2 week review - 2005 S4

[mcster]

I've had my S4 just over two weeks ... My only two complaints:

1) I don't like how car responds when shifting

2) Could be faster

[$4c@b]

next time, try keeping it short.

is it auto or manual?

[ItzDarrellS4]

I've had my S4 just over two weeks ... My only two complaints:

1) I don't like how car responds when shifting

2) Could be faster

get a snub mount installed

as far as faster... its no 2 door sports car, but it holds its own. S/C is coming though (hopefully).... que the 2 weeks jokes

[mcster]

next time, try keeping it short.

is it auto or manual?

It's manual.

[KryptoniK]

you seem disappointed.. did you test drive the car before buying?

[SoCalS4Avant]

"could be faster." You could say that about a lot of cars. All the way up to the Bugatti Veyron, huh?

Did anyone buy their S4 because it was supposedly the "fastest?" It's a great combination of things, and that's why we love it.

As for the shifting, I may agree with you a little on that, but you get used to it, and you get better at it.

[mcster]

you seem disappointed.. did you test drive the car before buying?

Not disappointed at all !! Those were the ONLY complaints .. The car is awesome and a blast to drive. Previously had an '03 A4 3.0.

[JMG]

I've had my S4 just over two weeks ... My only two complaints:

1) I don't like how car responds when shifting

2) Could be faster

1) Shifting is an art in the S4. I was shifting pretty rough the first week too. You'll learn the sweet spot. Same goes for the RS4.

2) Sure it could. But for a heavy awd luxury sedan it's pretty damn fast.

[tymeks]

Seriously I am now 2 weeks into owning my '04 S4. For the combination of luxury feel and speed I can't complain. 1st and 2nd gear go by pretty quick due to the AWD after that she starts to feel heavy, due the AWD :). But for me this is a dream car. I came from a Ford Focus so anything can impress me. lol.

[danski]

^^That's one serious Upgrayedd

[iconoclast]

I've had my S4 just over two weeks ... My only two complaints:

1) I don't like how car responds when shifting

2) Could be faster

lol, very in depth review... anyone have the cliffs notes on this?

Did anyone buy their S4 because it was supposedly the "fastest?" It's a great combination of things, and that's why we love it...

exactly why i went with it, its a great combination of things... not particularly the best at anything but well rounded imo. after a few mods, i hope it to be one of the better cars ive owned.

[D.K]

As I begin my third week of S4 ownership, I'm actually surprised with how quick it is. No, it's not the fastest thing out there, but for what it is, it's definitely no slouch.
The shifting does take some getting used to. I generally dislike any drive-by-wire systems, and with the S4 it's no exception, but I'm getting much better on the 1->2 shift...not so much on the 2->3.

[mcster]

As I begin my third week of S4 ownership, I'm actually surprised with how quick it is. No, it's not the fastest thing out there, but for what it is, it's definitely no slouch.
The shifting does take some getting used to. I generally dislike any drive-by-wire systems, and with the S4 it's no exception, but I'm getting much better on the 1->2 shift...not so much on the 2->3.

What did you drive before? My A4 3.0 was slow compared to this, but my supercharged 5.0 liter was quicker ... and before everyone gets excited, I know they are not comparable vehicles!

[b spot]

I HATE the drive by wire in this car. Throttle response is inconsistent, and when letting off the gas your revs drop at a different rate (or sometimes not at all) in a seemingly random fashion.

I also found it felt slow at first for how quick it actually is numbers wise. I think it's because it's so smooth. Get someone else to drive your car and sit in the passenger seat and it feels way faster. Or accelerate through a curve so you can feel the lateral G's increase as well and it feels WAY faster than in a straight line... so much fun!

[$4c@b]

Get someone else to drive your car and sit in the passenger seat and it feels way faster.

that's how I learned how fast my car feels.

[D.K]

What did you drive before? My A4 3.0 was slow compared to this, but my supercharged 5.0 liter was quicker ... and before everyone gets excited, I know they are not comparable vehicles!

Well...I traded in a Ford Expedition on the S4, but I do have a low 12 second Mustang in the garage as well. Before the Expedition, I had a G35 coupe which felt nowhere near as fast as the S4.
I've used my buddy's Charger R/T as a yardstick to compare the G35 and the S4 against. The G35 got slowly wasked everytime...the S4, not so much.

[ngng]

not particularly the best at anything but well rounded imo. after a few mods, i hope it to be one of the better cars ive owned.

i'd say the interior is the best of any car i've driven

[Maverick]

all of your asses sit on recaros, stop complaining lol. kidding

[iconoclast]

i'd say the interior is the best of any car i've driven

which cars have you driven???

[AudiOso]

I too came out of a A4 3.0 when I bought my first B6 S4. Unfortunately I didn't hold out for what I really wanted, ended up with a Tip car, traded it for my 6MT this spring.

In hindsight I've learned two things. A) The Tip car was wicked fast in a real easy way. You just stomped the bitch and it screamed. B) The 6MT S4 and the 6MT A4 are two completely different animals. The A4 was easy to shift 1-2. The S4 takes a lot of finesse.

I test drove three 6MT cars before buying mine and kept on thinking that I was the worst stick driver because I couldn't shift the S4 smoothly. It is only now that I have owned one and driven it as well as seen all the postings on the car that I realize that there was a learning curve that I had to work through.

[ngng]

which cars have you driven???

audis, mbs, bmws, p-cars...etc

hands down, audi interiors are the best

[evil_O]

The OP was pithy for sure.

I think the S4 is deceiving based on how smooth the power delivery is. It really is deceptively fast. I don't think I am going that fast... and then I look at the spedo... then I am like well... I guess I am going fast.

[Jdubya]

I went from a 700HP Cobra to my S4, how do you think I feel about how fast it is.

With that being said, I have NO regrets.

[Stormin]

I'm at a hair under a month. It's one of the best cars I've owned.

I came over from a C55 AMG, which is an entirely different car. The S4 seems so much faster overall. I know the C55 was faster in a straight line, but the S4 is so much easier to handle in and out of corners, making it a "quicker" car.

And don't get me started about Seattle and rain. One of the key decisions in buying the S4 over a C63...

[iconoclast]

audis, mbs, bmws, p-cars...etc

hands down, audi interiors are the best

care to elaborate on which??? pretty vague. although i am not debating the quality of the audi interior im just curious what youre comparing it to, and which theyre better than in your opinion...

[L8brker]

im 2 months in and lovin it......
especially after stasis susp, h sport bars and milltek exhaust,revo

[charliemike]

It might not be quick but it's pretty damn fast ... Was faster than a BMW E46 M3 around the Top Gear track and that's good enough for me.

I was coming from a Mazdaspeed3 with 275/287 on the dyno and while the S4 doesn't feel quite as quick as the Mazdaspeed the S4 is just in every way a better car.

I'd trade .5 second to 60 mph in a heartbeat.

[mcster]

I went from a 700HP Cobra to my S4, how do you think I feel about how fast it is.

With that being said, I have NO regrets.

Why do you have so many Audis? Was the Cobra a drag car?

[GFRRS3]

I guess Ill post within this post instead of starting my own....

Ive owned my 2005 S4 for about a week now and put about 800 miles on it, the first two days shifting felt a bit strange, but similiar to my old sti, its a combination of drive by wire and awd. Its very very smooth once you figure out that sweet spot, 1st gear is somewhat useless unless starting from a dead stop, due to the motors great lowend TQ the car can be left in 2nd or third while crawling through traffic. The car pulls very hard at the top of 3rd gear and into 4th. Passing cars can be done in 6th gear with ease. Gas milage is very good with a v8 and somewhat heavy sedan in mind.

Handling wise, understeer is very prevalent, in the future Im going to dial that out though. Car handles very very well for being a heavier sedan.

My only gripe is that the steering feels very light and it has a tendancy to disconnect you from the road.

Overall the s4 is an excellent car witha great combo of power, handling and comfort, Im very happy with it. Lets just say the avant was washed and has been sitting in the garage all week.

Previous cars...Track prepped 1985 944 175hp, Track prepped 1982 911 with Euro motor260hp,2000 Legacy GT, 2004 WRX, Tuned 2005 STI 390hp, 2006 A3 2.0T 207hp. (Crank HP)

[Justincredible]

Ok Ill bite I'm am a few months into ownership

2005 S speed tip. I came from a CTS-V and a BMW 5

Drive wise faster then the BMW with better feed back. Power wise it is a different feel than the CTS but over all. The car is just so ridged the suspension is on point very firm. The car has good acceleration but it obviously depends on where you are in the revs. Where the CTS was all power all the time. Throttle responce could be better but with exhaust and chip I would suspect this should be more in line

Transmission wise. The Tip is a blast. There are the manual purist out there But the manual tip is more than fine for me. The first to second shift sucks I mean it is just terrible. But 2nd to 3rd & 3rd to 4th are nice and firm with a little bump feed back.

Style and interior the seats speak for themselves the out side looks good and there is plenty of room to boot. This with AWD and 18+ mpg ( when driven proper) makes for a great platform

[AudiOso]

I was really torn when I decided to sell my Tip car and replace it with the 6MT. I've always been a manual transmission purist, but the Tip in the S4 was really enjoyable. You just stomped on it and the car dug in and went. I didn't mind the 1-2 shift at all. The thing that did bug me though was that it would always shift at 6800 RPM. It would never hold a shift to redline.

I have to be careful though with the 6MT - God I can't believe I'm going to admit this - I've bounced it off the rev limiter in first a couple of times. Scary stuff. All I get is visions of destroyed engine parts.

[Dompiece]

[/QUOTE]I have to be careful though with the 6MT - God I can't believe I'm going to admit this - I've bounced it off the rev limiter in first a couple of times. Scary stuff. All I get is visions of destroyed engine parts.[/QUOTE]


That is not a problem at all for these cars.

[ZachPDX]

I have to be careful though with the 6MT - God I can't believe I'm going to admit this - I've bounced it off the rev limiter in first a couple of times. Scary stuff. All I get is visions of destroyed engine parts.

Been there, first ends so fast, if you stomp it after you haven't in a few days it creeps up on ya.