Luvwine

I too debated between the two. The factor that was most important for me was the seats! I hated the lack of lateral support on the a6 seats and much preferred the sport seats on the s4. The fact that the s4 was faster and more nimble and less expensive were bonuses. I think the lack of seat support combined with the slight increase in size and weight combine to make the s4 feel considerably more agile than the a6 where the real difference is modest. I do like the updated tech on the a6, but not enough to prefer the A6. I don't like subscription costs and I question the utility of spending $30 per month for google maps when similar functionality is already on my phone. Old fashioned maps are fine to me. Am happy with my new 2012 s4. Oh, and whle rear seat space would have been nice, we found that we rarely had fools in the rears eat of our BMW 535i and prefer the feel of the smaller nimbler s4. If you need rear seat space, then get the a6.

throwaway1

The A6 has the sport diff option, also if you are planning on modding the car its safe to assume you would get coils.

mmarcski

I am lucky enough to be in a position of keeping my '06 A6, which has been my DD since I bought it new and I should be picking up my new '12 S4. The A6 now has 133K on it and I absolutely love the car, especially after some recent work including new control arms. However, the S4 seats are incredible IMHO, and I have been dying to get back into a MT for over 10 years. (Another reason for keeping the A6 is the wife doesn't drive MT despite years of myself and a female friend urging her to let us teach her. So, if I ever need to take her SUV, I won't have to listen to her complain that she can't drive anywhere. ).

4CE FED NOGARO

Everyone seems to be beating around the bush here, but I'll just say it since you are probably looking for the truth. For the same amount of money, the A6 is a beautiful car but not even in the same ballpark for performance.

Sorry

Zed 2.0

How do you figure? It weighs the same as the S4, has the same motor, and has available sports suspension. You can't get the DSG or the sport diff, but "not even in the same ballpark" is, well, wrong. I just put a 2012 A6 through the paces yesterday and was very impressed.

FatalBert

Where do you see the sports diff as an option on the A6?


It does not weight the same, 100 lbs is a 100 lbs. And if you go manual with the S4 then your shaving off ~200lbs. The engine in the A6 is also down tuned a bit compared to the S4.

Hence the nearly half a second difference to 60.

throwaway1

Audi UK and DE. I have no idea what options are available in the US. It also seems that the tip adds quite a bit of weight. So I take back what I said. If you live in the US, the S4 is a better option. If you do not live in hte US, the A6 is a better option. It is fundamentally lighter, has an s-tronic, same engine, and sport diff, and also has sports suspension (but might as well get coils.

JD15

It's not available in the US. I assume it will be reserved for the S6.

4CE FED NOGARO

Well in my opinion a second quicker in the quarter mile is a different ballpark. I have also driven both vehicles and the S4 is much more responsive during hard cornering. Either way you get a great car.

seinsmeld13

exactly what I was thinking