more expensive Competition Plus pack.

Only then does it feel as though you can truly unlock the full potential of the Audi RS 4.

The RS 4 Avant might be knocking on the door of middle age, but with the pack equipped we think the M3 wagon will have a real fight on its hands.

2022 Audi RS 4 Avant Competition Plus at a glance:
Price: $175,000 est (plus on-road costs)
Available: Final quarter 2022
Engine: 2.9-litre V6 twin-turbo petrol
Output: 331kW/600Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 8.8L/100km (WLTP)
CO2: 201g/km (WLTP)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2015)