Audi S4 sedan 2016 Review

Audi S4 sedan    
International Launch Review
Frankfurt, Germany

Audi has given its much-loved nameplate, the all-new S4, a new chassis, new engine, new transmission and new suspension, yet still somehow it lost its way. Its modular V6 turbo motor lacks tonal menace, its handling isn’t focused and it doesn’t ride the line between comfort and aggression as well as the B8 it replaces. It’s still a good car. Just not a great one.

The best thing about the old S4 was that it could live most of its life as the very best example of the Audi A4 and then add so much more on top of that whenever you needed a bit of speed or wanted a bit of fun.

But that was the B8 A4. This is the B9. The B9 is already lauded as the best car in the mid-size premium class, which just leaves the S4 to be crowned as the best in its field. Simple, right?

Not so fast. Sure, the tech might suggest it’s going to be right in the fight with the BMW 340i and the Mercedes-AMG C43, but the tech isn’t everything.

It starts well enough with the engine specifications. Code-named EA838, the all-new 3.0-litre V6 turbo has been jointly developed with Porsche and is closely related to the sports car company’s next V8, sharing non-internal bits like the camshaft chain. (The upcoming Porsche V8 will carry the EA825 code, while Audi’s own V8 is EA824).

Its weight has been pulled down 14kg over the old S4’s supercharged V6 motor, leaving 172kg over the front axles, though Audi wouldn’t confirm if the centre of gravity of the motor is higher or lower.

The 60-degree V6 is full of Audi’s current flagship tech, with variable valve timing and lift, centre-mounted spark plugs and both direct and indirect fuel injection.

That all stacks up to 260kW of power at 5400-6400rpm (up 6.5 percent) and 500Nm of torque from 1370 to 4500rpm (a peak 60Nm higher, spread across a peak 600 revs broader than the old one). It’s enough to get it to 100km/h in 4.7 seconds (0.2 seconds quicker than the wagon version) thanks, in part, to its all-wheel drive system.

Start sniffing around the category benchmarks and you quickly find that turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 petrol motors are the thing to have, with the Mercedes-AMG C43 having one, the Jaguar XE S having another and Maserati’s Ghibli also using one. BMW’s 340i kicks the trend with its in-line six, but it’s the same capacity as the bent motors.

Of that lot, the S4 trumps all but the C43 on power (the nine-speed Benz has 270kW). While it ties the Ghibli with 500Nm of torque, it again trails the Benz (this time by 20Nm) though its torque peak hits far earlier (the Benz waits until 2000rpm).

Still, the S4 ties the Benz for the 0-100km/h sprint and comfortably has the measure of the others, with the BMW and Jaguar tying at 5.1 seconds.

It’s also good for an NEDC number of 7.4L/100km, which is a touch worse than both the C43 and the XE S, but better than both the BMW and the hefty Maserati.

There is one fairly glaring piece of technology in the S4 that muddies the waters for anybody trying to pin down what it’s all about. It doesn’t use a dual-clutch transmission and there isn’t even the option of a manual gearbox. Instead, it uses a ZF-built eight-speed automatic transmission and only a ZF eight-speed automatic transmission. Like it or lump it.

Beyond that, the powertrain delivers a locking centre differential that usually shifts 60 percent of the torque to the rear differential, but can ramp that up to 85 percent when it needs to, or can move a tick over 70 per cent to the front axle when the handling demands it.

Downstream of that, the enthusiastic can plump for the optional sports differential on the rear axle to deliver drive and security when speeds and conditions go beyond what stock all-wheel drive can manage. Frankly, that’s not often.

It’s a bigger car than the one it replaces, while cutting 75kg out of the kerb weight (down to 1630kg). That’s in spite of being 29mm longer (2745mm), 16mm wider (1842mm) and carrying 14mm more wheelbase.

For all that, the styling is little changed from the stock A4 and doesn’t spread to any tin stuff that might need expensive new pressings.

There are the usual matt alloy-looking mirror caps, a slightly tweaked single-frame grill with alloy-look slats, wider sills, oval tailpipes and the stock sports suspension rides 23mm lower than the standard A4.

If the S4 has always been about performance with understated looks, Audi seems to have spent a lot of time and effort to deliver even more understatement with the new model.

The interior starts from a happy place with the B9 A4 and builds on its nicely, with sports seats that are as classy to look at as they are brilliant in the corners and supportive on long drives. The flat-bottomed steering wheel adjustment is generous and it’s an easy place to get comfortable, quickly.

Besides the standard Virtual Cockpit, the S4 also has the fixed 8.3-inch multimedia screen from the stock A4 and the latest levels of Audi connectivity.

It’s an environment that gives its occupants a feeling of calm, of technical strength out of sight and it’s also easy to operate and adjust, even without reading a single instruction. The rear seats also deliver plenty of leg, head and shoulder room, while the sedan has 480 litres of standard luggage space (the wagon – sorry, Avant – has 505 litres).

It all starts well, with the V6 being notable for its mid-gear flexibility and a feeling that any old gear will be just fine, thanks very much.

The torque peak arrives outrageously early and, coupled with the security of all-wheel drive, means you can poke at the accelerator pedal any time, anywhere, in any conditions and expect to be propelled forward simply with authority that verges on alacrity.

The throttle response is roughly equal to the old mechanically supercharged V6, but the gristle coming out of it feels far stronger thanks to its broader torque spread.

The biggest issue with the engine isn’t its performance, which is at least adequate in every respect and makes overtaking a doddle. It’s the noise.

It can be made to sound loud in its Dynamic mode, but that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily nice, or that it’s something you’re going to want to do time and again as a nice reminder of what you’ve paid for.

It has timbre changes, it wanders from depth to metallic resonance to, well, just noise at the 6500rpm rev limiter, but it never approaches 'pleasant'. If you were buying purely on engine note in this class, you’d walk straight past the S4 and on to BMW’s 340i.

Fortunately, it’s saved a bit by the piece that singularly indicates the S4 is less sporty than the old one. The transmission is fabulous, either left to its own devices or with the driver changing gears on the standard paddle shifters on the steering wheel.

It is one of the fastest-reacting automatics out there, finally approaching the shift-software brilliance that has kept BMW ahead on this front for the last couple of years. It snaps up shifts on full throttle with a little crackle and no loss of speed and its downshifts are aggressive when you’re in dynamic mode and almost imperceptible any other time.

Audi insists the old dual-clutch was not considered for the new S4 because it needed the automatic’s capacity to swallow torque, then shift smoothly while swallowing it. And it lives up to that brief.

The other single biggest issue is that while the old car was a perfect example of the best of the A4 with a bit more breadth of purpose at the top end, this one has more top end purpose but is slightly less good at being an A4.

That’s partly because the stock sports suspension ties the whole thing down 23mm lower than the A4, which robs it of 23mm of suspension travel. Somehow, it’s tough to find the sweet spot between the springs and the dampers on the S4.

It is firmly sprung, initially hitting sharp bumps hard before the damping works to smooth things out. It does, but not before leaving you with the impression that the dampers are trying to be all things to all conditions, while the springs are a bit more specialised and the two things only work perfectly together in fairly defined circumstances.

The end result of all of that is that it’s not a terribly involving car to drive, slowly or quickly. It doesn’t engage the driver and never feels warm to the touch, never invites the driver to push that bit further and while it’s got access to bundles of speed and grip reserves, it never begs you to access them.

You can tailor the behaviour on the Drive Select system to find a happy place between the Comfort and Dynamic settings. It will be good, but it will never quite be effortlessly coherent.

The electro-mechanical steering is very quick and direct, but it never sparkles and never feeds big bundles of information or entertainment, even on the optional 245/35 R19 Hankooks we had on our test car.

It’s not just that it locks the fun out of the handling envelope, either. The ride never quite feels together, even if the levels of road and wind noise finding their way into the cabin are admirably low.

For plenty of S4 customers, these niggles aren’t going to be deal breakers. No, it doesn’t sound great, but in a class of V6 powerplants, only the straight-six BMW does, and it has rubbish steering. Its visually conservative, but so is the entire genre.

It has obviously deep engineering, a brilliant interior and technology package, it eats miles quickly and effortlessly and its resale values are even pretty solid.
It just lacks the last pieces of engineering and development cohesion that turn the good into the great. So it’s only good.

2016 Audi S4 pricing and specifications:
Price: TBC
On sale: Q4 2016
Engine: 3.0-litre 24-valve turbocharged petrol V6
Output: 260kW/500Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 7.3L/100km
CO2: 166g/km
Safety rating: TBA