alanbns

The UK mag "autocar" did a comparison test. the new M3 was top, then the 911, then the RS4 last.

Purely hypothetical, in my case, as I cant afford any of them, and the RS4 isnt available in the states, but if it was, and I could, I would still buy it over the others. heres why.

Its limited , unique, understated, elegant, and way more practical than the other 2.

I think "autocar" missed the point of what the RS4 is.

NASA racer

yes, a 4 door station wagon with 380hp. Compare it to a 325i wagon not a 2 door coupe...duuuuuhhhh.

NASA racer

—incidentally, Automobile listed the M5 as a competitor not M3...this makes a little more sense IMHO

frank

what difference between the audi and the Bimmer, after living with the S4 for 7 months I can't believe how cheap that whole car felt.

I'm not comparing power or anything, just driving feel and build quality. Yuck

looks like we'll hang on to the E36 M3 for quite a while

BTW
the 323/328ci, 2 door coupe has less headroom than the S4 or my M3

how the hell do you get a helmet on and drive that thing?

triada

"don't want no short short man"

RS4.org - DaveH

In Euro Land we traditional have the following body stlye

coupe (2 door)
saloon (4 door)
hatchback (5 door)
and estate (5 door)

Hatchbacks meld the boot and rear glass panel into one to allow access for larger object than a traditional boot and often allow the rear seats to be folded flat.

Estate cars traditionally have vertical rear doors with the rear end extended further away to increase capacity, resulting in a rear heavy setup. Try driving a E55 AMG 4 against the estate, the estate is considerably unwieldy on the rear.

The A4 Avant is no longer than a 4 door and with its sloping back has more in common with a hatch back than a estate car. In fact the storage space of the A4 Avant is on par with most Euro hatchback cars of this class and compared to my Volvo V70 (a true Estate Car) the space inside is TINY !

This coupled with the fact the Avant has better weight distribution over the 4 door A4 and the handles slightly better than the 4 door (less wayward on the rear end) may give an idea as why the RS4 is Avant only.

ACSchnitzer

The 328i wagon can be compared with the A4 Avant. And comparing an RS4 with an M3 is a perfect match. The RS4 was built by Audi to be a supercar. Audi chose to make their fastest car a wagon.
The point still stands that the 343 hp M3 is better than the 380 hp RS4 in every aspect except the trunk space.

And stop this bulls#@t about "if I chip the S4 it will beat anything and everything out there." That is simply not true. The big boost in hp is not producing MUCH faster times - at least not for the price you pay for having the chip: Voided warranty and blown turbos.
Many of you seem to go to great lengths to modifiy your cars to the point that it isn't the same car anymore.
I can find you many modified cars that will blow the doors off the S4. Many of the people on this board are modifying their S4s to the extent that those "riceboys" go to modify their Civics and Integras.
Of the factory floor - Audis are no match for BMWs in performance.

daphne

Can we stop playing the "mine is bigger than your's" games already? Geeze...

Let's all chant together now, shall we....

BMW is a great car for some people
S4 is a great car for some people
Different cars, though.

Why do I feel like we keep yelling Tastes great...less filling?

ACSchnitzer

I'm not stirring - I responding to an idiotic comment.

quickersilver

mr. weinerschnitzel's lie number one:

<i> Of the factory floor - Audis are no match for BMWs in performance. </i>

Fact: here are road tests for the S4, the m pos coupe, the e36 m3 (no tests yet available for e46 m3), and the 540i.

(C&D=Car and Driver, MT = Motor Trend, R&T = Road & Track)

540i: C&D MT R&T
0-60 6.1 5.5 5.9
1/4 mi 14.7 14.1 14.3
skidpad .81g .85g .85
slalom n/a 65.2 60.3
braking, 60-0 n/a 120 124
braking, 70-0 175 n/a n/a

S4: C&D MT R&T
0-60 5.6 5.5 5.5
1/4 mi 14.2 14.1 14.1
skidpad .83g .86g .83
slalom n/a 67.1 63
braking, 60-0 n/a 118 121
braking, 70-0 169 n/a n/a

M3: C&D MT R&T
0-60 6.0 5.5 5.6
1/4 mi 14.6 14.0 14.2
skidpad .84g .89g .91
slalom n/a 67.0 63.6
braking, 60-0 n/a 114 114
braking, 70-0 167 n/a n/a

M POS Coupe: C&D MT R&T
0-60 5.3 5.4 5.5
1/4 mi 13.9 13.8 14.3
skidpad .86g .87g .87g
slalom n/a 67.4 62.3
braking, 60-0 n/a 119 125
braking, 70-0 168 n/a n/a

Now, the facts:
1) the S4 beats or equals both the 540i and E36 M3 in 0-60 and 1/4 mile
times, beats the m pos coupe in one test, and is within 0.3 sec in
both of the others;

2) it beats the 540i in both skidpad and slalom speeds, beats or is
within 0.6 mph of the lighter, wider-tired E36 M3's slalom speed, and beats
or is within 0.3 mph of the 500 lb lighter, wider-tired m pos coupe's
slalom speed;

3) it stops faster than the 540i, is within a few feet of the lighter,
wider-tired M3, and stopped faster than the 500 lb lighter, wider-tired
m pos coupe in two of three mag's tests.

So much for lie number one.

mr. weinerschnitzel's lie number two:

<i> The point still stands that the 343 hp M3 is better than the 380 hp RS4 in every aspect except the trunk space. </i>

Nonsense. Here are road test data for the RS4; let's see how the _production_ e46 m3's do in these tests (I don't for one minute buy the 11.5 second 0-100 time in the first test, because this beats the z8, which is lighter, has 60 more rated hp, and gobs more torque--yeah, right).

RS4 test results:

This site claims 17.7 sec. from 0-120 mph:
http://www.vwvortex.com/features/99_RS4/

This page has test results with 0-120 in 16.4, 0-130 in 20.5, and standing km
(1000m) in 23.5 sec at 137.7 mph
http://www.btinternet.com/~rs4/rs4/mag-article/fast-estate/rs4-festate-04.jpg

This test also produced 0-120 in 16.4, 0-130 in 20.5
http://www.btinternet.com/~rs4/rs4/mag-article/fourth-estate/fourth-estate-05.jpg

This test claims 0-125 mph in 17 seconds:
http://www.btinternet.com/~rs4/rs4/mag-article/car-july00/car-july00-08.jpg

This one got 0-200 km/h (124 mph) in 17 flat
http://www.btinternet.com/~rs4/rs4/mag-article/ae-603/ae-rs4-603-02.jpg

This one gives the RS4's best Nurburgring lap time: 8 min., 10 sec.
http://www.btinternet.com/~rs4/rs4/mag-article/ring-master/rs4-ring-08.jpg

mr. weinerschnitzel's lie number 3:

<i>And stop this bulls#@t about "if I chip the S4 it will beat anything and everything out
there." That is simply not true. The big boost in hp is not producing MUCH faster times -</i>

I think a 0.5-0.7 sec. 0-60 time improvement and 60 hp for $700 is a fantastic performance value. Let's see you get that level of performance increase for $700 with *any* m3. to get an idea of what I'm talking about: why don't you have a look at the latest Road and Track to find out how much Steve Dinan charges to add a measley *30* horsepower to the m pos coupe? I'll give you a hint: it's about ten *times* what chipping an S4 will cost.

Here are scanned road test results for two chipped S4's. 0-60 in 5.0 seconds in one, and 4.8 seconds in the other.

https://www.audiworld.com/forum/m/s4/msgs/106433.phtml
https://www.audiworld.com/forum/m/s4/msgs/106435.phtml

<i>
at least not for the price you pay for having the chip: Voided warranty and blown turbos. </i>

The results of the online survey conducted here were posted the other day. Two things stood out:

1) the problem rate of _all_ owners was around 5%, fantastic given that this is an enthusiast's board, whose readers probably engage in more "spirited" driving than normal;

2) there was no higher rate of failure among chipped drivers than unchipped drivers;

3) show me *one* instance where a chipped car has been denied a warranty claim on a turbo.

<i> Many of you seem to go to great lengths to modifiy your cars to the point that it isn't
the same car anymore. </i>

So do many bmw owners (does the word "Dinan" mean anything to you?). What's your point?

<i>I can find you many modified cars that will blow the doors off the S4.</i>

And the e46 m3; in fact, a *stock* Z06 corvette will blow its doors off, for the same money. What's your point?

<i> Many of the
people on this board are modifying their S4s to the extent that those "riceboys" go to
modify their Civics and Integras. </i>

So do many of the people on the bimmer board (which is where your bmw-worshipping self ought to be posting this drivel). What's your point?